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Teacher turnover across the country presents a persistent and growing challenge for schools and districts, with the highest rates of turnover geographically concentrated in the American South. Research on teacher staffing and turnover problems consistently highlight two subsets of schools as struggling to attract and retain well-credentialed, effective educators--predominantly Black schools and rural schools. However, research has rarely explicitly examined the schools that meet both these criteria. We use administrative records and unique climate survey data from Georgia to examine how the intersecting roles of race, money, and school climate shape evolving teacher turnover patterns in rural schools. Findings suggest that while teacher mobility is generally less common in rural schools, considerable inequities exist within the rural space, with majority Black rural schools bearing far more of the brunt of rural teacher turnover. Among rural teachers, Black teachers have higher mobility rates--more likely to make interdistrict moves and to exit rural settings for teaching opportunities in urban and suburban contexts. However, in majority-Black rural schools, higher salaries and school climate factors, such as relational climate and parental involvement, were strong predictors of retention, even after controlling for a rich set of covariates.

Although state-run school districts and gubernatorial school takeover have become popular turnaround strategies among some states, little is known about how district and school leaders perceive and respond to these changes in educational governance. Using Georgia as a case study, this paper employs sensemaking and exit, voice, and loyalty as frameworks to examine how district and school leaders interpret and respond to the threat of state takeover. Similar to prior studies, results indicate that urban schools and districts largely populated by low-income students and students of color are most likely to be affected by state takeover. Several themes emerge from district and school leaders' interpretation of state takeover policy, including: (a) principals and teachers are to blame, (b) too many changes, too little time to reflect, (c) lack of trust between school districts and the state, and (d) market-based reforms and the illusion of choice. Although a non-trivial number of teachers and principals have expressed their intent to leave for charter schools or leave the teaching profession in response to the threat of state takeover, voice was the more common response, particularly among teachers in takeover-eligible schools who were more experienced and had students performing well on state tests. There are also noteworthy differences in the response of district and school leaders based on the eligibility for state takeover.

Race has been a central thread in the American fabric since the country's inception, and relationships among racial groups, particularly between Whites and African Americans, have been strained due to the nation's historic founding. Larger, societal tensions around race likely manifest in schools and threaten to impede the premise and promise of the "Brown v. Board of Education" landmark decision. As such, this article provides a conceptual understanding of the role schools play in cultivating constructive cross-racial interactions, which may help to assuage extant racial tensions. Specifically, it examines how school leaders and teachers can support the racial climates of their schools by adopting policies and practices that exude a respect for diversity, facilitate constructive cross-race interactions among students, and reflect a commitment to equity.

In this article, the authors argue that the presence, influence, and contributions of faculty of Color can help higher education students achieve intercultural competence. The authors define intercultural competence as "people's ability to communicate and function effectively across varying cultures." The question guiding this article is: In what ways do the contributions of faculty of Color help build students' intercultural competence? Through personal stories and experiences, four African-American faculty members at predominantly White higher education institutions share their beliefs on how their work has helped build and shape students'--all-students'--intercultural competence in what they call "White spaces."

School leadership, next to teacher quality, plays the largest role in improving the educational outcomes of students. As such, federal and state policies have sought to hold principals accountable for the academic success of their students. Given the renewed attention paid to school leaders and overall school improvement with the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), this article examines how district and school capacity to apply for and allocate additional professional development funds provided by ESSA might vary according to school context. We utilize qualitative interview data and the literature pertaining to ESSA to interpret how the new federal education policy might affect the preparation and development of principals and how ESSA might expand the social and economic divide that exists between and within districts. We find that while flexibility and autonomy might be key components of ESSA, under-resourced districts and schools might not experience such flexibility and autonomy due to a lack of resources--both human and fiscal--and a lack of capacity. Thus, we find that vulnerable schools might continue to struggle to improve in the era of ESSA.

As the federal role in education continuously evolves, accountability pressures for performance extend from classrooms to principals' offices. This newer form of accountability is changing the landscape of how school leaders are prepared, and ultimately, how they are evaluated. For some time, the onus of student achievement has been placed on teachers and students. A new era of accountability has ushered in an increased federal role in public education that stretches to the principals' office and even farther into the way in which principals are prepared. To that end, the articles presented in this issue reflected nuances in how state policy adoption responds to federal policies involving principal preparation and principal evaluation. The principal, coming in only second to the teacher, influences student learning (e.g., Anderson & Reynolds, 2015; Leithwood, Day, Sammons, Harris, & Hopkins, 2006; Leithwood & Jantzi, 1999). Moreover, the principal's impact on student learning comes indirectly from establishing a culture in which teaching and learning takes place. Therefore, recent federal education policy debates, specifically Race to the Top (RT3) and Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization, have focused on principal preparation as well as principal evaluation. Articles presented in this issue provide comprehensive research on the current state of policy development in principal preparation and principal evaluation. This special closing article touches upon some of the themes that resonated in this issue such as principal preparation standards, practices, and policy development and repurposing principal evaluation.

