To assess the effectiveness of the Florida Education Governance Reorganization Act of 2000, I ana... more To assess the effectiveness of the Florida Education Governance Reorganization Act of 2000, I analyze the achievement gaps across different levels of the education pipeline: elementary, secondary, and postsecondary. This paper evaluates three objectives of Florida's new system: strengthening of foundation skills, improvement of college and career readiness, and the expansion of opportunities for postsecondary degrees, by asking: Has the introduction of a PreK-20 seamless system in Florida reduced the educational achievement gaps between students, compared to Texas, which has not instituted a seamless system? At the elementary level, the analysis looks at 4 th and 8 th grade National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) average scale scores, from 1998 to 2007, of White, African-American, and Hispanic students and those students eligible and ineligible for the National School Lunch Program. At the secondary level, a comparison is made between the Advanced Placement passing rates of White, African-American, and Hispanic students from 1997 to 2008. At the postsecondary level, this paper examines the proportion of professional, master, and doctoral degrees awarded to White, African-American, and Hispanic students from 1995 to 2007. Results show that although Florida has raised the level of achievement for White, African-American, and Hispanic students in the past ten years, disparities between these groups still exist in NAEP scores, AP passing rates, and the proportion of graduate degrees conferred. Therefore, while the state has made progress towards its three goals, achievement gaps still remain in several levels of Florida's PreK-20 education system.
Introduction In 1987, the Bruntland Commission published its report, Our Common Future, in an eff... more Introduction In 1987, the Bruntland Commission published its report, Our Common Future, in an effort to link the issues of economic development and environmental stability. In doing so, this report provided the oft-cited definition of sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations General Assembly, 1987, p. 43). Albeit somewhat vague, this concept of sustainable development aims to maintain economic advancement and progress while protecting the long-term value of the environment; it “provides a framework for the integration of environment policies and development strategies” (United Nations General Assembly, 1987). However, long before the late 20 century, scholars argued that there need not be a trade-off between environmental sustainability and economic development.
In communities across the U.S., there is growing awareness of food system issues which exerts gre... more In communities across the U.S., there is growing awareness of food system issues which exerts greater pressure on public servants to help build a better food system for their community. Drawing from interviews with local and state-level public administrators and elected officials in two metropolitan regions in Ohio and New Jersey, and supporting interviews from food producers and nonprofit leaders in those areas, this paper examines what roles public administrators believe they could and should take regarding food system development in their community. From this qualitative data analysis, the research identified commonalities in administrators' positive and negative perceptions of the potential for development of their community's local food system (LFS) despite their lack of background knowledge regarding these systems. Given food systems' interdisciplinarity and complexity, LFS development likely requires multi-sectoral alliances via partnership governance. The alliance itself and each of its components is simultaneously a complete entity and a part of a larger, more complex entity; such entities are called holons. These alliances have greater capacity to manage more complicated problems than can be addressed by subordinate holons. In examining the potential role of local public administrators in LFS development, this paper constructs the concept of the policy intrapreneur to clarify our understanding and discussions of how public administrators, decision-makers, and other stakeholders view their roles and responsibilities in the creation and governance of local food systems.
To assess the effectiveness of the Florida Education Governance Reorganization Act of 2000, I ana... more To assess the effectiveness of the Florida Education Governance Reorganization Act of 2000, I analyze the achievement gaps across different levels of the education pipeline: elementary, secondary, and postsecondary. This paper evaluates three objectives of Florida's new system: strengthening of foundation skills, improvement of college and career readiness, and the expansion of opportunities for postsecondary degrees, by asking: Has the introduction of a PreK-20 seamless system in Florida reduced the educational achievement gaps between students, compared to Texas, which has not instituted a seamless system? At the elementary level, the analysis looks at 4 th and 8 th grade National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) average scale scores, from 1998 to 2007, of White, African-American, and Hispanic students and those students eligible and ineligible for the National School Lunch Program. At the secondary level, a comparison is made between the Advanced Placement passing rates of White, African-American, and Hispanic students from 1997 to 2008. At the postsecondary level, this paper examines the proportion of professional, master, and doctoral degrees awarded to White, African-American, and Hispanic students from 1995 to 2007. Results show that although Florida has raised the level of achievement for White, African-American, and Hispanic students in the past ten years, disparities between these groups still exist in NAEP scores, AP passing rates, and the proportion of graduate degrees conferred. Therefore, while the state has made progress towards its three goals, achievement gaps still remain in several levels of Florida's PreK-20 education system.
Introduction In 1987, the Bruntland Commission published its report, Our Common Future, in an eff... more Introduction In 1987, the Bruntland Commission published its report, Our Common Future, in an effort to link the issues of economic development and environmental stability. In doing so, this report provided the oft-cited definition of sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations General Assembly, 1987, p. 43). Albeit somewhat vague, this concept of sustainable development aims to maintain economic advancement and progress while protecting the long-term value of the environment; it “provides a framework for the integration of environment policies and development strategies” (United Nations General Assembly, 1987). However, long before the late 20 century, scholars argued that there need not be a trade-off between environmental sustainability and economic development.
In communities across the U.S., there is growing awareness of food system issues which exerts gre... more In communities across the U.S., there is growing awareness of food system issues which exerts greater pressure on public servants to help build a better food system for their community. Drawing from interviews with local and state-level public administrators and elected officials in two metropolitan regions in Ohio and New Jersey, and supporting interviews from food producers and nonprofit leaders in those areas, this paper examines what roles public administrators believe they could and should take regarding food system development in their community. From this qualitative data analysis, the research identified commonalities in administrators' positive and negative perceptions of the potential for development of their community's local food system (LFS) despite their lack of background knowledge regarding these systems. Given food systems' interdisciplinarity and complexity, LFS development likely requires multi-sectoral alliances via partnership governance. The alliance itself and each of its components is simultaneously a complete entity and a part of a larger, more complex entity; such entities are called holons. These alliances have greater capacity to manage more complicated problems than can be addressed by subordinate holons. In examining the potential role of local public administrators in LFS development, this paper constructs the concept of the policy intrapreneur to clarify our understanding and discussions of how public administrators, decision-makers, and other stakeholders view their roles and responsibilities in the creation and governance of local food systems.
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Papers by Rachel Emas