Principals can affect several consequential schooling processes and outcomes. However, their effectiveness varies substantially and is distributed across schools inequitably, underscoring the importance of effective principal professional development (PPD), which begins by using needs assessments to inform PPD content. A researcher-practitioner…

There is continued concern over the inequitable distribution of highly experienced and effective teachers among historically marginalized student populations. Using longitudinal data from Tennessee, this study assesses whether students of racially/ethnically minoritized and economically disadvantaged backgrounds have unequal exposure to teachers…

Rural Appalachia encompasses a region of the United States represented by unique cultural strengths and systemic challenges. To meet their students' career and college needs, school counselors working in rural Appalachia must understand the cultural nuances of the region. Consensual qualitative research (CQR) methodology revealed five domains and…

Research consistently shows that among young children, poor social skills and problem behaviors can lead to poor relationships with teachers and peers (Boivin et al., 1995), higher risk of academic failure (Buhs et al., 2006), and higher school dropout (Gilliam, 2005). Moreover, prekindergarten (PreK) and kindergarten (K) teachers report feeling…

This qualitative case study investigated rural high school social studies teachers' perceptions of Robert Stahl's decision-making materials within their content area and the relevance of curricular implementation. The primary questions addressed in this study focused on high school social studies teachers' perception of current instructional…

Background: Teachers describe their colleagues as one of their most valuable resources (Drury & Baer, 2011; Johnston & Tsai, 2018). Teachers often report seeking out colleagues who teach the same grade or subject to get advice or to plan instruction together (Frank, 2009; Spillane et al., 2015). Given that research shows that professional…

Rural school principals in Tennessee face serious challenges in leading their schools, including isolation, high turnover, and a lack of instructional leadership skills. Facilitated by a state university, the Tennessee Rural Principals Network (TRPN) was developed to provide professional learning opportunities for rural school principals. The…

Nearly one quarter of all youth with disabilities attend rural schools. Supporting the successful postschool transitions of these youth can be a complex and challenging endeavor. In this study, we used "community conversation" events as a methodology for identifying the practices and partnerships needed to improve transition outcomes for…

The psychometric integrity of a curriculum-based measure to screen for academic giftedness (Monitoring Instructional Responsiveness: Reading [MIR:R]) was evaluated by examining its ceiling, item gradient, and predictive capacity using 460 fourth grade students. Eighty fourth graders (17.39%) scored one standard deviation above the MIR:R mean. Ten…

Developed by the National Writing Project (NWP), the College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP) seeks to improve students' argument writing by building teachers' understanding of and skill in teaching source-based argument writing. The program features intensive professional development, skill-based instructional resources, and…

The Pell Grant is the foundational need-based student aid program in the United States, providing students of lower socio-economic status a pathway to afford college costs and educational expenses. Currently, over one-third of all U.S. undergraduate students receive Pell. This paper examines federal Pell assistance and institutional costs for…

A review of the literature indicates that public school districts, especially those in rural areas, are heavily dependent upon a traditional salary schedule. This may have prevented these districts from leveraging incentives to retain high-performing teachers. This study examines the effects of strategic teacher compensation on teacher quality as…

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of professional development in co-teaching on teacher self-efficacy amongst general and special education rural high school teachers. A causal-comparative research design was used to survey 256 rural high school teachers from the South and Midwest regions of the U.S. to measure their self-efficacy…

The purpose of this study was to understand how a school-based personalized learning approach can help improve literacy achievement among middle grades students in a rural area. This study followed two cohorts of schools serving students in grades 6-8 in northeast Tennessee for one year each (2018-19 and 2021-22), to assess student and school…

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019 and early 2020, universities, schools, and businesses in the United States closed and moved online (CDC, 2020; "A Timeline of COVID-19 Developments in 2020," 2020). By April, 2020, it became clear that the school year would end virtually, (Anderson, 2020). Teachers throughout the United…