Nurturing, responsive relationships between teachers and young children and between children and their peers are critically important predictors of lifelong positive outcomes (Jones et al., 2015; DeLay et al., 2016; Hanish et al., 2016). By prioritizing strategies that promote and sustain these types of relationships with and between children,…

High expectations for student achievement, the continuous evolution of teacher evaluation protocols, and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 have led schools and districts to find effective, ongoing professional development for teachers. Schools and districts have invested a great deal of time, energy, and money offering teachers the…

Research consistently shows that among young children, poor social skills and problem behaviors can lead to poor relationships with teachers and peers (Boivin et al., 1995), higher risk of academic failure (Buhs et al., 2006), and higher school dropout (Gilliam, 2005). Moreover, prekindergarten (PreK) and kindergarten (K) teachers report feeling…

Most teachers report wanting more training and support to teach autistic students. Individual, autism-focused coaching is a promising approach for improving teacher self-efficacy and autistic student outcomes. Given the high workload demands of coaching, it must be feasible and acceptable. This study considers coaches', teachers', and autistic…

Despite the use of literacy coaching to help improve the instructional practices of teachers and increase reading achievement, data of the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) indicate that Florida's students are averaging about 60% below NAEP proficient level. This dissertation reported the results of a nonexperimental study that…

Most teachers report wanting more training and support to teach autistic students. Individual, autism-focused coaching is a promising approach for improving teacher self-efficacy and autistic student outcomes. Given the high workload demands of coaching, it must be feasible and acceptable. This study considers coaches', teachers', and autistic…

Students most at risk for reading-related disabilities frequently struggle with word recognition and oral language, including, in the earliest grades, specific skills related to phonological awareness and vocabulary. Classroom teachers' delivery of high-quality differentiated supplemental instruction may promote reading acquisition for these…

This case study examined an approach for sustaining the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI) in rural schools. Researchers, teachers, and district-level partners collaboratively implemented the TRI Certification Process in order to sustain the TRI in one rural school district once researcher-based support ended. Primarily drawing from…

Chicago Public Schools is working to improve early literacy outcomes through a multiyear professional development initiative for preK-2 teachers. The P-2 Balanced Literacy Initiative aims to improve literacy instruction by training teachers to implement effective early literacy instruction balancing systematic foundational skills instruction with…

Chicago Public Schools is working to improve early literacy outcomes through a multiyear professional development initiative for preK-2 teachers. This initiative--the P-2 Balanced Literacy Initiative--aims to improve literacy instruction by training teachers to balance systematic foundational skills instruction with reading and writing instruction…

Chicago Public Schools is working to improve early literacy outcomes through a multiyear professional development initiative for preK-2 teachers. The P-2 Balanced Literacy Initiative aims to improve literacy instruction by training teachers to implement effective early literacy instruction balancing systematic foundational skills instruction with…

Chicago Public Schools is working to improve early literacy outcomes through a multiyear professional development initiative for preK-2 teachers. This initiative--the P-2 Balanced Literacy Initiative--aims to improve literacy instruction by training teachers to balance systematic foundational skills instruction with reading and writing instruction…

LXD Research analyzed data from 945 students in kindergarten who were Below or Well Below Benchmark at the beginning of the year and participated in using the Phonological Awareness (PA) Lessons Deluxe Package as an intervention in CA in Fall 2021. The product is a Tier 2 or Tier 3 intervention for grades K-2 that includes lessons and…

Professional development (PD) is a potentially important mechanism for enhancing classroom practices and children's learning. In this large-scale randomized controlled trial, we examined the effectiveness of language and literacy PD, with and without coaching, offered at scale to early childhood educators (n = 546) across one state. Relative to…

This case study describes the actions and processes of implementing Behavior Support Coaching for Paraprofessionals (BSC-P) with a kindergarten teacher and paraprofessional to support the implementation of behavior support plans with three students in a high-poverty elementary school. BSC-P consists of eight, 40-min coaching sessions using direct…