School leaders Lydia Cochrane and Ayesha Hoda have struggled to meet the increasingly complex needs of the students in their schools. As students' needs increase, schools are asked to do more and more, while continuing to have strong academic results. Cochrane and Hoda believe the current system is untenable and needs to change. With Linda Nathan,…

Interventions targeting school meals have been used to combat obesity in rural youth. Parents play a powerful role in childhood nutrition; however, we know little about parents' perceptions of school meal programs. This study aimed to understand parents' perceptions of school meal programs. Surveys were administered to middle school parents (n =…

The landscape of education is dynamically evolving with the infusion of technology into classrooms, but it is not just math or science disciplines that are getting a digital makeover. Social studies education has entered a transformative phase as well. The "Computer Science for Social Studies" project, funded by the National Science…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the stories shared by interventionists which focused on the work they do to create student connectedness in rural middle schools. Illinois schools are designated by performance indicators, where successful schools are rated "Exemplary" or "Commendable" based primarily on…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify leadership qualities and practices that nurture relationships in school settings. The central question framing this study was: "What leadership tools and traits foster effective relationships in rural school communities?" I conducted semi-structured interviews in a small Northwestern…

One of the biggest problems facing American educators is the challenge to increase student achievement in the era of accountability and high stakes testing (DuFour et al., 2016). Student test scores and achievement remain stagnant across south Georgia (GADOE, 2018a; GADOE, 2019b). One reform used by schools to help increase student achievement is…

Background: Educators in rural schools are uniquely situated to address youth mental health disparities, yet often face challenges in delivering mental health supports. This paper describes the process of adapting the evidence-based Coping Power program, a small group prevention program for youth with aggressive behavior problems, to be a…

A problem exists for many rural and economically disadvantaged schools because teachers are not prepared to teach the students sitting in their classrooms. Each person has their own unique culture that helps them navigate the world around them, but what happens when the needs of the school do not meet the needs of the student? The use of…

Service learning has been established as a promising method of teaching and learning that engages youth as change agents in their schools and communities. But service learning has not been widely implemented or studied in rural K-12 schools. This study explores the case of a service learning curriculum, the Working Together Project (WTP), in a…

As students transition from elementary to middle school, they often perform at a reduced academic level than their elementary school academic performances. Middle school is the time when students experience changes developmentally, emotionally, physically, and socially. Students will experience personal and academic problems if the school or…

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of middle school math teachers, as captured by survey ratings, of the frequency and quality of professional development programs. The study further examined the relationship of these perceptions to the degree to which professional development increased self-efficacy and social connections.…

This quantitative comparison study was conducted to determine if there is a significant difference in multicultural and social justice competencies (MSJCC) between urban and rural school counselors in Pennsylvania. The purpose of the study was to discover how school counselors in different geographical areas assess their work within a…

This study used a convergent mixed-method design and a pragmatic approach to examine how professional development (PD) affected teachers' confidence in their abilities to use the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework in a rural Mississippi middle school. Grounded in Bandura's self-efficacy theory, the study aimed to answer two research…

This study uses an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach to examine principals'responses to their schools' disproportionate discipline data in five schools located in the ruralsoutheastern United States. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed for principals' insight intotheir school discipline data. Results indicated that Black students…

Educators rely on a conglomeration of assessment instruments to appraise, measure, monitor, and document evidence of students' academic readiness, learning progressions, acquisition of interdisciplinary knowledge, and extensive educational needs. The Mississippi Academic Assessment Program for Mathematics (MAAP-M) and the i-Ready Assessment…