Non-negotiable: A Case Study of Implementing Antiracist Education in Two Milwaukee Suburban K-12 School Districts

ABSTRACT NON-NEGOTIABLE: A CASE STUDY OF IMPLEMENTING ANTIRACIST EDUCATION IN TWO MILWAUKEE SUBURBAN K-12 SCHOOL DISTRICTSby Jennifer Luken The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2021 Under the Supervision of Professor Marie Sandy, PhD As a racial reckoning and civil unrest permeated 2020 and 2021, many were left asking: How did we get here? By and large, the American public seemed underprepared to understand the context under which these events unfolded. The ability to engage in a critical analysis of race and society oftentimes requires post-secondary education – or the experience of it first-hand – and is mostly lacking in K-12 schools. There have been attempts to remedy this in recent years, including an equity-based model rooted in culturally responsive practices (WDPI, 2020). Little is known regarding the perception of school leaders on these initiatives and how they are implemented. Using general qualitative research methodology, this study explores perceptions from two district and two school-based personnel, along with an in-depth document analysis of two suburban districts in metropolitan Milwaukee, Wisconsin – one racially diverse and the other more racially homogenous. This study asks: How do school and district personnel perceive their role in practicing antiracism? Also, what do K-12 leaders perceive to be barriers/motivations for implementation? And lastly, what ways do these school communities share in common, as two “exogenous” districts of an urban metropolitan area, and how do they differ? This study found that terms such as equity, equity non-negotiables, diversity, inclusion and culturally relevant were used to describe their practices. Antiracism, although being practiced in various forms, is not explicitly identified as a policy. The “charged,” political undertones of antiracism, along with other community barriers, has placed certain limits on each of the districts. Keywords: antiracist education, social justice, white privilege, white supremacy, multicultural education, culturally relevant pedagogy, Equity non-negotiable

What About the ‘R’ in RIOT? : A Comprehensive Examination of School Psychologists’ Record Review Processes

This poster aimed to describe part of a doctoral dissertation research study that comprehensively investigated school psychologists’ record review practices. Record reviews are a crucial part of the psychoeducational evaluation process (i.e., RIOT method), and there is relatively little previous research literature on this topic. This poster describes the following results: when record reviews are conducted, the amount of time is spent on each part of the RIOT method for initial and reevaluations, and record review approaches. The survey was distributed to school psychologists across the United States via school psychology state associations and Facebook. Results were analyzed via measures of central tendency and dispersion, and revealed new insight into current record review processes of school psychologists in the United States. Specifically, results revealed testing is the most time-consuming piece of psychoeducational evaluations, followed by record reviews. Additionally, school psychologists in this sample reported that the record review is an ongoing process that involves sifting through records rather than utilizing a systematic tool. These results have implications for future research on record reviews, trainers of school psychologists, and practicing school psychologists

The “Evil Eye” and Other Prescriptive Classroom Management Practices

Teachers often struggle with classroom discipline and management, and school psychologists are well positioned to offer guidance to them. To fulfill this consultative role, school psychologists must know the classroom management strategies taught in teacher training, and later implemented in the classroom. Current classroom discipline and management textbooks provide insight into current classroom management practices taught to teachers. Traditional classroom management practices involve consequences to reduce interfering behaviors based on the form of the student’s behavior. For example, if a student is talking to a peer without permission, a common strategy is to send a nonverbal signal like the “evil eye” to stop the behavior. This strategy may inadvertently increase “talking without permission” if the behavior is maintained by teacher attention. Such an unintentional mistake can be avoided through a functionbased approach. In this study, 50 textbooks intended for teachers were evaluated in terms of popularity, and whether the classroom discipline approaches recommended were function-based or topographical. A majority of the textbooks recommended strategies based on the form rather than the function of interfering behaviors. In addition, results indicated that function-based books are not as widely used. According to these results, it is clear teachers are under prepared to effectively manage problem behavior, due to their training on addressing the form, rather than the function, of the behavior

Adjustments by a Central South Dakota Farmer to Weather and Price: 1928-1951

This is a case study of a single farm in the transition area of central South Dakota. The information available on cost-price relationships and influence of weather am organization of a farm is for groups of farms as recorded in the census data and South Dakota Crop and Livestock Reporting Service Reports. All this information indicates average results and averages while useful conceal as much as they revea

Performance of Dionaea muscipula as influenced by developing vegetation

Demography, growth, and flowering of Dionaea muscipula (Venus\u27 fly trap) were studied during three years (2003–2005) following prescribed fire. Data were collected in permanent quadrats where the developing vegetation was either repeatedly clipped or allowed to grow. Clipping increased light availability at the soil surface. Over the study period, seedling establishment and flowering declined with increasing time since the last prescribed burn. Seedling densities did not differ between clipped and control quadrats, although greater numbers of seedlings grew to adult size in control quadrats and this significantly influenced population size-class structure. Clipping had no effect on leaf number or senescence, but plants in control plots were larger and had marginally longer petioles. The plant populations initially mapped in 2003 showed a continuous decline throughout the study and this decline was punctuated by temporary senescence linked to drought conditions. Drought-induced senescence had a persistent influence on plant size. Relatively higher seedling recruitment to the adult population in control quadrats produced an overall population increase of 18% as compared to a 17% decline in the population from clipped quadrats. Dionaea muscipula may have limited ability to respond to increased light availability due to leaf development constraints and repeated drought-induced senescence. Fire-dependence may best be defined in terms of seedling establishment and stimulation of flowering. Consistent soil moisture is critical to Dionaea muscipula but the species has characteristics that allow persistence across a wide range of vegetation trajectories

On the breakage of rock drill steel

Prior to 1920 there was little attention paid to the general problem of breakage of rock drill steel. Each locality had its problem and the matter was treated as a purely local one, independent upon conditions in that particular section. But in the above-mentioned year, there arose an interest of wider scope, from what causes it is impossible to determine accurately, and the matter is now the subject of a broad investigation in which the users of rock drill steel, the United States Bureau of Mines, and the United States Bureau of Standards are cooperating...There is, to date, no satisfactory method for tabulating results from drill steel and computing the amount of breakage therefrom. Consequently, available records are, probably, in error, and the conclusions drawn therefrom are not to be relied upon too much. The fact that the above-mentioned investigation is calling forth an hitherto undisplayed interest, made it seem advisable to investigate one case of rock drill steel breakage more fully than had been done before --Introduction, page 1