I Hope I Don\u27t See You Tomorrow: A Phenomenological Ethnography Of The Passages Academy School Program

This study examines Passages Academy, a school program that offers educational services for court-involved youth in New York City. Looking specifically at the Department of Education teachers who work in facilities run by the Department of Juvenile Justice, this research focuses on the beliefs and behaviors that inform the teaching experience within these facilities. The critical question of how these educators negotiate the learning spaces within this school community is also examined. The question that informs much of this study is: how are the philosophies of the various stake-holding agencies enacted daily in real classroom settings? This leads to a discussion concerning the specific agenda of each agency and a focus on how the competing philosophies are realized within such a small and limited physical space. In addition, this study considers the ways in which classroom protocols and teachers\u27 pedagogies--including curriculum, instruction, classroom management and assessment--are shaped by their students\u27 status as incarcerated youth. Such are the social, political and pedagogical forces that determine how court-involved youths are educated

Drosophila Pico and Its Mammalian Ortholog Lamellipodin Activate Serum Response Factor and Promote Cell Proliferation

MIG-10/RIAM/lamellipodin (MRL) proteins link activated Ras-GTPases with actin regulatory Ena/VASP proteins to induce local changes in cytoskeletal dynamics and cell motility. MRL proteins alter monomeric (G):filamentous (F) actin ratios, but the impact of these changes had not been fully appreciated. We report here that the Drosophila MRL ortholog, pico, is required for tissue and organismal growth. Reduction in pico levels resulted in reduced cell division rates, growth retardation, increased G:F actin ratios and lethality. Conversely, pico overexpression reduced G:F actin ratios and promoted tissue overgrowth in an epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR)-dependent manner. Consistently, in HeLa cells, lamellipodin was required for EGF-induced proliferation. We show that pico and lamellipodin share the ability to activate serum response factor (SRF), a transcription factor that responds to reduced G:F-actin ratios via its co-factor Mal. Genetics data indicate that mal/SRF levels are important for pico-mediated tissue growth. We propose that MRL proteins link EGFR activation to mitogenic SRF signaling via changes in actin dynamics