The research literature on the principal shortage is inconsistent regarding the actual scope of the shortage and a clear articulation of factors contributing to the successful recruitment and retention of today’s school leaders. Often, critical data related to the principal shortage are ignored, including the number of younger principals overlooked in a candidate job search or the number of credentialed principal candidates who ultimately withdraw from a search. This study is based on a survey of 197 superintendents concerning their views on the principal shortage and factors associated with influencing the recruitment and retention of school leaders. Some major findings are that superintendents often underestimate the principal candidate applicant pool in their own districts, compensation continues to be the primary method of attracting qualified principal applicants, and rural schools are at a distinct disadvantage compared with urban and suburban schools in their search for new school principals.

T his year marks the 40th anniversary of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. Enacted to offer equitable educational opportunities to the nation's disadvantaged, this legislation provides financial resources to schools to enhance the learning experiences of underprivileged children. Since its inception, ESEA has consistently remained the single largest fiscal source of federal support for educationally vulnerable schoolchildren. Although the mission of this legislation has remained the same, it has evolved over time to include the needs of more specialized at-risk groups, including English-language learners ((Lagemann, 2005). Provisions have also been added to ensure not only that schools receiving ESEA funds provide supplemental services but that children show improvement and are able to reach appropriate grade-level proficiencies.In this chapter, we trace the legal, legislative, and political history of the ESEA. Focusing attention on the various related educational reform movements, we discuss the federal role in education policy in the context of its influence on ESEA and the legislation's related amendments. Also, we examine the complex issues involved in responding to the changing and more complex needs of underserved schoolchildren through federal policies and accountability provisions.We make the case that the increased federal role in public education has pointed to serious limitations in our understanding of how to best address the educational challenges faced by traditionally disadvantaged schoolchildren. We argue that the current accountability requirements under ESEA and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), although a step in the right direction, were developed from a theoretical perspective and lacked an understanding of the complex issues involved in serving disadvantaged schoolchildren. In addition, we contend that a thorough understanding at NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIV on June 17, 2015 http://rre.aera.net Downloaded from 52 Review of Research in Education, 29of the role of state and local educational contexts in serving disadvantaged schoolchildren is needed to guide policymakers, and we encourage educational researchers to develop more effective policy interventions.

Despite nationwide decreases in school crime and violence, a relatively high and increasing number of students report feeling unsafe at school. In response, some school officials are implementing school—police partnerships, especially in urban areas, as an effort to deter criminal activity and violence in schools. This article examines the initial effect of New York City's Impact Schools Initiative, a punitive-based school—police partnership developed in January 2004 that increases police presence at some of the city's most dangerous public schools. An initial examination of school-level demographic and environmental variables reveals that, despite increased police presence, students enrolled at New York City's impact schools continue to experience higher than average problems linked directly to future criminality, including more student suspensions and lower attendance rates than other New York City Schools. The data also reveal that relative to other New York City public schools, impact schools are more crowded and receive less funding.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate mentorship practices during the COVID-19 pandemic and to consider how mentorship could be improved to support students of educational leadership (EDLE) during crises.Design/methodology/approachParticipants in this collective self-study were four faculty members (i.e. the authors) within an EDLE program in one public, research-intensive university in the southern USA. Data sources were memos, email correspondence, reflective dialogue, course evaluations and meeting notes. Analysis involved dialogic engagement among the research team to identify emergent themes.FindingsAnalysis revealed five themes that reflect our collective experiences as mentors during the pandemic. These themes were challenges created by dismantled systems; meeting students' needs for understanding, flexibility and meaningful learning experiences; evolving personal–professional boundaries; grappling with our own sense-making and well-beingness; and clarifying values and priorities.Practical implicationsThe pandemic exemplifies the need for a deeper conceptualization of mentorship that stimulates more intimate, compassionate relationships between mentors and mentees. When mentorship is grounded in compassion, intimacy and mutual vulnerability, it demonstrates a genuine ethic of care and concern for others that is supportive of well-being and serves as a model for mentees entering the profession.Originality/valueThis paper extends disciplinary knowledge by focusing on the mentorship of EDLE students during crises and provides insights on how mentorship could be enacted to mutually support mentor–mentee well-being.

A recent evaluation of the new North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) in the USA revealed numerous expectations for virtual school teachers from secondary students. Specifically, students expected their teachers to actually teach rather than moderate a course shell, supplement course shells with content and projects that illustrate relevance, provide for both content and peer interaction, and respond to questions and provide feedback quickly. The data suggest a possible content-related interaction where a limited course shell can be bolstered by a proactive teacher, but potentially flounder among teachers who do not expect or know how to supplement an online course. Data further suggest a potential communication-related interaction where increased opportunities for studentstudent and student-teacher interaction could potentially decrease the actual or perceived need for individualized attention that is particularly challenging for virtual teachers to provide. These results can be used to establish teacher expectations and design professional development experiences that prepare teachers to undertake divergent roles unique to online instruction.