School improvement and accountability pressures heightened at the turn of the 21st century, with the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 and with the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015. These actions spurred research to facilitate school improvement and meet state standards. Researchers identified a strong correlation between a…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to investigate teachers' and school leaders' (principals and psychologists) perceptions of how school climate affects student achievement in math and reading at rural schools in Western New York. The five themes included building strong relationships, social-emotional learning, empowering leadership,…

Research has consistently shown that the quality of teachers working with students has a greater impact on academic achievement than any other school-related factor. However, close to a third of new teachers continue to leave the profession within their first 5 years of employment. In particular, hard-to-staff rural schools have struggled to…

Focusing on rural school superintendents in New York State public school districts, this study examined the nexus between their leadership behaviors and the academic achievement levels of students within their districts. The study used a causal-comparative research design, also called an "ex-post facto design" (Isaac & Michael,…

This study examined how superintendents and principals' childhood experiences influenced the decisions they make regarding their students of poverty. A qualitative research design was used to gather findings and draw conclusions through an interview process of three superintendents and nine principals. The criteria for participation was being…

The use of instructional technology is an essential aspect for the education of the 21st century student. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how rural school leaders and teachers, in upstate New York, implement new learning technologies in the classroom to facilitate effective learning. Nine semistructured principal…

Effective K-12 leaders remain a central concern for schools and communities of all types. The purpose of this research is to examine critically the literature on issues facing leaders in rural and urban settings and present a synthesis of cross-cutting themes. The authors reviewed the theoretical and empirical literature on K-12 leadership issues…

This technical appendix provides additional information about the sample, data, and estimation strategy used for a series of American Educator Panels (AEP) Data Notes published by the RAND Corporation in 2019. The Data Note series is intended to provide brief but incisive analyses of teacher and school leader survey results that may be of…

In an effort to increase the knowledge about professional development programs that promote strong instructional leaders, the Wallace Foundation recently commissioned a study of innovative principal professional development programs and the policy and funding mechanisms that support them. In fall 2003, the foundation awarded a grant to a team of…