There is a public health epidemic in adolescents' use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDSs), also known as electronic cigarettes, vaping products, or JUULs. However, little is known about the level of knowledge school staff have about ENDS. The purpose of this study is to examine outcomes of a nurse-led educational intervention designed…

This study examined the perceptions of educators to determine if they felt that they were adequately prepared to teach in a high poverty school setting. The participants, educators from four school districts, completed a survey based on their perceptions of their own level of self-efficacy and preparedness to work in high poverty schools. The…

Many paraeducators have no formal education beyond high school and are provided with minimal training once on the job. Furthermore, as more schools turn to inclusionary practices, the impetus for highly qualified paraeducators becomes more important. However, little research has examined efficient ways to train paraeducators who work in inclusive…

The enactment of Senate Bill 100/Public Act 099-0456 (SB100) in 2016 compelled school districts throughout Illinois to evaluate student discipline policies. This dissertation examines the impact SB100 had on middle and high schools throughout the state and within a large suburban K-12 school district. This dissertation is organized into three…

Using data from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), this report presents findings both on crime and violence in U.S. public schools and on the practices and programs schools have used to promote school safety. SSOCS collects data from public school principals about violent and nonviolent crimes in their schools. The survey also collects…

Sexual minority youth (SMY) students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT+) often struggle with gender identity and sexual orientation (Craig, Austin, & McInroy, 2014). The inclusion of Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA) and Safe Zones have united students and facilitated cultural shifts in schools (Patterson, 2013).…

Using data from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), this report presents findings both on crime and violence in U.S. public schools and on the practices and programs schools have used to promote school safety. SSOCS collects data from public school principals about violent and nonviolent crimes in their schools. The survey also collects…

In our knowledge-based society, K-8 students need to develop increasingly sophisticated skills to read, write, and speak for a wide variety of purposes and audiences. Including an extended case example from a linguistically diverse school, this book guides school leaders to design and implement advanced literacy instruction through four key…

Portugal, like many other countries, faces obstacles regarding school-based sexuality education. This paper explores Portuguese schools' approaches to implementing sexuality education at a local level, and provides a critical analysis of potential strengths and weaknesses. Documents related to sexuality education in a convenience sample of 89…

School districts shape the conditions in which schools operate and as such can support or undermine school success and thus student success. All of which is to say that school districts matter. This article looks at the success of two districts whose low-income and minority students beat the odds in academic achievement. Lessons from these…

There are approximately 68,000 students in Houston Independent School District labeled as "English language learners" (ELLs). Many of these students have the additional obstacle of being recent immigrants who have been in the United States for three years or less. In recent years, the number of immigrant ELLs in the district has…

The main purpose of evaluation is to improve the quality of program. So, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the Health Education Program of 9th graders (HEP) with Educational Criticism Model of Eisner. The study was conducted with the qualitative research method. A holistic single case design was employed in this study. The typical case…

This paper presents findings from a larger, qualitative study that explored the potential of a school-based teacher community of practice as a model for a transformative form of teacher professional development. This paper reports on initial findings from a grounded theory exploration of the factors that facilitated and constrained the evolution…

This mixed method study explored and analyzed instructional strategies utilized by algebra teachers whose students' coursework culminated in the New York State Regents Examination in Integrated Algebra and for whom 50% of the tested cohort earned mastery level (85 or higher) on the examination. The targeted populations were eighth or ninth grade…

This study evaluated an adolescent depression in-service training for school staff in the United States. A total of 252 school staff (e.g., teachers, principals, counselors) completed assessments prior to and following the in-service and a subsample of these staff participated in focus groups following the in-service and three months later.…