This Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) school status report provides a summary of the current status of all schools implementing PBIS in Minnesota, including participation in the Minnesota Department of Education's training sequence, implementation fidelity assessment scores, and outcomes (as appropriate). In particular, this…

Minnesota Reading Corps is the largest AmeriCorps State program in the country. Its mission is to help every Minnesota child become a proficient reader by the end of third grade. To meet this goal, the Minnesota Reading Corps and its host organization, ServeMinnesota Action Network, engages a diverse group of AmeriCorps members to provide…

One of my principal goals at the University of Minnesota is to transform the university's entry-level geoscience program into an effective ''concluding'' geoscience course that provides students with a clear understanding of the many interactions between Earth processes and human society. Although place-based learning appeared to be a promising…

This is the final report of a large-scale independent evaluation of the Building Assets and Reducing Risks (BARR) model in ninth grade in eleven high schools in Maine, California, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Texas. This sample of schools included large and small schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas, serving students from a wide range of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate and understand the experiences of participants who become champions and succeed in adopting healthy lifestyles. The setting was a health and nutrition educational program at University of Minnesota Extension. The main research questions were: How do participants in the Community Health Education Program…

Minnesota's vision for its Race to the Top -- Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) work was based in years of research showing the impact of high quality early childhood programs on children's school readiness and success in life. Minnesota's State plan was to increase access to high quality early learning development programs for children across…

Prior research has classified strategies to facilitate adult learners' transitions to postsecondary opportunities into five broad categories: advising, General Educational Development-plus (GED-plus), English as a second language, career pathways, and college preparatory (Zafft, Kallenbach, & Spohn, 2006). This two-part study relied on…

This dissertation examined in a state-required, online preservice teacher course in content area reading instruction (CARI) at a large land-grant university in Minnesota. Few studies have been published to date on revitalized literacy teacher preparation efforts in CARI (See Vagle, Dillon, Davison-Jenkins, & LaDuca, 2005; Dillon, O'Brien,…

In an era of standardized exams to support No Child Left Behind, the influence a teacher candidate has on a P-12 classroom can greatly impact the academic achievement of students. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Educators (NCATE) Blue Ribbon Panel Report (2010) suggested that teacher preparation programs and school districts need…

SAE programs were designed as an integral component in SBAE. However, participation has continued to decline. This qualitative study examined exemplary SAE programs in rural SBAE to discover factors that were working in SAE development and implementation. Through focus groups, individual and informal interviews, and observations, two themes that…

The MacPhail Center for Music Online School Partnerships program aims to increase access to high-quality music education for students who attend schools in Greater Minnesota in order to improve student interest and knowledge in music, and to improve or maintain positive school engagement and non-academic skills. The MacPhail Teaching Artists work…

Dollar Works 2 is a comprehensive personal financial education program to help individuals and families strengthen their skills, better manage their personal finances, and make sound decisions about money. This article chronicles the evolution of a curriculum to enhance and modify materials to improve learning and meet the needs of multiple…

Because information technology continues to change rapidly, Extension is challenged with learning and using technology appropriately. We assert Extension cannot shy away from the challenges but must embrace technology because audiences and external forces demand it. A hybrid, or blended, format of a leadership cohort program was offered to public…

The long-term impact of a Latino financial literacy program was evaluated with a sample of relatively recent immigrant populations in southern Minnesota. Telephone and face-to-face interviews were conducted with participants 6 months post program completion. Results indicate that improvements in knowledge and skills were retained and that these…

This report presents findings about the Afterschool Intensive Strings Program in 2015-16, which provides instruction to students with limited access to music education. The evaluation examines how participation in the program affects students' academic achievement, non-academic skills, and musical skills and knowledge.