High-poverty Districts Research Articles

Emergency Action Planning in United States High Schools.

Rates of emergency action plan (EAP) implementation and compliance with EAP guidelines vary in United States secondary schools. There are limited data on emergency preparedness in schools without athletic trainers (ATs). Rural and high poverty schools have poor emergency preparedness for high school athletic events due to financial barriers and lack of ATs. Cross-sectional study. Level 5. A web-based questionnaire was emailed by each State High School Athletics Association to ATs, athletic directors, and coaches of recipient schools to assess emergency preparedness. A total of 686 responses were received (response rate ~3.5%). Schools with an AT on staff were more likely to have an EAP (P < 0.01). Schools with a higher enrollment were more likely to have an EAP (P < 0.01), an AT on staff (P < 0.01), require additional training for coaches (P < 0.01), and have an automated external defibrillator (AED) onsite for all events (P < 0.01). Urban (odds ratio [OR], 3.514; 95% CI [2.242, 5.507]; P < 0.01) and suburban (OR, 4.950; 95% CI [3.287, 7.454]; P < 0.01) districts were more likely than rural districts to have an AT on staff. High poverty districts were less likely to have an AED (OR, 0.660; 95% CI [0.452, 0.964]; P = 0.03) or EAP (OR, 0.511; 95% CI [0.306, 0.853]; P < 0.01) at athletic venues. Lower enrollment, high poverty, and rural schools are less prepared for athletic emergencies than their higher enrollment, low poverty, and suburban counterparts as these schools are generally less likely to have an AT on staff, AEDs, and EAPs and less likely to provide additional training to coaches and other staff. This study assesses athletic emergency preparedness-a critical component of ensuring athlete safety and recovery after injury.

Funding High-poverty School Districts: Federal Policy Tools and the Limits of Incentives

Abstract What can the federal government do to help ensure that the public schools attended by children living in poverty have enough resources to serve their students? In this brief, we describe existing federal efforts to support education spending in high-poverty districts, discuss their limitations, and suggest alternative approaches for federal policy. We focus especially on the Education Finance Incentive Grant (EFIG) formula—a part of the compensatory Title I grant program designed to encourage changes to state school finance policy—and show that the incentives embedded in the formula are in fact negligible; revising the formula to be more effective would be difficult. Further, any attempt to incentivize desirable state policy faces a fundamental trade-off: Such policy can reinforce inequality because districts in states that do not respond to the incentives by adopting desirable policies also do not receive (as much) federal funding. We argue that federal policy should be more attentive to state fiscal capacity because it is an important determinant of district-level school spending, and the federal government is uniquely positioned to address between-state inequality.

The Educational Consequences of Remote and Hybrid Instruction during the Pandemic

Using testing data from over two million students in nearly 10,000 schools in 49 states (plus the District of Columbia), we investigate the role of remote and hybrid instruction in widening gaps in achievement by race and school poverty. We find that remote instruction was a primary driver of the widening gaps. Math gaps did not widen in areas that remained in person (although reading gaps did). We estimate that high-poverty districts that went remote in 2020–2021 will need to spend nearly all of their federal aid on helping students recover from pandemic-related academic achievement losses. (JEL H75, I12, I21, I24, I32, J15)

Poverty at a distance: Supply and demand side factors and the formation of civil society organizations in Iraq

AbstractThis paper contributes empirically to the international debate on the drivers for the formation of civil society organizations (CSOs) by testing three separate hypotheses: demand, supply and integration. To investigate this question, we analyse the CSO sector in Iraq, which transformed since 2003 from being implicitly banned to being a central pillar of poverty alleviation and social service provision with thousands of formally registered organizations. Using OLS regression analysis with district level and official register data, we examine the geographic distribution of CSOs in relation to poverty levels in Iraq. We find no significant confirmation for demand side drivers that social service providing CSOs form in high poverty districts. Instead, we find strong support for CSO formation in governorate administrative centres, which confirms supply‐side drivers of CSO development. However, we do find some support for a higher concentration of human rights‐based CSOs in high poverty areas. The findings raise important policy implications for the UN Sustainable Development Goal of no poverty in an Iraqi context and internationally, but also how to fund CSOs to meet the demands of the primary recipients.

