In 2013, the Tennessee Board of Education adopted Response to Intervention and mandated that districts begin implementing the framework by the summer of 2014. With only a year to begin the model, no state funds to help with implementation, and limited research on implementing school-wide Response to Intervention in poor rural districts and…

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,…

The purpose of this report is to describe what the authors learned from studying eight teacher career advancement initiatives implemented across a variety of contexts, including urban, suburban, and rural districts; high poverty and affluent districts; and in schools/districts both with and without strong union presence. They describe key…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine if employing the writing-to-learn strategy known as a "Science Writing Heuristic" would positively effect students' science achievement, science self-efficacy, and scientific epistemological view. The publications "Science for All American, Blueprints for Reform: Project…

This study linked gender, family help, and grade level to 5 features of homework management reported by 238 rural middle school students. The 5 features studied were setting an appropriate work environment; managing time; and controlling attention, motivation, and potentially interfering emotions. No significant differences were found across grade…

The role of schooling in the economic development process has been targeted as essential in both human capital theory and modernization theories. Research into the nature of underdevelopment in Central Appalachia has provided a basis for debate among regional scholars as to its causes and consequences, yet serious discussion of pre-modern…

The relationship between education and socioeconomic development is reviewed, and a case study of school improvement efforts in an East Tennessee school district is presented. The district and surrounding Clinch County have been economically underdeveloped throughout this century; their schools represent structural barriers for human capital and…

A case study of Oneida High School (Oneida, Tennessee) in December 1997 examined influences and unique circumstances that sustained the school in the face of possible closure and enabled it to "flourish." The study included structured interviews with over 70 individuals in the school and community, focus groups, and informal…