Browsing by Author "Komisarow, Sarah"

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Open Access
$100 Million Dollars Later: Are School Resource Officers Making North Carolina Schools Safer?
(2023-04-20) LeFebvre, Joanna
Since 2016, North Carolina has spent over $100 million on School Resource Officer (SRO) salaries and training. Research consistently finds SROs have little to no effect on school safety and can contribute to over-disciplining students. A difference-in-differences study on the effect of a 170% increase in SRO funding for North Carolina elementary and middle schools in 2018 suggests SROs have no effect on criminal acts or short-term suspensions but may increase the number of school-related arrests. Estimates suggest SROs caused an increase of about 0.035 arrests (p<0.1) per 1,000 elementary and middle school students. This translates to an additional 35 school-related arrests resulting from SRO presence. Arrests of students with disabilities increased by 0.243 (p<0.1) per 1,000 students, arrests of male students increased by 0.058 (p<0.1) per 1,000 students, and arrests of economically disadvantaged students increased by 0.068 (p<0.1) per 1,000 students. Findings for these subgroups align with previous research suggesting these students are particularly vulnerable to excessive disciplining. Lawmakers should consider these results when deciding the best ways to increase student safety and well-being in elementary and middle schools. Additionally, the state should require school districts to collect SRO data at the school level to evaluate the effects of SROs across time and decide if this investment of taxpayer dollars produces the desired results.
Open Access
Challenges Around Improving Learning Outcomes through Mother Tongue Language of Instruction Policy in Anglophone Sub-Saharan Africa
(2018-04-20) Maniates, Sarah
How should the Education Division of the Bureau for Africa Office of Sustainability (AFR/SD/ED) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) adapt its approach to supporting mother tongue language of instruction policy to improve learning outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa? The academic literature on language use in education argues that students both learn content and acquire literacy more effectively, especially in early grades, in their mother tongue. In spite of the evidence supporting mother tongue use, many sub-Saharan African countries still use European languages in their education systems. AFR/SD/ED has been supporting many of USAID’s sub-Saharan African partner countries in passing and implementing mother tongue language of instruction policies in their primary education systems. However, both USAID and its partner countries have faced a variety of challenges in passing and implementing these policies, including political opposition and lack of teacher preparedness. AFR/SD/ED is interested in adapting its approach to supporting mother tongue use to overcome these challenges and help its partner countries improve learning outcomes.
Open Access
Employer Perspectives on Former Offenders: An Analysis of How a Criminal Record Impacts the Hiring Decisions of Durham-Based Employers
(2018-04-20) Khatami, Sara
How does a criminal record affect the hiring decisions of Durham-based employers? What, if any, services or incentives might increase the likelihood of these employers hiring former offenders? Roughly 700 individuals return to Durham each year after serving time in state prison. These individuals face a variety of indirect consequences known as collateral consequences. Often more severe and long-lasting than imprisonment or fines, collateral consequences include the denial of parental rights, civil rights, and public benefits. These collateral consequences also render justice-involved individuals ineligible or unfit for various types of employment. Re-entry into the labor market remains one of the most challenging situations ex-offenders face. At the same time, a sizeable body of research consistently demonstrates that employment is correlated with a successful reentry to society. In determining potential ways to improve this population’s employment prospects, an important first step is to understand the barriers that limit their opportunities.
