S2/E18: The Impact of Principals on EL Programs With Professors Madeline Mavrogordato and Rachel White

How do school principals impact EL reclassification rates? Why is it important to consider the underlying spirit of policies that are passed down from above rather than simply looking at compliance? How might leaders create opportunities for school staff to engage in meaningful conversations about EL student success? We discuss these questions and much more in our conversation with professors Madeline Mavrogordato and Rachel S. White.  Madeline Mavrogordato is an associate professor of K-12 educational administration in the Department of Educational Administration at Michigan State University . She utilizes quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate how education policies shape outcomes for underserved student populations, particularly immigrants and English learners. In addition, she studies how to develop and support effective school leaders who are prepared to serve students from diverse backgrounds in today’s climate of high stakes accountability and evaluation. Her work is informed by her experience serving as a bilingual teacher in Texas and California. Mavrogordato’s work has appeared in a range of publications including Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Educational Administration Quarterly, and Educational Policy. She currently serves as an associate editor for the American Educational Research Journal.  Dr. Rachel S. White is an Assistant Professor in the Educational Foundations and Leadership Department of Old Dominion University’s Darden College of Education and Professional Studies. Rachel teaches graduate courses in education policy & politics, as well as advanced research design and analysis. Rachel’s research agenda is framed by three areas of interest: 1) issues of power and democratic accountability in local and state education policymaking processes, 2) relationships between institutional structures and education policymaking and implementation, and 3) how school and district leaders come to understand and implement policy in ways that lead to the enactment of social justice for historically marginalized students. As such, Rachel examines the politics of education policy making and implementation, with a focus on the ways in which decisions made by political and educational leaders at the school, district and state level impact K-12 educational experiences of marginalized students.