Many school districts utilize a strategic plan to implement their district vision to accomplish goals important to their students, stakeholders, and community at-large. Often, however, school districts use student outcome data as the main success indicator of their strategic plan. This summative approach fails to capture interim successes, cannot…

Conflicts are inevitable when diverse populations of students, administrators, and staff function in close proximity in the community college setting. Effective methods of resolving conflicts focus on supporting both sides in a dispute while creating an environment within which the participating stakeholders benefit from their interactions. Common…

Providing students and teachers with appropriate support is a pivotal component when it comes to improving student outcomes. Pre-Referral Intervention Teams (PIT) provide structured interventions and assistance for at-risk students. The purpose of this study was to answer the following research questions: (1) What are teachers' perceptions of…

In 2010, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for K-12 English language arts/literacy and mathematics. CCSS are a state-led effort to define the knowledge and skills students need to graduate from high school…

Purpose/Objectives: This study was designed to explore the professional networks of rural school food service directors (FSD), the resources they use for implementing the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA), and their needs for information and support to continue to implement successfully. Methods: Rural FSD participated in an in-depth…

This study examines how system-wide (i.e., region, district, and school) mechanisms such as leadership support, training requirements, structure, collaboration, and education affect the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in schools and how this affects the outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite growing evidence for…

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive case study was to discover successful approaches used, by nurse managers, to reduce barriers during the implementation of electronic medical record system in one hospital. Fourteen nurse managers were interviewed from an academic health science center in Mississippi. A pilot study was conducted to…

Afterschool programs linked to schools provide opportunities to keep children safe and engage them in enrichment activities that can support their growth and development. Often, these programs are led by afterschool directors with a background in youth development and no experience or education in leading in educational environments. These…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a field component that was merged with a new teacher preparation curriculum so that at the completion of the program the undergraduate candidates could be recommended for both K-6 general and special education certification. An examination of the data reveals that the program is…

Bottom-up managed change processes offer the advantage to use the creative power of faculty to design and implement blended learning programs. This article proposes four factors as crucial elements for a successful bottom-up change process: the macro and micro contexts, the project leader and the project members. Interviews were conducted with 5…

As the country quickly builds its efforts to enhance quality in early education and care classrooms, states are implementing Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to recognize and improve the quality of programs. QRIS also provides technical support and increased financial benefits for participating programs to attain higher levels of…

Purpose: This multiple case study investigated district leaders' orientations and strategies as their elementary schools proceeded with state-mandated implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). We identified differences between schools achieving above-predicted outcomes on state CCSS assessments ("odds-beaters") and…

This paper documents the progress of eight middle schools, four from one school district, and four from another that were engaged in the process of implementing Professional Learning Community (PLC) concepts. The descriptive study used quantitative and qualitative information gathered in a standardized, open-ended interview with the teachers and…

Over approximately the first decade of the 21st century, Nebraska educators have experienced the development and implementation of two differing assessment systems. The STARS system, implemented in 2001, was the first standards-based assessment system that Nebraska had supported and required of schools in the state. In early 2008, the Nebraska…

The threat of terrorism is a concern in public facilities including schools. This study focused on school districts in a southwestern state. Terrorism emergency preparedness policies are well-documented as measures to protect students and staff in school districts from terrorism threats and vulnerabilities. However, those threats and…