Improving Environments for Children with Asthma

Reviews the environmental triggers of asthma and disparities in the incidence of the disease. Looks at the advocacy work of local coalitions of the Community Action to Fight Asthma initiative and policy outcomes of their efforts

An Underpinning of School Inequities: Asthma Absences and Lost Revenue in California Schools.

BACKGROUND:Asthma is epidemic in many locations in the United States. Asthma exacerbations pose serious health and education risks for students through school absences, school dropout, and introduction to the juvenile justice system. Accurate school district-level asthma data, currently in short supply, would enable early interventions that focus on specific geographic areas and racial and ethnic subgroups that have higher asthma prevalence. METHODS:To support the development of better local level data systems, we used two California student databases, as well as state education and financial databases, to develop two models to estimate school absences and to extrapolate their economic impact in lost school revenue. RESULTS:Analysis demonstrated subpopulations that are appropriate for early intervention: African American elementary school boys have 9.4 average absences per year, higher than other primary racial and ethnic groups. Students who miss ≥3 school days due to asthma account for $26 million of lost revenue. CONCLUSIONS:Accurate local level asthma data can identify subpopulations of students for whom environmental and treatment programs can be employed to reduce asthma absences and other related outcomes, and to reduce currently lost school revenues. Such programs also may diminish other asthma-related school inequities

Establishing Equity in Implementation of Restorative Justice in Schools: California Stakeholders’ Perspectives

Restorative Justice in Schools (RJS) is an important concept in California to reduce school suspensions and expulsions and thereby reduce educational inequities. RJS is designed to bring people together to prevent and reduce conflict, while forging pathways toward inclusion and academic achievement. While some outcomes are promising, RJS lacks the underpinnings of a developed methodology and has not been rigorously evaluated with comparison groups. As a step toward encouraging discussion among stakeholders, this article reviews 174 California RJS practitioner and stakeholder perspectives on successful implementation practices, facilitating factors, and barriers to implementation. Specific areas of focus include RJS training; data and evaluation; sustainability; and facilitating factors and barriers to implementation. As a positive alternative to zero-tolerance disciplinary policies, RJS must be skillfully implemented and carefully evaluated to document its potential to reduce school suspensions and dropouts, while reducing revenue losses and improving the lives of youth and communities

California Restorative Justice in Education: Stakeholders Finding Common Ground in Concepts and Practices

Restorative Justice in Education (RJE) is a positive alternative to zero tolerance disciplinary policies that can help reduce school suspensions and dropouts, reduce revenue losses, and improve the lives of youth and communities. This article describes work to define core practices in Restorative Justice in Education (RJE) efforts in California to enable practitioners to employ standardized concepts and develop programs whose outcomes can be evaluated. One hundred and seventy-four practitioners and stakeholders attended regional meetings to discuss and prioritize promising practices. These discussions were then analyzed, and the concepts were categorized into core and supportive practices in order to develop agreed-upon working definitions. Codification of concepts enables RJE practitioners and stakeholders to develop standardized practices and further RJE’s role in advancing equity in schools

GED8115-01.Director of Special Education.Sp17.Kreger,Mary

This course provides an overview of the role of the director of special education. Leadership and management knowledge, skills, and applied strategies are addressed. Theory and practice are connected for use in the daily work of this position. Scenarios and case studies, readings of books and articles, and class interaction are used to increase learning and the application to real-life situations

GED8115-01.Director of Special Education.Sp16.Kreger,Mary

This course provides an overview of the role of the director of special education. Leadership and management knowledge, skills, and applied strategies are addressed. Theory and practice are connected for use in the daily work of this position. Scenarios and case studies, readings of books and articles, and class interaction are used to increase learning and the application to real-life situations

GED8115-ADM.Director of Special Education.Sp15.Kreger,Mary

This course provides an overview of the role of the director of special education. Leadership and management knowledge, skills, and applied strategies are addressed. Theory and practice are connected for use in the daily work of this position. Scenarios and case studies, readings of books and articles, and class interaction are used to increase learning and the application to real-life situations

GED8115-01.Director of Special Education.Sp14.Kreger,Mary

This course provides an overview of the role of the director of special education. Leadership and management knowledge, skills, and applied strategies are addressed. Theory and practice are connected for use in the daily work of this position. Scenarios and case studies, readings of books and articles, and class interaction are used to increase learning and the application to real-life situations

Turning the Ship: Moving From Clinical Treatment to Environmental Prevention: A Health Disparities Policy Advocacy Initiative

· This article examines success factors for a statewide initiative to reduce health disparities by establishing environmental policies to reduce asthma risk factors for school-aged children. · Twelve local coalitions and a statewide network focused on schools, housing, and outdoor air policies. · Multiple types and levels of policy advocacy were encouraged by the Initiative so that issues at the local level linked to larger issues across the state, and conversely state-level policies supported local endeavors. · Factors that contributed to the success of the initiative included: structuring the initiative on a systems change model; employing multiple technical assistance providers to assure fidelity to the model, building capacity, facilitating strategic partnerships, and facilitating mid-course adjustments; communicating “intentional” policy outcomes from the foundation; and structuring an evaluation team to analyze multi-level data and provide feedback at all levels. · Local coalitions that developed meaningful community engagement and used data to educate policy makers were the most successful