This case study examined the effect of quality preschool programming on child outcomes in a blended inclusive preschool program implemented in an urban school system in the piedmont of North Carolina. The blended inclusive preschool program was a newly initiated program in this district and had been in place for only 1 school year. The purpose of…

Rural schools face challenges that are often different than nonrural schools. Resource constraints are particularly acute in rural schools, and they struggle to offer advanced courses and extracurricular programs. The purpose of this paper is to present a descriptive, instrumental case study of an inclusive rural science, technology, engineering,…

In 2008, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) produced a series of papers documenting promising practices identified throughout the field of K-12 online learning. Since then, we have witnessed a tremendous acceleration of transformative policy and practice driving personalized learning in the K-12 education space. State,…

Teacher retention is of critical concern in rural and high-poverty districts. This case study describes one school’s challenges following the district's budget cuts that eliminated funding for schools' mentor programs. The mentor coordinator at this elementary school faces several dilemmas as she attempts to maintain high-quality support for the…

Tonya Kales came to Ashley Park PreK-8 as its principal (2009-2013), and confronted a school at the end of its rope. Ashley Park was a beautiful facility, but there was no learning going on in the building, it was a chaotic environment for both kids and adults. It was a hostile environment--had adults that were totally incompetent in their…

Using detailed administrative data for the public K-12 schools of North Carolina, we measure racial segregation in the public schools of North Carolina. With data for the 2005/06 school year, we update previously published calculations that measure segregation in terms of unevenness in racial enrollment patterns both between schools and within…

Designing a professional development system for parent educators requires weaving together multiple pieces from within the network of organizations providing parenting education. North Carolina examined how to build a system using the influence of evidence-based programs as well as professional credentialing for parenting educators. A system built…

At a time of widespread concerns about quality, cost and accountability in higher education, the importance of the lay governing board has never been greater. Lay governance is the means by which the perspective of informed citizens is brought to the heart of the university. And, in the best of all worlds, it provides a vehicle for thoughtful…

An evaluation of adult basic education (ABE) programs was conducted in North Carolina, using a case study approach. Research was done by six teams that collected information from taped interviews with participants in six programs chosen to represent rural and urban areas and various demographic and racial mixes of students. Materials and records…

The purpose of this study is to identify and document processes that are associated with effective desegregation in six school districts enumerated below; to examine the interrelationships of these processes; and to identify commonalities among the six districts which could provide guidelines for models of effective school desegregation. The major…