RESEARCH
Promote, sponsor, and disseminate research on the essential problems of schooling and leadership practice
What are the dynamics of urban schools and schooling?
What are the relationships between the preparation of leaders and their schools?
How do urban school leaders make necessary changes?
How do urban leaders develop mutually beneficial relationships between their schools and communities?
EQUITABLE STUDENT BEHAVIOR POLICIES & PRACTICES
Despite decades of research that show the detrimental and inequitable impacts of exclusionary disciplinary practices (Milner et al., 2019; Skiba et al., 2002), schools and districts continue to suspend and expel students of color at a rate much higher than White students. Rhonda Brownstein, former Legal Director of the SPLC, notes that “Black children account for roughly half of all suspensions and expulsions– even though they represent less than a quarter of students in public schools” (2015, para. 3). Although time and data have proven severe punitive practices to be both ineffective and inequitable, we see schools continue to employ strict behavior codes and harsh disciplinary responses. Neither few nor far between, these punishing practices have become a normal and even expected reaction to behavior deemed disruptive to the learning environment.