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In June 2008, Albert Sidney Johnston High School (JHS) in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) became the first school in the state of Texas to be closed by the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) after receiving ratings of academically unacceptable for five consecutive years under the Texas public school accountability system. Opponents noted that reconstitution was unlikely to solve the school's problems of poverty, low attendance, and high rates of teen pregnancy. The 2008 reconstitution of JHS represented the failure of a school once nationally recognized as a model of integration. In this paper, the authors chronicle the role the school played in AISD's early efforts to address the "Brown v Board of Education" decisions. They focus on the 1970s and 1980s, the period in which it was deemed a "model of desegregation." This historical study is based on data that include (a) books, articles, documents, and letters related to desegregation efforts in general as well as those specific to AISD and JHS; (b) documents reporting the achievement results of JHS; (c) newspaper articles derived from JHS, the city newspaper, and national newspaper outlets; (d) documents related to district-level plans as well as minutes of AISD Board of Trustees meetings; and (e) the JHS annual yearbooks. To advance an understanding of the historical underpinnings pertaining to JHS, the district, and the larger community, we trace how the doormat of the district school became a model of desegregation, only to later return to being a segregated reconstituted school. This full circle of change is the focus of our story.

This case study addressed effects of international student teaching on U.S. teacher candidates' cross-cultural adaptability and perspectives on language, culture, and schooling. Interviews and the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory were collected from 18 participants before and after 4 weeks student teaching internationally. Interviews were coded using the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory dimensions and interpreted using Mezirow's transformational learning theory. Findings suggested that increased cross-cultural adaptation aligns with transformational learning. Transformational learning led participants to question assumptions and consider incorporating different perspectives in future teaching.

The increasing diversity of the student population in classrooms across the United States demands the adoption of pedagogical principles based on the concept of culturally responsive teaching. This study adopts the notion that culturally responsive teaching only becomes possible when teachers implement self-reflection and critical consciousness. Using a qualitative approach, the authors aimed at examining the effects of an international professional development experience on a group of elementary teachers from the United States and Costa Rica with a focus on their perceptions about linguistic and cultural diversity in schools. The analysis of the interviews and reflective journal entries revealed that participation in an international teacher exchange program prompted participants to examine their personal beliefs about education and question, not only their own instructional practices, but also broader school systems and policies related to language, culture, and ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]