The American Community Survey (ACS), a nationwide study collected continuously every year in every county in the United States, is designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data each year. These ACS estimates are not averages of monthly or annual values, but rather an aggregation of data…

Partisanship influenced learning modality after the pandemic's onset, but it is unknown whether partisanship predicted other aspects of educational operations. We study the role of partisanship, race, markets, and public health in predicting a range of operations--from modality to family engagement to social-emotional support to teacher…

Background: Determining the root causes of persistent underrepresentation of different subpopulations in engineering remains a continued challenge. Because place-based variation of resource distribution is not random and because school and community contexts influence high school outcomes, considering variation across those contexts should be…

This chartbook is the 14th version to be produced for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). The Chartbook describes the diversity of the Appalachian Region on a host of demographic and economic measures and provides an important annual view of the area and its people. The data contained in the…

This prospective study of 276 Virginia public high schools found that the prevalence of teasing and bullying (PTB) as perceived by both 9th-grade students and teachers was predictive of dropout rates for this cohort 4 years later. Negative binomial regression indicated that one standard deviation increases in student- and teacher-reported PTB were…

A typical U.S. high school student today might be able to recite some milestones of civil rights history--the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-56; the Freedom Rides of 1961; and (some would add) the election of the first African American president in 2008. But how many students understand that these events, which historians call out as milestones,…

High-poverty schools in rural areas and small towns are under attack from state policy makers who want to consolidate these schools in order to save money. In addition to calls for consolidation, rural schools also are threatened by unfair and inadequate funding formulas.

Numerous researchers discuss the solidarity-producing effects of crime, natural disasters and mass tragedies; however, there is much we do not understand about the processes involved in the phenomena. We specify the social relationships that "generate" and "sustain" solidarity by building on Hunter's descriptions of the…

Armed with digital cameras, voice recorders, and movie cameras, students from Thomas Dale High School in Chester, Virginia, have been exploring neighborhoods, interviewing residents, and collecting memories of their hometown. In this article, the author describes "Digital History of Chester", a project for creating a commemorative DVD.…

A telephone survey was conducted in November 1973 to determine television viewing patterns in southwestern Virginia. Data were collected concerning family characteristics and time spent watching the various programs offered by WBRA-TV and WSVN-TV, the local public broadcasting stations. Income and occupational status proved to be significant…

This analysis of the community was designed to identify the needs of its citizens so that the Washington County Public Library could plan more responsive library services. Sections described the physical and historical aspects of the community; demographic characteristics of its population, including age, sex, education, employment status and…

The purpose of this report is to present the results of a crime victimization survey conducted among Virginia residents. The description of the findings is divided into four sections: criminal victimization experiences, reporting of victimizations, attitudes toward crime, and crime prevention and protection measures. The report is offered as a…

This study of the present and future library needs of residents of Stafford County, Virginia, with emphasis on the North Stafford areas, includes a review of demographic statistics and recommendations for library services. The currently increasing population is highly dependent on the automobile for transportation, and recommendations for library…

Economic status determined the effects of declining public revenues and a tighter economy on residents of Farmville, Virginia, a small, conservative, rural, Southern community with underdeveloped social services, whose class relations still reflect racial segregation, whose concern for local autonomy is so great that external funding sources are…

Extensive research has been conducted on numerous factors influencing the academic achievement of school children. While many studies have emphasized individual factors to explain differences in social behavior and academic achievement, others have examined macro-level factors, including those addressing the role of parental socioeconomic status.…