This brief provides an overview of the four attendance-focused interventions districts partnering with the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) implemented and evaluated through randomized controlled trials in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years. The tested interventions were personalized messaging, mentoring, family…

School districts across the country are experiencing a mass exodus of teachers and administrators while those who stay struggle to maintain the level of productivity needed to lead our schools and ensure a high-quality education for our nation's students (DeMatthews et. al., 2021; Peters-Hawkins et.al., 2018; Superville, 2020). Black women, in…

Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK) is a school readiness program for children ages three to five that assists families with preparing their children for kindergarten in the areas of reading, language, and social skills. Program completion is determined by the presentation and facilitation of a minimum of eight lessons taught…

Developed in 2003 by the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton with a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, "Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids" ("SPARK Ohio") is a family-centered kindergarten readiness program that works with families, schools, and the community. From its initial sites in Stark County, "SPARK…

The purpose of this study is to examine if low SES students respond differently to Tier I and Tier II interventions than Non-Low SES students. The study also seeks to determine the effect Tier I and Tier II interventions have on a group of second grade students. Forty-four Tier I and Tier II Caucasian second grade students from a rural Ohio…

As the American immigrant population continues to expand, immigrant children and children of immigrants are entering the public school system. To be most effective, new teaching pedagogies must take cultural diversity into account. "Cross-Cultural Considerations in the Education of Young Immigrant Learners" explores some of the…