Ventilation Improvements Among K–12 Public School Districts — United States, August–December 2022

Improving ventilation has been one of several COVID-19 prevention strategies implemented by kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools to stay open for safe in-person learning. Because transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs through inhalation of infectious viral particles, it is important to reduce the concentration of and exposure time to infectious aerosols (1-3). CDC examined reported ventilation improvement strategies among U.S. K-12 public school districts using telephone survey data collected during August-December 2022. Maintaining continuous airflow through school buildings during active hours was the most frequently reported strategy by school districts (50.7%); 33.9% of school districts reported replacement or upgrade of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; 28.0% reported installation or use of in-room air cleaners with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters; and 8.2% reported installation of ultraviolet (UV) germicidal irradiation (UVGI) devices, which use UV light to kill airborne pathogens, including bacteria and viruses. School districts in National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) city locales, the West U.S. Census Bureau region, and those designated by U.S. Census Bureau Small Area Income Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) as high-poverty districts reported the highest percentages of HVAC system upgrades and HEPA-filtered in-room air cleaner use, although 28%-60% of all responses were unknown or missing. Federal funding remains available to school districts to support ventilation improvements. Public health departments can encourage K-12 school officials to use available funding to improve ventilation and help reduce transmission of respiratory diseases in K-12 settings.

The Impact of Star Teacher Characteristics on Teacher Selection and Retention in Urban High Poverty Schools: A Qualitative Analysis

A qualitative content analysis was employed to examine what factors contributed to effective teachers’ selection and retention in urban high poverty schools. First, the Star Teacher Interview was used to identify effective urban educators. Then, verbal interviews were conducted with star subjects to determine factors that contributed to their selection and decision to remain in urban high-poverty districts. An inductive analysis process revealed emerging and reoccurring themes. Four major factors were identified that influenced STAR teachers’ decision to begin their career in an urban school district and/or Title I school: Giving back to the community, diversity, location, and autonomy. Three major factors were identified that influenced STAR teachers’ decision to continue their career beyond 5 years in an urban school district and/or Title I school: Job satisfaction, effective with population, and perseverance. Implications of this study suggest that urban districts work closely with practicum and observation students from the universities who show promise in working with culturally diverse children. Providing teacher candidates with rich experiences in urban schools may positively impact their decision to work in urban settings.

Poster 126: Emergency Action Planning in United States High Schools

Objectives:Current evidence shows a variable rate of emergency action plan (EAP) implementation and a low rate of compliance to EAP guidelines in United States secondary schools. There is limited data on emergency preparedness of schools without access to an athletic trainer (AT). The purpose of this study was to identify the emergency preparedness of public high school athletics in the United States.Methods:A web-based questionnaire was developed to perform a cross-sectional analysis of the emergency preparedness of high schools. The questionnaire included 24 questions focused on demographics of the study population, EAP adoption, compliance to national EAP guidelines, access to certified medical personnel, and training received by athletics personnel. The questionnaire was delivered electronically through email by each State High School Athletics Association (SHSAA) to athletic trainers, athletic directors, and coaches of recipient schools.Results:Schools with a larger number of students enrolled were significantly associated with greater proportions of having an EAP (p<.0001), having an AT on staff (p<.0001), requiring additional training for coaches (p = .0003), and having an AED on-site for all events (p = .0021). Urban districts (OR=3.514, 95% CI=[2.242, 5.507], p <.0001) and suburban districts (OR=4.950, 95% CI=[3.287, 7.454], p <.0001) were more likely than rural districts to have an athletic trainer on staff. Rural districts were more likely than suburban districts to report financial barriers (OR=1.867, 95% CI=[1.051, 3.318], p=.0321). Rural districts were more likely than both urban (OR=1.901, 95% CI=[1.104, 3.268], p=.0192) and suburban (OR= 2.825, 95% CI=[1.770, 4.505], p<.0001) to report that additional funding would help meet NATA EAP best practice standards. High poverty districts (96 urban, 69 suburban and 157 rural) were less likely to have an AED for all athletic venues (OR=.660, 95% CI=[.452, .964], p=.0311) and less likely to have an EAP (OR=.511, 95% CI=[.306, .853], p=.0092). Among districts that were impoverished, rural districts were less likely than urban (OR=.268, 95% CI=[.153, .469], p<.0001) and suburban (OR=.121, 95% CI=[.056, .260], p <.0001) to have an AT on staff, more likely than suburban districts to report financial barriers (OR=1.867, 95% CI=[1.051, 3.318], p=.0321), and more likely to report barriers related to access to medical providers than urban (OR=3.403, 95% CI=[1.666, 6.949], p=.0005) and suburban (OR=3.900, 95% CI=[1.664, 9.144], p=.0010).Conclusions:The results of this study suggest that lower enrollment, high poverty and rural schools are less prepared for athletic emergencies than their higher enrollment, low poverty and suburban counterparts given the fact that these schools are generally less likely to have an AT on staff, less AEDs available at sporting events, lor to have EAPs implemented and less likely to provide additional training. Among these classifications, rural status may be the most important indicator, given that a comparison of impoverished schools demonstrates that rural schools were less likely to have ATs on staff and more likely to report financial barriers and barriers related to access to medical providers compared to poor urban and suburban schools. Financial barriers likely underly many of the findings in this study, as well as barriers related to access to medical professionals. Future improvement strategies should seek to identify ways to overcome these barriers and encourage compliance with NATA recommendations.