Magnet schools were originally created to attract a diverse student population. Using data from the 23 magnet schools in St. Louis, this longitudinal study is twofold: first, to review the performance outcomes of the magnet schools across a 5-year period, between 2005-2006 and 2009-2010, and second, to examine whether the magnet schools are fostering segregation among the city's Black families. The relationship between a school's demographics, its surrounding community, and student outcomes is investigated. Finally, these data are used to question whether student demographics should matter for Black students if appropriate academic outcomes are being met.

The state of North Carolina is one of few states in the South in which two large districts committed to desegregating schools in the early 1970s. However, the state's two largest districts, Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools (CMS) and Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) have experienced ups and downs in their policy commitment to desegregated schools. This article utilizes a cross-case policy analysis to examine levels of segregation in CMS and WCPSS over a 10-year period. In addition, the authors examine school finance data to determine whether district spending and local and federal contributions have an effect on student outcomes in CMS and WCPSS. The authors also compare district outcomes against the backdrop of student assignment policy within each district. Findings indicate that despite spending mechanisms, both districts have become more segregated over time and that the achievement gap has narrowed between the districts' students.

School consolidation in rural districts has been ongoing since the 1800s. Although many district personnel tout economic inefficiency as a reason for consolidation to occur, micropolitics among school board members, parents, and the business community often drive the consolidation process. This article presents a qualitative case study of Webster Parish, which documents the formulation and implementation of school consolidation policy in a rural context. On a macrolevel, I examine the role of micropolitics among district personnel in making the decision to consolidate. I also investigate the role of parish stakeholders--generally the business community and parents--in implementing the plan. On a microlevel, I explore the underlying themes of poverty, race, and educational opportunity as Webster Parish develops and implements a school consolidation plan. I find in the case of Webster Parish that strained community relations and micropolitics among parish stakeholders impeded the progress of providing equal educational opportunity to the parish's students. Given that many cases of micropolitics and education reform focus on urban districts, I find that it is significant to examine the role of micropolitics in educational change (or lack thereof) taking place in segregated, rural districts. (Contains 1 table and 2 footnotes.)

Racially mixed schools are important because they affect the distribution of academic achievement, racial attitudes, subsequent social and economic outcomes of students, and patterns of residential integration. The purpose of this article is to capture and describe the role that adolescent friendships play in the educational and social experiences of students enrolled in racially mixed, or desegregated, schools. Based on qualitative analysis that includes semi-structured, in-depth interviews of female adolescents from middle school to high school, this study provides the practice- and policy-based implications of cross-racial friendships. (Contains 2 tables and 4 notes.)

A qualitative online individual interviewing approach was used to explore the perceptions of 32 African American male junior faculty at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) on how to improve support systems and structures to navigate promotion and tenure. The findings from this study revealed that, beyond the political and financial capital needed to build, support, and maintain institutions of higher education, social (campus) capital is needed to further develop gemeinschaft campus communities and the development of all its members. Hence, an approach more centered on (academic) community building is suggested to better foster the sense of ownership and belonging for African American male junior faculty and other faculty of color. (Contains 1 note.)

School leadership, next to teacher quality, plays the largest role in improving the educational outcomes of students. As such, federal and state policies have sought to hold principals accountable for the academic success of their students. Given the renewed attention paid to school leaders and overall school improvement with the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), this article examines how district and school capacity to apply for and allocate additional professional development funds provided by ESSA might vary according to school context. We utilize qualitative interview data and the literature pertaining to ESSA to interpret how the new federal education policy might affect the preparation and development of principals and how ESSA might expand the social and economic divide that exists between and within districts. We find that while flexibility and autonomy might be key components of ESSA, under-resourced districts and schools might not experience such flexibility and autonomy due to a lack of resources--both human and fiscal--and a lack of capacity. Thus, we find that vulnerable schools might continue to struggle to improve in the era of ESSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing specifically on the education of African American students, the authors attempt to address two salient and central questions concerning policy and reform discussions in education: (1) Does equity and equality mean sameness? and (2) Is student learning synonymous with student achievement? Embedded throughout this discussion are issues of race and socio-economic status; That is, what role may race and socio-economic status play in policies and practices that contribute to the educational experiences and opportunities of African American students? The authors also consider the following recommendations for improving policy and educational reform efforts: (1) recruit and retain talented teachers from various racial and ethnic backgrounds; (2) implement sustained and meaningful professional development programs that address policy, reform, and equity; (3) make systemic changes in addition to increasing funding; and (4) develop stronger teacher education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]