This study evaluated the effectiveness of a new teacher induction program as implemented in a rural school district in central North Carolina. All beginning teachers with 3 or less years of experience, all school-based administrators, and all mentoring teachers were the target participants. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the…

The requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Act changed the expectation for teaching and learning for educators in a dramatic way. Charged with the responsibility of teaching all students regardless of disability in a regular classroom setting, teachers often feel overwhelmed and underqualified. Inclusion classrooms facilitated by a…

There have been limited qualitative case studies exploring effective strategies designed to improve graduation rates in rural school districts. Specifically, few studies have presented information based solely upon the voices of practitioners themselves in solving the graduation crisis in America's public schools. This study will add to the…

This case study examined the impact of a site-specific intervention for at-risk students in a small rural elementary school in the foothills of North Carolina. The research site uses a small homogenous class setting as a basis for accelerating academic growth for students who are considered at-risk in literacy based on the state-required literacy…

With the demands on schools to prepare its students to be globally competitive in the 21st century, schools are forced to examine new ways to meet those demands. One of the new reform ideas is that of restructuring traditional high schools into small schools within schools. Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the North Carolina…

The number of students who speak languages other than English continues to grow in both rural and urban public schools in the United States. Teachers are challenged to accommodate the diverse needs of English language learners (ELLs). This exploratory study investigated the perceptions of eleven teachers from a rural public elementary school in…

Educating students from linguistically diverse backgrounds has historically been the domain of the ESL teacher. However, new migration patterns and changing student demographics force the mainstream teacher into a new role: the language and content teacher. In order to embrace this new role, educators must implement instructional strategies…

This study was conducted to investigate teacher attitudes with respect to changing to a year-round school program. The hypothesis was that a majority of teachers would be opposed to changing the traditional 180 day schedule to a year-round schedule. The population in this study consisted of all the classroom teachers in a rural county of North…

This report is based on an almost 5-year continual study of selected collaboratives engaged in education reform and improvement with a focus on science, math, and technology in schools serving K-12 students in rural America. This version of the final report of the study is primarily intended for use by educators, decision makers, and others who…