This quantitative study aims to determine if there is a relationship between principal longevity and student achievement in selected rural high schools in Mississippi. The study focused on fourteen (14) selected high schools in districts in rural Mississippi and the tenure of their principals during the years of 2017-2018, and 2018-2019.…

A lack of access to a sequence of introductory to top-level curricula in rural schools has widened the achievement disparity between rural and urban students and influenced the number of college degree holders in rural areas. Recently, surging diversity and differentiation in income levels across nonurbanized areas can serve as determinants of the…

This study explored how faculty and students differed in their coping strategies to handle the severe stress brought on by COVID-19 and how this stress impacted student academic achievement. For this study,103 students and faculty at a rural southern university participated in the study where they reported on their coping mechanisms during the…

Mississippi has made significant gains in education over the past ten years. Yet, teacher attrition rates are still low impacting student achievement. This study was conducted to investigate if there is a significant difference in the sense of self-efficacy for teachers from suburban and rural, elementary and middle schools of Mississippi. Teacher…

Rural Mississippi schools often face challenges in providing equitable access to Advanced Placement (AP) courses, particularly in STEM fields. This lack of access limits opportunities for high-achieving students to pursue rigorous STEM coursework and related careers. The AP STEM program aims to improve access to AP STEM courses for high-achieving…

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. Researchers report that at least half of public schools are rural in 12 states (i.e., Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, North Dakota, Maine, Alaska, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Mississippi) (Showalter et al., 2019). Providing quality education to all rural students is a…

The overall purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the School Improvement Grant on student achievement in a rural elementary school in Mississippi. In an attempt to decrease the achievement gap that existed among socioeconomically disadvantaged students and their more affluent peers, the United States Department of Education created…

Exploring the current educational setting consist of persistent and high-stakes testing and accountability, leaving administrators and professional school counselors tenaciously searching for new and efficient methods to enhance students' behavior and academic performance. In an attempt to obtain growth from their students, several schools and…

The U.S. government has stated in federal guidelines that parents must be involved in their children's education in order for student achievement to increase. For more than 5 years, a small rural middle school in Mississippi was designated a low-performing school due to its failure to achieve the required standards for quality distribution index…

The purpose of this report is threefold: to provide a brief overview of national dropout issues--both data and risk factors, with emphasis on those in rural areas--and then focusing on the particular factors that have the greatest impact on students in Mississippi; present the critical challenges for rural areas; and finally to recommend…

Forrest County Agricultural High School (FCAHS) is located in Brooklyn, a small rural town in southern Mississippi and part of the Hattiesburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. Unlike the other schools that participated in the Cisco 21S initiative, FCAHS is not part of a larger school district. Therefore, the unit of analysis throughout this summary…

U.S. society proposes that all students should have equal opportunities to achieve academically; therefore, urban and rural schools that serve socio-economically disadvantaged students must employ highly qualified teachers who are prepared to teach in those particular school environments. Recruitment practices, teacher preparation programs, and…

In 1989, the Quality Education Project was initiated in seven Mississippi school districts through a Department of Education grant. QEP is designed to meet local families' specific needs. In each locality, teachers, parents, administrators, and community representatives develop a plan, with support from area businesses, churches, and civic groups.…

Conducted an impact study of the Onward to Excellence (OTE) school-improvement process in 33 elementary, middle, and high schools in rural high-poverty areas in Mississippi. OTE implementation was weak and uneven, and student achievement showed no pattern of change in OTE schools. The four schools with the highest implementation showed somewhat…

"Hold school!" was the directive that Principal Patricia Ashmore received from the deputy superintendent of Madison County Schools when she was appointed to Velma Jackson Magnet High School five years ago. The explicit instruction came as a direct result of looking at student achievement, attendance, and graduation data that confirmed…