Open Access
Improving Birth Outcomes in North Carolina
(2021-04-16) Fischer, Arianna
Birth outcomes for children are the foundational building block for life after birth. Adverse birth outcomes influence a child’s development immediately after birth, and their health outcomes throughout their lives. Health and educational outcomes are closely linked, as health problems affect a child’s ability to attend school and their ability to learn. Adverse birth outcomes are oftentimes preventable. Yet, preterm births and low birthweight are extremely common in North Carolina. These factors are two of the leading causes of infant mortality in the United States, and in North Carolina there is a large racial disparity in the rate of infant deaths between Black and White babies. This study aimed to address the racial disparity in infant mortality in North Carolina to promote a more equitable place for birth outcomes for all mothers and improve outcomes for children born into the state. The policy questions that drove this study include: What has been done among education stakeholders in North Carolina to reduce the racial disparity in infant mortality? How can education stakeholders in North Carolina work towards reducing the racial disparity in infant mortality across the state? Addressing these policy questions first involved a thorough program search and stakeholder analysis among education-oriented entities in North Carolina to understand their efforts around decreasing the gap in birth outcomes by race. A case study analysis was then conducted to learn from states that have better birth outcomes than North Carolina. California and Massachusetts were selected for the case study analysis based on preterm birth data and the preterm birth disparity ratio in each state. The final stage of the research process included a program search and stakeholder analysis among public health stakeholders in North Carolina working on this issue. The purpose of this process was to gain insight into broader work on improving birth outcomes in the state and provide education stakeholders with an overview of this work moving forward. The education stakeholders in North Carolina that are working to address racial disparities in infant mortality are focused on advancing access to prenatal care by closing the health insurance gap. While access to prenatal care is important, much more is needed to meaningfully combat this disparity. Prenatal care alone does not address the root cause of the racial disparities in birth outcomes in this country. Various studies have shown that even after accounting for external factors such as poverty status, neighborhood, and educational attainment, Black women and their babies still have worse outcomes. Without addressing the connection between racism and adverse birth outcomes, racial birth disparities will continue to exist. In California and Massachusetts, the efforts to decrease racial disparities in infant mortality revolve around tackling the root causes of racial birth disparities. Both states highlight the importance of cultural sensitivity in prenatal care, providing continuous support for mothers during the prenatal period and after giving birth, and the importance of addressing the social determinants of health to improve birth outcomes. Public health organizations and advocacy groups have primarily led this work in both states. This report includes a deep dive into two organizations in California and two organizations in Massachusetts that informed the recommendations included in this report. In order to meaningfully improve birth outcomes for children in the state, particularly for Black babies, recommendations for my client, the North Carolina Public Education Task Force (NCPETF), to take include: 1. Establishing a partnership with the North Carolina Early Childhood Action Council (NC ECAC) to discuss the insights included in this report and coordinating ongoing efforts to decrease racial birth disparities. 2. Forming a multi-sector partnership between education and public health stakeholders and advocacy groups in the state to address adverse birth outcomes. 3. Extending goals for reducing the racial disparity in birth outcomes beyond prenatal care. Recommendations that require legislative change in North Carolina to improve birth outcomes in the state include: 1. Providing doula support to Medicaid beneficiaries. 2. Addressing systemic racism in healthcare. Across all recommendations, improvements need to be targeted at the county or local level in order to address the communities with the largest racial birth disparities. In order to combat adverse birth outcomes, public health and education stakeholders invested in improving childhood outcomes need to work together.
Open Access
Increasing Access to Rigorous Coursework: North Carolina Policy Impacts on Diversity in Advanced Math Courses
(2020-04-22)
The North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) enacted Session Law 2019-120 (SL 120) in August 2019 to be implemented by districts by December 2021. The law determines student eligibility for advanced courses based on End-of-Grade (EOG) test scores. This report measures the potential impacts of SL 120 on under-identified student groups placed into 8th-grade Algebra 1. Legislation like SL 120 that use test scores as the determinant for advanced course placement typically privilege already well-represented students since those groups tend to score higher on standardized tests. Therefore, this report suggests that legislation SL 120 may expand access to advanced courses mainly for already well-represented student groups.
Open Access
R.E.A.C.H. All Our Students: Considerations for Ethnic Studies Advocacy
(2023-04-27) Lindsey, Timothy
Open Access
Variation and Disparities in Exclusionary Discipline Rates in North Carolina Elementary Schools
(2021-05-03) Huibregtse, Madelyne
This project reinforces prior research demonstrating inequitable suspension rates in North Carolina public elementary schools. Using school-level data from publicly available sources, I found most elementary schools use suspensions as a mechanism to discipline inappropriate student behavior, but there is considerable variation in rates at the school and county level. I also found that Black students had higher rates of both in-school and out-of-school suspension rates compared to white students and rates for all students. However, some schools across the state prove that there are potential policies and procedures that schools can use to reduce their suspension rates and subsequently improve student outcomes. This project compared actual suspension rates to predicted rates based on school-level observable characteristics, and found that a majority of schools with both lower than expected in-school and out-of-school suspension rates are located in 3 counites: Guilford, Cumberland, and Mecklenburg. This group of schools had considerably lower average rates for all students and for Black students, though the gap between white and Black student rates persisted.