School District Equity Initiatives That Impact Access to Accelerated and Advanced Learning

• In Event: Equity in Gifted and Talented Education

Abstract

Researchers explored how administrators addressed educational equity in their districts where state laws prioritized identifying and serving students from low-income homes and doubled funding for gifted education. This study contributes to the AREA 2022 annual meeting theme: Cultivating equitable education systems for the 21st Century. Researchers conducted hour-long semi-structured interviews with superintendents or their designees about district initiatives designed and implemented to improve equity and access to advanced and accelerated learning opportunities. Although there was agreement and cohesion among participants about their definition of equity which they characterized as being achievement by all, regardless of students’ race, income-level, or primary language, each district faced unique challenges, and implemented strategies that impacted curriculum, the teacher workforce, and students’ well-being.

Authors

• Nancy B. Hertzog, University of Washington

• Kristen N. Lamb, University of Alabama