The purpose of this paper is to examine principals' instructional actions in rural, high-poverty schools and the perceived impact on student achievement. For this qualitative case study, research questions were: What principals' instructional leadership practices are being demonstrated in rural, high-poverty schools based on the literature and…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact a sustained rotational blended learning model on the academic achievement on Title I K-8 elementary school students at a Catholic school in the areas of reading comprehension and mathematics as measured with standardized assessments, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. In response to the first…

Using an ecological approach to trauma-informed care and radical healing, this case study explores how one Title I public middle school mathematics classroom offered students opportunities to engage in healing practices through the use of Social Justice Mathematics. Findings indicate that students identified their emotions, engaged in structural…

Parental involvement is an integral variable that bears a significant value in the overall academic achievement and learning process of a student's educational journey. Therefore, all parents should play a major role in their children's academic success from elementary through middle and high school. The prime focus of this research was to examine…

Writing in science can be challenging for all learners, and it is especially so for students with cognitive or language-based learning difficulties. We examined the effects of a cognitive apprenticeship on student disciplinary writing skills as well as near and far transfer of learning outcomes. This instructional approach included a gradual…

The Exceptional Student Education (ESE) programs in Title I schools provide resources, services, and support to help exceptional students address skill deficits. Despite these services, many exceptional students struggle to perform academically compared to their nondisabled peers. This qualitative descriptive case study explored the perceptions of…

This study examines the interaction between students' expressions of empathy and the use of STEM integration in the science classroom. Third space theory provides the context from which this classroom ethnographic qualitative study took place, as it provided an environment in which discourse among students' sociocultural perspectives, life…

Teacher burnout contributes to poor psychological and physical health, absenteeism, early retirement, and leads to inadequate teacher performance with adverse outcomes in student learning and achievement. Effective coping skills have been proposed as possible protectors from the effects of burnout; therefore, examining teachers' coping resources…

The problem in the 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) afterschool program was that 40% of the students enrolled performed below the proficiency level in reading on the state assessed exams during the past 3 school years. This was of great concern for the teachers and administrators in this Title I middle school, Grades 6-8. This…

Since the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, over 300 billion dollars have been funneled to schools through Title I funds. Qualifying school districts receive Title I funds to address disparities between disadvantaged students' academic achievement and their less impoverished peers. Substantial research has focused on…

The purpose of this study was to determine if special education and at-risk students educated exclusively in a school-within-a-school setting showed improved high-stakes standardized reading test scores after learning the strategic instruction model (SIM) inference strategy. This study was focused on four groups of eighth-grade students attending…

Austin Independent School District served more than 13,000 students in summer programs during 2009, providing opportunities for accelerated learning, maintenance of academic skills between school years, course credit recovery, state achievement tests, or school-level transition activities. This report summarizes this information.

Each year, Austin Independent School District Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) staff develop a plan of work to describe the scope of work for the coming year. The plans that make up this document identify programs to be evaluated and services to be provided by DRE staff and provide the blueprints for evaluation that staff will follow…