Socio-Emotional Problems and Learning Skills of Roma and Recently Arrived Refugee Children in German Elementary Schools

Abstract. Background: In Germany, many recently arrived and minority families live in multi-ethnic, high-poverty districts. Multiple risk factors threaten their children’s development. Aims: We examined the socio-emotional problems of these children in relation to their academic learning skills and executive functioning. Method: We compared teacher-rated socio-emotional problems of n = 112 Roma children (90% foreign-born), n = 101 refugee children (all foreign-born), and n = 56 German-born immigrant children (age in months: M = 99.66, SD = 13.61) between groups and to norm data. We related socio-emotional problems to receptive vocabulary, cognitive reasoning, motor skills, and executive functioning in n = 83 refugee and Roma children. Results: Roma children showed higher rates above cut-off than norm data in all subscales, more problems in all subscales but emotional symptoms than immigrant children, and more hyperactivity/inattention and peer problems than refugee children. Refugee children showed higher rates above cut-off than norm data in all subscales and more peer problems than immigrant children. Academic learning skills were overall below average among recently arrived children. Prosocial behavior was positively linked to fine motor skills. Other socio-emotional problems were not linked to academic learning skills and executive functioning. Gross and visuo-motor skills correlated positively with other academic learning skills. Limitations: We analyzed cross-sectional data. We did not include risk factors or non-immigrant German children. Conclusion: The heightened socio-emotional problems and low academic learning skills of refugee and particularly Roma children in high-poverty districts could jeopardize their educational trajectories. Additional support measures could increase their chances for educational participation.

Prioritizing School Finance Equity during an Economic Downturn: Recommendations for State Policy Makers

Abstract State budgets temporarily crashed amid the COVID-19 pandemic and economic shutdown, placing education funding at risk. To demonstrate implications for school finance, we show that (1) school districts are racially segregated along class lines; (2) higher-poverty districts receive a greater share of funds from state, as opposed to local sources, making them especially vulnerable during economic downturns; and (3) many states made across-the-board K–12 budget reductions following the Great Recession, but those cuts disproportionately impacted high-poverty districts. A decade later, state legislators may face similar fiscal challenges. Instead of enacting across-the-board cuts, states can identify specific funding programs that already benefit lower-poverty districts or wealthier students. We demonstrate how this approach would work under different state finance models and offer recommendations for state policy makers.

Coaching, professional community, and continuous improvement: rural school leader and coach development in a research-practice partnership

ABSTRACT The increased need for effective school leadership development, especially in rural and high-needs schools, has led to an increase in research-practice partnerships between districts and universities. Yet, there is a need for systematic analysis of the outcomes of such partnerships. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of a leadership development initiative on 16 school leaders and eight leadership coaches and their leadership and leadership coaching practices. The initiative, the Leadership Learning Community (LLC), was created through a research-practice partnership between a consortium of 12 predominantly rural, high-poverty school districts and two universities to meet the districts’ leadership development needs. The results of the study demonstrate the benefits of rural school districts partnering with other districts and universities to provide cross-district leadership development through facilitated professional communities and job-embedded coaching to develop rural school leaders and coaches able to lead continuous school improvement efforts.

