Professional development activities offered principals are often a hodgepodge of different types of programs designed to foster the sustainability of leadership practices. While professional development is important for the continual improvement of principals, Guskey (2003) describes professional development activities as generally having a…

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study was to explore how low socioeconomic status (SES), minority, adult high school graduates describe the influence of their parents, program activities, and possible employment opportunities in pursuing Career and Technical Education/Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (CTE) courses in a…

Purpose: There has been a significant increase in the number of immigrant families moving to rural communities across the United States. Yet limited research exists that explores relationships between immigrant families and schools in these communities. Rural school districts are often challenged by insufficient resources, expertise, and…

Rural schools dominate the United States, yet scant research exists on rural school leaders' development. Urban districts can transfer leaders to different locations, but rural districts, with few school sites, need leaders who stay and adapt to changing conditions. Mid-career rural leaders require a refreshed set of skills to carry school…

This article is an excerpt from "A Playbook for Professional Learning: Putting the Standards Into Action" (Learning Forward, 2012). Written by Learning Forward Executive Director Stephanie Hirsh and Scholar Laureate Shirley Hord, "A Playbook for Professional Learning" provides those who work in professional learning with readily accessible…

This action research study was designed to determine how job-embedded professional development changes teachers' perceptions about integrating technology into their classrooms. The study was based on an action research and matrix/logical analysis design. The researcher facilitated an action research intervention utilizing job-embedded professional…

The purpose of this study was to describe the transformation of one small, rural school district's professional development program. The study focused on the actions that school leaders took to replace a traditional, workshop-based program that was deemed ineffective with a new professional development model. The new model was designed to create…

Kentucky school districts have been charged to present an academic program review that documents the use of dance across curriculum content at all grade levels. This program review will replace statewide standardized tests for all students in the state of Kentucky and will count 20% toward each school's accountability score. Schools within the…

We describe efforts to build a learning community to support technology integration in three rural school districts and the contributions of various program strategies toward teacher growth. The Stages of Adoption Inventory, classroom observations, the Questionnaire for Technology Integration, interviews, STAR evaluation surveys, a survey of…

This two-year study (2007-2009), which examined teacher supply and demand issues in northern Canada--Fort Nelson School District (BC), the Fort Vermilion School Division (AB), the Yukon Department of Education (YK), and the Yellowknife School District (NWT)--comprised three research objectives: (a) to ascertain in which subject areas acute and…

Despite the key role that principals play in leading schoolwide change, districts' efforts to support principals are often limited, particularly in rural settings. In this article, we report the preliminary findings of a cross-district mentoring program for nine midcareer rural school principals. The collaboratively developed human resource…

Kershaw County School District in South Carolina may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking about hotbeds of ed-tech innovation. Its student population is diverse and for the most part not wealthy: Camden High School is urban with 1,055 students, 45 percent of whom qualify for reduced lunch; Lugoff-Elgin High School is a large…

This article shares findings from an exploratory case study about an advanced school leadership development program designed specifically for practicing principals and administrator-trained teachers. The program was designed to help a high-need rural district transform its principalship from school management into learner-center leadership while…

The evaluation of the Texas Rural Technology (R-Tech) Pilot sought to understand how districts implemented R-Tech grants, the effects of implementation on student and teacher outcomes, as well as the cost effectiveness and sustainability of R-Tech. The Texas legislature (80th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2007) authorized the creation of…

In 2007, the Texas Legislature (80th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2007) authorized the creation of the Texas Rural Technology (R-Tech) Pilot program, which provides $8 million in funding to support rural districts in implementing technology-based supplemental education programs. In order to be eligible for funding, districts must have…