Across the United States, the effort to ensure that students are able to meet national and state standards is being seriously undermined by three factors in particular: failure to attract, cultivate, and retain our newest teachers (South Carolina Induction and Mentoring Program Guidelines, 2006). This study is an assessment of the conditions in a…

The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to determine the efficacy of digital learning competencies for school administrators in a rural eastern North Carolina district. The study had four research questions that were answered through a survey and a focus group. The survey had 44 quantitative items that participants chose from a…

This study delves into the relationships between strategic recruitment and retention practices implemented by rural Minnesota school districts and the recruitment and retention rates of teachers of color within these districts. The research assesses whether districts implementing strategic recruitment practices demonstrate a higher proportion of…

In 2018, the United States Congress passed the "Strengthening of Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act." This legislation included the requirement to conduct a comprehensive local needs assessment, which must include input from community stakeholders. This project designed and evaluated a three-step process that…

The National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) seeks to increase opportunity for rural students through the power of actionable data and evidence. NCRERN partners with networks of rural school districts to generate and evaluate strategies for improving student outcomes. For more information about NCRERN's work, see the…

Although school districts have prepared and planned for school crises for many years in response to the Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting tragedies, the COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges for school districts when dealing with educating students amid a pandemic. This qualitative phenomenological study examined…

The goal of this study was to solve the problem of teachers leaving the profession early, which has led to the lack of educators in classrooms across the country, impacting various stakeholders, including students, school districts, and fellow educators. Depending on where the school district is located and the students the schools serve, teacher…

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. However, during policy discussions, rural schools' unique challenges are often eclipsed by those of their urban and suburban counterparts. This report is a case study of an innovative, replicable public education experiment at three rural Texas high schools called the Rural Schools Innovation Zone2…

School district leaders are responsible for creating strategic plans for their districts which include three-year, five-year, and ten-year plans. Prior to 1989, school district leaders anticipated student growth or decline by assessing the housing market and mobility trends in the district. In 1989, the Nebraska legislature passed a law allowing…

The United States has a long history of political tension around education at the federal, state, and local level. District and school leaders must balance students' learning and social needs while working to address political tension barriers on education decisions. Political tension involves the feeling of strain or anxiety around topics aligned…

Despite the number of students and the growing diversity of the students served by rural districts, a lack of research exists on rural district systems to support the continuous improvement of schools. The lack of understanding around systems for rural district improvement stands to exacerbate long-standing inequities for rural communities. Using…

Increasing education funding is a topic of discussion every year at the Minnesota State Legislature. In January, Governor Tim Walz proposed a 4% increase to the basic education formula allowance within the K-12 general education revenue program, the "education formula" that determines the majority of funding school districts receive from…

Many Black educators and principals led the nation's schools in the early-to-mid-1900's, when American public education was racially segregated. Black male principals leading predominantly Black schools was commonplace before the United States Supreme Court's decision in "Brown v. Board of Education" that ruled that the practice of…

This mixed methods exploratory case study illuminates work of educational governance in a rural school district that has experienced dramatic improvement over a five-year period between 2017 and 2021. As such, we offer practical insights about how these leaders support continuous improvement, and theoretical insights about rurality, leadership,…

During a two-year span, a cohort of K-8 science teachers undertook the task of creating formative assessments aligned with the Next-Generation Science Standards for their individual classrooms. Practice-based professional development was utilized to support teachers in a cyclical manner as they cooperatively developed, administered, and reflected…