Teacher shortages are a persistent challenge in the United States. I evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative pilot program that allowed principals to hand-select experienced staff members and paraeducators already working in schools to lead classrooms. Pilot educators are predominantly Black or African American. Districts reported randomly…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant relationship existed between principal leadership styles, faculty morale, and faculty job satisfaction at selected elementary schools. Specifically, the study examined if the perception teachers had of their principals. leadership styles had an impact on faculty morale and faculty job…

The purpose of this research was to determine how leadership behaviors of principals relate to school climate, teachers' job satisfaction, and student achievement. The relationship of leadership to student achievement was measured by the school levels based on the administration of the 2006-2007 Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT). Leadership and…

Describes the work of Friends of the Children of Mississippi, a Head Start program which began in the late 1960s and for which the author was hired to develop Black history materials for teacher training. Presents excerpts from the autobiographies of several Black women trainees in the program. (GC)

A cornerstone of Mississippi's 1982 Education Reform Act, the Assistant Reading Instructor Program sought to improve basic skills acquisition by placing assistant reading instructors in primary grades. The program has not been effective in meeting its objectives. On standardized tests, students who had assistant reading instructors in the primary…

A privately funded project that placed reading aides in the first three grades of the public schools was initiated in a rural county of Mississippi. The program provided a paraprofessional assistant reading instructor who worked under the direction of a classroom teacher to strengthen and enrich children's work in small groups or in an educational…

Each of the four sections of this staff development guide focuses on areas of skills which assistant teachers must possess, namely, skills in (1) communication and interaction, (2) child development and discipline, (3) management and organization, and (4) facilitation of learning in activity centers. Communication skills are discussed in terms of…

The Mississippi Department of Education evaluation of Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I programs covers the number of participating students, health and medical services, roles of State and Local Education Agencies, and affirms the effectiveness of the reading programs on disadvantaged students. Other topics commented on are the lack…

This module on developing and using learning centers in the classroom was developed in response to interest voiced by teachers and assistant teachers in Mississippi. Intended to accompany assistant teacher staff development videotapes, the information included in the module is in handout form to be disseminated to the participants by the workshop…

This evaluation attempts to measure the extent and effectiveness of ESEA Title I programs designed to meet the needs of disadvantaged children and apprizes the public and the legislature of program outcomes. In keeping with USOE requirements for evaluating Title I programs, this document is constructed of (1) responses to USOE probes by…

This document, which is intended for use by community and junior colleges throughout Mississippi, contains curriculum frameworks for the course sequences in the teacher assistant program. Presented in the introduction are a program description and suggested course sequence. Section I is a curriculum guide consisting of outlines for each of the…