The purpose of this descriptive embedded case study is to address a reading literacy problem at a rural school district through a principal's instructional leadership and to determine whether student outcomes improved. Campus principals are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring every student receives high-quality instruction that aligns with…

There are 339 schools in Texas that are struggling, defined as "improvement required" by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) (txschools.gov, 2018) and received a "F" rating due to low academic performance. This designation is earned through a formula that measures general student achievement, school progress based on a comparison…

The purpose of this case study was to describe the experiences of rural school district leaders who implemented and have sustained a one-to-one technology program at the secondary level so to provide school districts considering one-to-one implementation knowledge of best practices. This study was a qualitative, bounded case study that used a…

This case study focuses on the diverse discourses Latinx bilingual students bring to class to make sense of power relations in the world. The study implements critical literacy practices such as read-alouds, discussions, writing, and drawing activities that help students critique and disrupt power discourses embedded in texts and visuals. With the…

Underrepresentation of women in the position of school superintendent is an ongoing dilemma impacting social constructs, as well as public education. The few Hispanic females that lead schools tend to be employed in rural schools. The dearth of female Hispanic school superintendents questions the factors impacting such a trend. This study explored…

The purpose of this short article is to review the findings from an instrumental case study that examines how a college president used what this article refers to as "frame alignment processes" to mobilize internal and external support for a college initiative--one that achieved success under the current president. Specifically, I…

This qualitative case study investigated how the GEAR-Up college readiness program influenced the postsecondary decisions of Hispanic students who participated in the GEAR-Up program for the recommended six-year period in a rural school district in Texas. It was not known how long-term participation in the GEAR-Up program at a rural school…

This qualitative case study examines the challenges facing rural secondary schools in transitioning youth from high school to post-secondary education and careers, and whether the interventions, strategies and support built into the Early College High School could offer a solution to this long-standing challenge to better meet the needs of special…

Performance-based funding (PBF) models intend to increase efficiency and productivity of the institution, thereby influencing organizational change. This change may be structural, programmatic, or procedural, and it may affect institutional practice and/or policy. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the organizational…

For this qualitative case study (Patton, 2003), we used narrative inquiry (Erlandson, Harris, Skipper, & Allen, 1993) and sought to analyze extended interviews and field notes based on interactions with three rural superintendents working in high-needs, public PK-12 school districts in Texas. We collected data with regard to these…

This phenomenological case study addressed gaps in the literature related to successful implementation of Response to Intervention (RtI) in rural settings by exploring the experiences of educators in a rural Texas school district that has implemented a successful RtI program. Ten educators involved with the RtI process were interviewed about their…

This dissertation examined the student discipline policies of 1,025 Texas school districts, as well as data from the Texas Education Agency's Academic Excellence Indicator System in order to identify demographic patterns regarding corporal punishment policies in Texas schools. The study also studied the relationship between a district's corporal…

Little is known about the implementation of assistive technology (AT) services for students in rural areas. This study investigated the AT service delivery in 10 rural districts across six states. The results indicated that students use AT across functional areas, but considerably fewer number of devices than do those not living in rural areas. AT…

Schools are constantly engaged in implementing reform strategies to prepare students for postsecondary education leading to their career choices. Challenges here involve education initiatives addressing programs not strategically planned, educators not prepared for transition, and no follow-up support beyond initial implementation stages. This…

Many reports on rural education give little attention to digital learning. At most, they tend to note either infrastructure needs or the potential of remote course access, with little focus on instruction, outcomes, or exemplars. This report intends to begin correcting that imbalance by connecting the dots between rural regions, rural education,…