Racial and Socioeconomic Test-Score Gaps in New England Metropolitan Areas: State School Aid and Poverty Segregation

Test-score data show that both low-income and racial-minority children score lower, on average, on states’ elementary-school accountability tests compared with higher-income children or white children. While different levels of scholastic achievement depend on a host of influences, such test-score gaps point toward unequal educational opportunity as a potentially important contributor. This report explores the relationship between racial and socioeconomic test-score gaps in New England metropolitan areas and two factors associated with unequal opportunity in education: state equalizing school-aid formulas and geographic segregation of low-income students. The underlying methods do not allow a strict causal interpretation; however, both aspects are strongly related to test-score gaps, with poverty segregation between school districts especially important in New England. The report first explores the degree to which state school aid is progressive, that is, distributed disproportionately to districts with high fractions of students living in poverty; more progressive distributions are associated with smaller test-score gaps in high-poverty metropolitan areas. All U.S. states distribute some state revenue to support local school districts, but the extent to which such aid is focused on districts with greater concentrations of poverty varies considerably. The relationships estimated in the empirical analysis suggest that New England metro areas with high average district poverty in states with more progressive aid distributions, such as Springfield, Massachusetts, should see somewhat smaller racial and socioeconomic test-score gaps than metro areas with lower district poverty in states with less progressive school aid, such as Burlington, Vermont; that predicted difference in white-Black test-score gaps amounts to about one-quarter of the actual difference between Springfield’s gap and Burlington’s gap. The second factor explored is poverty segregation; test-score gaps are larger in metropolitan areas where, compared with white children or higher-income children, minority children or low-income children go to school with, or are in school districts with, more students from low-income families. Partly because school districts (and cities and towns) are relatively small geographically in New England, poverty segregation in the region’s metropolitan areas is most pronounced between districts, not between schools within school districts. The sizes of the estimated relationships suggest that metro areas with the highest between-district poverty segregation, such as Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut, should have markedly larger test-score gaps than metro areas with moderate poverty segregation between districts, such as Manchester-Nashua, New Hampshire; those predicted differences amount to 60 percent to 90 percent of the actual test-score gap differences between the Bridgeport and Manchester metro areas. States can alter either or both of these factors via policy changes. States set the terms—and thereby the progressivity—of school-aid policy. Many states include cost adjustments in their aid formulas to offset some of the additional costs of educating students from low-income families, and some recent proposals (such as for Connecticut) or policy changes (such as in Massachusetts) involve more closely targeting state equalizing aid to high-poverty districts. State policy levers regarding between-district poverty segregation are less direct and potentially more controversial. Nonetheless, statewide affordable housing policies, such as those in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, if applied more comprehensively, might reduce concentrations of poverty and provide more low-income families access to the higher-quality schools in low-poverty suburban districts.

The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Executive Functions Among Youth in Low-Income Urban Schools in the Northeast and Southwest United States.

The purpose of this study was to examine if physical activity is related to greater executive functions among youth in poverty. Executive functions (cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory) and physical activity were measured in participants (N = 149) in the fifth to eighth grade from three schools located in high-poverty districts. Pearson correlations revealed a statistically significant correlation between physical activity and cognitive flexibility (r = .18, p < .05). Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that physical activity significantly improved prediction for cognitive flexibility, R2 = .09, F(6, 142) = 2.26, p = .041, adjusted R2 = .05, above sex, maturity, and school district. A two-way multivariate analysis of covariance revealed statistically significant differences in working memory in more active youth compared with less active but no statistically significant differences in cognitive flexibility or inhibition (p < .05). Greater physical activity is associated with greater working memory among youth in poverty.

Activism in Practice: The Influence of a Rural School Leader’s Beliefs and Practices in Disrupting Historical Patterns of Underachievement in Traditionally Marginalized Students

Despite the fact that rural communities across the United States are rapidly diversifying (Fusarelli &amp; Militello, 2012), little research has examined the beliefs and practices of successful rural educational leaders, specifically in high poverty schools and districts where traditionally marginalized students demonstrate improving learning outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs and practices of a rural educational leader whose school or district met established study criteria for a high poverty, high performing school, in which traditionally marginalized students demonstrate increasingly productive learning outcomes. Interviews with the leader were conducted, and the data were coded and analyzed using a constant comparative method (Lincoln &amp; Guba, 1985).The following research question guided the study:What impact do the beliefs and practices of a rural school district leader have on the learning outcomes of traditionally marginalized students in the Rocky Mountain West?The findings from this study contribute to the paucity of research on culturally responsive rural superintendent-principals. Identifying the rural leader’s beliefs and practices provides support for educational leaders who serve in that uniquely rural dual role, about which very little has been written. It informs leadership preparation programs, graduate students, researchers, and policy makers about the need for nuanced culturally responsive training for rural educational leaders.

