Department of Justice Partnership Creates the Young Adult Diversion Framework

In 2017, the Department, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice, funded a three-year technical assistance initiative to help 14 state and local partnerships provide their justice-involved young adult population with alternatives to prosecution and/or incarceration, including special education, career and technical education, and other workforce development opportunities. The initiative developed a research briefthat summarizes the evidence for how diversion initiatives can provide alternatives to formal justice involvement and explains the need for such initiatives to incorporate education and training. Grounded in this research, the Young Adult Diversion Framework was developed to guide the partnerships’ efforts, which are summarized in a policy brief.

Equity by Design: Facilitating Equitable School Reentry for Students Involved in the Juvenile System 

This Equity by Design brief by the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center (EAC Region III) defines societal and academic barriers to school reentry, discusses considerations, and provides practical recommendations for equitable reentry into the school community.

Equity Dispatch: Who's Not Coming Back to School? The Pushout

This edition of the Equity Dispatch by the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center (EAC Region III) states students often fail to realize the systemic nature of school problems and internalize the belief that they are to blame for school failures. Without the guidance and support of advocates to transform the system, these students may engage in self-defeating resistance—the behaviors typically seen before they are labeled as dropouts—including defiance, failure to complete assignments, and truancy. This systemic problem can be addressed by inviting young adults to chart a course for their high school experience and determine the symbolic value of their high school diploma.

Webinar on Race and the Justice System: The Traumatization of Incarceration

This webinar by the Western Educational Equity Assistance Center (EAC Region IV) provides information about the impact incarceration has on an individual’s brain function. In this presentation, trauma specialist Da’Mond T. Holt examines what time in prison can do to the human brain, looks at the racial disparities in the prison system, and explores how the high number of people of color incarcerated creates trauma in their communities. 

Culturally Responsive Practice as a Strategy for Diversifying the Educator Workforce

This video by the National Comprehensive Center, for state and local education leaders, features a conversation with renowned researcher and educator Gloria Ladson-Billings. Ladson-Billings was joined by a panel of youth of color, who shared their experiences and insights on the importance of having racially diverse educators. The conversation highlights the importance of culturally responsive pedagogy and practices in recruiting, preparing, retaining, and supporting a racially diverse educator workforce.

Talent Management Alignment from the Region 14 Comprehensive Center

These online modules from the Region 14 Comprehensive Center provide a brief introduction to the Talent Management Alignment Workbook, which outlines eight steps to assess the strength of alignment among talent management policies and practices across multiple state-level programs and/or initiatives. The workbook can be used to guide leaders of SEAs through the process of assessing the alignment of talent management practices and developing recommendations to move toward a more coherent system.

Region 5 Comprehensive Center Featured on Education Talk Radio

The Region 5 Comprehensive Center was recently featured on two “Education Talk Radio” podcasts to discuss how the Department and its Comprehensive Centers Program support state and local education agencies nationally and in Region 5 (KY, TN, VA, and WV). This episode describes Region 5’s support for Networked Improvement Community (NIC), a strategy to solve complex educational challenges in the region. NIC emerged from states in Region 5 seeking to overcome obstacles to remote learning. Both interviews can be found on most podcast platforms and on the American Consortium for Equity in Education’s website.

Managing Teacher Leadership

This resource by the Region 5 Comprehensive Center will increase awareness and understanding of how to design, implement, and evaluate a formal teacher leadership program in a school or district. After introducing the concept of teacher leadership and its benefits, the course presents nine sequenced modules that describe components critically important to managing a teacher leadership program.