With the establishment of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, communities have depended on Extension Agents to address relevant needs. Extension Agents have used different approaches such as the Texas Community Futures Forum to obtain information on issues affecting people. The problem was that Texas Community Futures Forums have never…

Most parents want their children to be successful in school and want to help them succeed (Mapp, 2003). When school personnel initiate practices inviting parents to the school, creating a welcoming environment for them, honoring their contributions, and connecting them to the school community, practices cultivate and sustain respectful, caring,…

This study explored the impact of secondary administrator perceptions on implementing restorative discipline practices in Texas middle school campuses. Ten secondary middle school administrators from diverse Texas school districts that utilized restorative practices for non-expellable offenses participated in open-ended, semi-structured…

In this paper we demonstrate that using mixed reality (MR) technology can innovate our chemical engineering laboratory curriculum at Prairie View A&M University, a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). Particularly, we describe the development of a MR proof of concept to carry out a traditional fluid mechanics lab -- pressure drop as a…

This study is the first statewide analysis of the effectiveness of the Texas Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program. Introduced in 2019, TIA is the most significant and unprecedented teacher merit-pay system in the U.S. Leveraging the Synthetic Control Method (SCM), we construct a counterfactual scenario to assess the causal impact of TIA on…

In this quasi-experimental study, we examined STEMscopes program impacts on science achievement in Longhorn ISD. The report specifically analyzed STEMscopes impacts on STAAR and MAP Growth scores. The present study used a school-level quasi-experimental design, where 8 STEMscopes schools were selected for inclusion and 8 comparison schools (using…

With globalization as a focal point in the United States and encouraged in our educational system, the significance of intercultural competence has been amplified. To advance this concept among middle school students, international university students, and the local community, a partnership was formed to offer an international awareness program…

Following up on an individual-level randomized controlled trial of a Dana Center Math Pathways (DCMP) model, this study assessed longer-term impacts on students' math completion, academic progress, and academic attainment. The version of the DCMP that was assessed in this study diversified the developmental and college-level math course content…

Many districts across Texas have adopted programs built on the goal of providing more opportunities within their repertoire for servicing traditionally underserved students (AVID, 2023). Friou (2016) reported that 62 districts across Texas have utilized the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, which aimed to bridge the gap in…

Entrepreneurship education (EE) is a hot topic and has gained the attention and interest of scholars in the United States and globally. Despite the growth of EE, scholars have been marginalizing the impact of EE at the community college level and there is a dearth of studies in this area (Liguori et al. 2019; Mars & Ginter 2012). Therefore, I…

This paper examines the effects of the Top Ten Percent policy, which guaranteed students in the top ten percent of their high school graduating class admission to Texas Public Universities. As a result of the policy, the composition of the student body changed, particularly at the University of Texas at Austin (UTA). This paper asks, what were the…

This research aims to examine current practices in gifted and talented educator professional learning, as well as teacher attitudes, beliefs, and experiences towards gifted education in order to explore opportunities to further develop and improve professional learning structures. Through a qualitative methodology following the…

Purpose: Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit auditory processing issues, including poor speech recognition in background noise and dichotic processing (integration of different stimuli presented to the two ears). Auditory training could mitigate these auditory difficulties. However, few auditory training…

This study investigates the impact of a STEM field trip on engagement in STEM learning and interest in STEM among students at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Texas. Using Kolb's (1984) experiential learning model as a theoretical framework, the research explores how engaging, hands-on activities during the field trip enhance…

This brief highlights Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District's 2021-2022 implementation of "My Math Academy" with kindergarteners across 16 elementary schools. The district started using the program with pre-kindergarteners in school year 2020-2021, and upon seeing 98 percent of pre-kindergarteners end the school year on…