Organizing schools so teachers can succeed: A conversation with Susan Moore Johnson

Kappan’s editor-in-chief talks with renowned scholar Susan Moore Johnson about her extensive research into the professional lives of public school teachers. For decades, studies have shown that teaching tends to be isolating work, with few opportunities for teachers to collaborate with and learn from each other or to play meaningful roles in school decision making. In her most recent book, however, Johnson describes the much more supportive professional culture she observed in a group of successful schools in a high-poverty urban district.

The Effect of Occupational Licensing Stringency on the Teacher Quality Distribution

Concerned about the low academic ability of public school teachers, in the 1990s and 2000s, some states increased licensing stringency to weed out low-quality candidates, while others decreased restrictions to attract high-quality candidates. We offer a theoretical model justifying both reactions. Using data from 1991–2007 on licensing requirements and teacher quality—as measured by the selectivity of teachers’ undergraduate institutions—we find that stricter licensing requirements, especially those emphasizing academic coursework, increase the left tail of the quality distribution for secondary school teachers without significantly decreasing quality for high-minority or high-poverty districts. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

Forgotten equity: The promise and subsequent dismantling of education finance reform in New York State

This study examines the impact of court-ordered finance reform in New York State resulting from Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York on equity of inputs using synthetic controls. The findings herein indicate court mandated education finance reform in New York had little to no impact on equity of educational inputs despite an overhauled education finance system intending to distribute more state funding based on student need. In the period during and following the Great Recession, the State of New York chose to cut districts’ foundation aid, a form of aid designed to be distributed progressively, halting any improvement in equity. Had funding been distributed to districts according to the foundation formula that was specified by the education finance reform legislation passed in 2007, high poverty districts would have received more funding and disparities in funding across districts with similar characteristics would have been reduced. I also show that other forms of aid, which are regressively distributed, could have been cut instead of foundation aid, allowing for more funding to flow to high poverty districts in a time of fiscal constraint.

Examining Positive Youth Development in Diverse Youth Through the Future Career Autobiography

Using a positive youth development (PYD) framework, a qualitative content analysis was conducted on 181 future career autobiographies (FCAs) from diverse middle and high school students in a high-poverty school district. Results indicate that more career development interventions are needed when working with diverse youth. The authors provide implications for school and career counselors working with diverse children and adolescents.

Developing Rural School Leaders Through Leadership Coaching: A Transformative Approach

ABSTRACT In this article, we report the findings of a study of a three-year, research-practice partnership designed to enhance the leadership capabilities of school leaders in 12 predominantly rural, high-poverty school districts in the southeastern United States. The partnership provided cross-district, job-embedded leadership development to ten school leaders through leadership coaching in a leadership learning community (LLC). Utilizing transformative learning theory, we illustrate how the leaders’ participation in the LLC increased their leadership capabilities through a combination of personalized learning, a focused improvement process, facilitation and coaching, and collaboration with other leaders. We conclude with implications for research and practice.

Actionable Analysis: Toward a Jurisdictional Evaluation of Primary Care Access in the Community Context.

Primary care is the foundation of health care systems and has potential to alleviate inequities in population health. We examined multiple measures of adult primary care access, health status, and socioeconomic position at the New York City Council District level—a unit of analysis both relevant to and actionable by local policymakers. The results showed significant associations between measures of primary care access and health status after adjustment for socioeconomic factors. We found that an increase of 1 provider per 10 000 people was associated with a 1% decrease in diabetes rates and a 5% decrease in rates of adults without an influenza immunization. Furthermore, higher rates of primary care providers in high-poverty districts accepted Medicaid and had Patient-Centered Medical Home recognition, increasing constituent accessibility. Our findings highlight the significant contribution of primary care access to community health; policies and resource allocation must prioritize primary care facility siting and provider recruitment in low-access areas.

The Long-Term Impact of Systemic Student Support in Elementary School: Reducing High School Dropout

Dropping out of high school has adverse consequences, including negative effects on employment, lifetime earnings, and physical health. Students often fail to complete high school for complex reasons that often manifest long before they reach high school. This study examines the link between participation in a comprehensive elementary school student support intervention and high school dropout. In this study, students who attended intervention elementary schools in a large, urban, high-poverty district during 2001–2014 ( N=894) were compared to students who did not attend intervention schools ( N=10,200). Likelihood of dropping out in grades 9–12 was estimated using propensity score-weighted Discrete Event History Analysis. Intervention students had approximately half the odds of dropout ( p&lt;.001); the probability of dropout for intervention was 9.2%, compared to 16.6% for non-intervention students. Individually tailored student support interventions during elementary school can lead to lasting and meaningful effects.