This applied dissertation was designed to describe the research-based practices used by middle school teachers of multilingual or ELL students in the subject area courses and the teachers' self-efficacy to implement those research-based practices while teaching. Also, this study aimed to describe the impact of professional development regarding…

Social emotional learning (SEL) is a term that encompasses a set of essential life skills including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making (Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning [CASEL], 2024, para. 1). Despite growing interest, many school districts struggle with…

The current study provides foundational research on the extent to which Florida Title 1 middle schools (schools including grades 7 and/or 8) have policies and practices that align with core components of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). Principals from 197 (42.73%) of all FL Title 1 schools that included at least grades seven…

The goal of this qualitative study was to understand the perspectives of school community members (adolescents, parents, school administrators, teachers, mental health providers) regarding the adaptation of an evidence-based transdiagnostic mental health treatment, known as the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders…

This article describes the challenge of engaging educators in professional development (PD) that is timely and relevant to their work, and effective in stimulating instructional changes to improve student learning. The authors highlight the competing needs and goals for PD that create tensions among the external accountability demands, school…

Response to intervention (RtI) is touted as an equity-focused provision of special education policy that holds promise for reducing overrepresentation and providing academic opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. However, teachers working to implement RtI have encountered complex challenges that stifle equitable…

Recent research has demonstrated that elementary school leaders, under pressure to meet benchmarks set by state and federal governments, have begun "staffing to the test," moving to tested grades and subjects teachers whose previous students made substantive learning gains. This is particularly true in lower-performing schools or schools…

Purpose/Objectives: In 2009, the Smarter Lunchroom Movement (SLM) strategy was created to provide schools across the United States (US) with evidence-based solutions to encourage healthier eating among children. Results, though, are inconsistent with how well this movement impacts school-aged children's healthy food selection and consumption.…

Members of an Innovation School committee from Florida Gulf Coast University and the School District of Lee County share their individual and collective perspectives on designing anew traditional public school as an inquiry-based innovation school through an articulated partnership. Perspectives are shared through the lens of narrative inquiry and…

To date there are no evidence-based comprehensive interventions for use in school settings. There are numerous barriers to delivery of high-quality interventions in schools that have limited the transfer of research-based interventions to school settings. "Modular Approach to Autism Programing for Schools (MAAPS)" is a framework for…

The article examines the results of two quasi-experimental studies of the implementation and impact of the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC), an intervention designed to support secondary teachers' transition to Common Core State Standards in English language arts. The first study examines LDC implementation by eighth-grade social studies and…

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) identified increasing the graduation rate of students with disabilities and decreasing the graduation gap between students with disabilities and all students as its state-identified measurable result (SIMR). To make progress toward the SIMR, the state sought to build the capacity of local education…

In school districts across the nation, diverse student groups, including English Learners and students with disabilities, have been experiencing significant gains in reading performance after using READ 180. This compendium of READ 180 research contains results of 40 studies conducted in a variety of settings, in school districts across the…

Volume II contains six appendices to Volume I, including short summaries of the 18 schools that were studied. Appendices included in this report are: (1) Evaluation Methodology; (2) Promising Reform Strategies; (3) Descriptions of the Research-Based Methods or Strategies Being Used; (4) Short Summaries of 18 Comprehensive School Reform…

Comprehensive school reform calls for a "whole-school" and coordinated approach to improve schools. The strategy differs from piecemeal and fragmented efforts that also in the past have seemed only to lead to short-lived changes. To stimulate whole-school reform across the country, Congress appropriated funds in FY1998 for the U.S.…