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…

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…

This mixed-method study sought to find specific factors influencing teachers in small, remote, rural school districts to continue teaching or to leave their teaching position. Additionally, this study sought to identify specific things district-level administrators could do influence teacher retention rates in small, remote, rural school…

Providing students access to effective teachers is a challenge that school districts all over the nation face. Students from high poverty environments and rural settings have less access than their counterparts to effective teachers at disproportionate rates. This disproportionality may present as an insurmountable barrier for some youth in…

Rural elementary school principals and reading coaches were interviewed about their perspectives and implementation approaches of 2021's Florida Statute 1008.25, which addressed the assessment, remediation, progress monitoring, and parental notification of students with substantial reading impairments. Rural school districts were selected based on…

According to the content found on its website, AVID has conducted studies to evaluate the academic performance of AVID students when compared to their non-AVID peers. A distinct research endeavor was undertaken to evaluate the impact of introducing AVID Elementary within a small rural school district. This study focused on student academic…

Rural school success is crucial for the Nebraska education system. Without rural schools, many students and families would be without access to high quality educational opportunities. Despite the importance of rural education, the number of rural schools in Nebraska continues to decline, and "one thing is clear from academic research on rural…

The purpose of the current study was to explore how superintendents in small, rural districts in Texas utilized the various resources of professional networks to navigate leadership during the crisis caused by COVID-19. When faced with a crisis, superintendents lead the district's response and provide guidance and reassurance for the school…

This mixed methods study sought to identify the incorporation of support for implementing evidence-based instructional practices within an MTSS framework among teachers and the impact on student growth outcomes in three K-2 schools. The study also determined teacher perceptions regarding how support in adult behavior change, which is the…

Many school districts struggle to retain early career teachers, but the challenge is particularly pronounced in small and rural districts (Frahm & Cianca, 2021). The School-University Resource Network, a university center at William & Mary School of Education in Virginia, discovered this firsthand through a community of practice they…

This quantitative study aimed to examine the school context (culture and climate) of teacher leadership. This study utilized a survey instrument that incorporated the "Teacher Leadership School Survey" ("TLSS") developed by Katzenmeyer and Katzenmeyer (2003) and four open-ended questions developed by the researcher. The study…

Principals need support throughout their careers in order to lead effectively and promote continuous improvement. However, some elementary school principals of small, rural schools lack access to structured systems of support that could increase their knowledge and skills as instructional leaders. The purpose of this study was to examine a central…

Many small rural schools are facing a crisis of declining student populations and in the era of school choice, school districts are looking at innovative ways to attract and retain students. Research is limited on the qualitative experiences of people in communities who are focused on increasing inter-district open enrollment in K-12 schools as a…

The role of principals, especially in rural schools, where educational outcomes fall below the national average, is significant in implementing changes in the school. The focus of this qualitative study was to explore factors that principals deem most crucial to establishing and maintaining Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Moreover,…