The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study is to understand how teachers describe their experiences of safety, love/belonging, and esteem within PLCs (professional learning communities) in regard to teacher retention in a K-8 charter school in Nevada. It was unknown how K-8 charter school teachers describe their experience of safety,…

The impact of burnout on elementary teachers in Nevada leads to teacher attrition. Teacher burnout leading to attrition affects low socio-economic schools disproportionately, resulting in depleted human capital resources and impacting student learning. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences…

Salaries are one of the most powerful policy levers states and school districts can use to attract qualified, effective, and diverse teachers. What role do states play in supporting strategic use of salaries? This report examines the state teacher compensation policies that influence districts' potential strategic use of teacher pay. It analyzes…

Vocal demands of teaching are considerable and these challenges are greater for choral directors who depend on the voice as a musical and instructive instrument. The purpose of this study was to (1) examine choral directors' vocal condition using a modified Voice Handicap Index (VHI), and (2) determine the extent to which the major variables…

This article presents the results from a survey that investigated the latest requirements and certification standards for school librarians in each state. In the survey, 42 report they require certification for K-12 library media specialists, meaning that school library candidates must have a bachelor's degree including coursework designed to…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The 2011 State Teacher…

One of the current goals of public education is technology integration. This is witnessed in current educational literature, by the enormous sums of money schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDEs) spend to purchase equipment and in the emphasis on weaving technology into the fabric of the educational curriculum. As the integration…

In an era dominated by issues of school finance adequacy, it seems particularly important to provide evidence that, despite a number of claims to the contrary, educational resources are indeed positively related to improved student achievement. One of the hypotheses of this article is that expenditures per pupil must be disaggregated into more…