In the U.S., state guidance to schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was politicized. We used state-level political affiliation to explore whether access to curricular resources differed pre-pandemic or during pandemic remote teaching and teachers' reported control over curricular resources during pandemic teaching. We found that…

A mixed-methods study investigated the relationship between teachers within urban Title I elementary schools (e.g., high versus low performing) and their mathematics problem-solving beliefs in six constructs ("perseverance," "procedural," "conceptual," "importance," "effort," and…

LXD Research conducted a study to examine the relationship between investment in Zaner-Bloser Handwriting program and Grade 3 student proficiency in handwriting in Alabama. Data from 4,759 students across 54 schools were analyzed, with schools categorized into Low Zaner-Bloser Handwriting (>$1 and [less than or equal to]$5 per student per…

Purpose: Our purpose was to gather and evaluate accurate, up-to-date information on physical education (PE) policy implementation across multiple U.S. states and regions. Methods: A U.S. Physical Education and Physical Activity Policy questionnaire was developed and completed by 4,845 public-school PE teachers from 25 U.S. states. The U.S.…

Background: We sought to determine the impact of school gardens and nutrition education on student fruit and vegetable consumption from limited-income communities in Alabama. Methods: Third grade students at 99 Alabama schools with and without gardens on-site were randomized to receive either nutrition education or to a wait-list control group.…

Future Forward is an early primary literacy program that pairs one-on-one tutoring with family engagement. The approach of Future Forward is informed by both systems theory and a school-family-community partnership model. With its school-family-community partnership approach, schools are not solely responsible for developing student literacy.…

Rural schools are unique in the challenges they face; therefore, it follows that the policies to address the challenges should also be unique and not adhere to the "one size fits all" mentality. This research uses a qualitative approach and takes the bold step to seek the input of teachers who work in rural schools for suggestions on how…

Relative to the theme of this journal edition, "Leadership in a Time of Change," one of the most challenging changes in school leadership recently has been finding qualified teachers to teach in P-12 classrooms. Teacher turnover in P-12 schools has increased significantly (Simon & Johnson, 2015), contributing to the teacher shortage…

Future Forward is an early elementary literacy program which, through a family-school-community partnership approach, integrates one-on-one tutoring and family engagement to support literacy development at school and at home. In the 2020-21 school year, as part of an Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Mid-Phase grant, the impact of a modified…

Professional organizations can play an important role in the lives and work of educators. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore Alabama educators' experiences with membership in statewide professional organizations and to determine what benefits, if any, members feel their organizations provide them. Four main benefits that…

Integrating learning analytics in digital game-based learning has gained popularity in recent decades. The interactive nature of educational games creates an ideal environment for learning analytics data collection. However, past research has limited success in producing accessible and effective assessments using game learning analytics. In this…

Background/Context: Future Forward (FF) is an early elementary literacy program, administered by Education Analytics (EA), that combines one-on-one tutoring with parent engagement to promote student literacy development both at school and at home. In 2011 FF was funded by an i3 grant to develop the program and test its impact in Milwaukee. Two…

Research suggests that positive parent-teacher relationships and increased parent involvement can improve student achievement. Family-school-community partnerships can promote these outcomes. This article describes the Pre-Kindergarten Parent Leadership Academy (Pre-KPLA) within the Parent Teacher Leadership Academy (PTLA) at the University of…

This study investigates how teacher burnout symptoms can be explained by childhood trauma and perceived resilience. Self-assessment surveys, designed to measure adverse childhood experiences, ability to bounce back after hardship, and burnout symptoms, were completed by 146 kindergarten through 12th-grade U. S. public school teachers. Structural…

Instructional leaders of the school building influence teachers' well-being. While there have been many studies conducted regarding reasons teachers leave the classroom, very few studies focused on the differences between leader behaviors and teacher well-being. The purpose of this research study was to determine if there were statistically…