<p> This study examined the success of five elementary schools in their implementation of the 2011 New Jersey Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying law (NJ HIB law). It also explored stakeholders' perceptions of school climate since the law went into effect. Fourth and fifth grade parents, students, teachers, and counselors in the district's five elementary schools were invited to participate in surveys, focus groups, and interviews. The study revealed that these stakeholders supported the spirit of the law but felt that there were unexpected obstacles in the law that impeded its effectiveness to support a positive school climate and eliminate bullying. The results of the study will aid the district's elementary schools to improve implementation of the HIB law and guide stakeholders as they move to create a positive school climate and eliminate bullying.</p>

<p> This study examined how stakeholders in one school district located in a remote town perceived the instructional improvement efforts of the district, as well as the constraints and enablers of implementing instructional reforms. A qualitative approach, consisting mainly of interviews with teachers, principals, district administrators, and other school-level staff, was used to examine the perceived effects of the district's instructional reforms in five areas: (1) adopting a set of goals to guide the district's actions; (2) implementing instructional reform; (3) improving professional development; (4) supporting district and school administrators to become instructional leaders; and (5) encouraging the use of data to diagnose student learning needs and guide instruction. School-level interviews were conducted within four of the district's elementary schools selected to represent the district on a number of demographic and academic variables. The overall findings for these five areas were as follows. Respondents spoke primarily about changes to reading instruction as the district's top priority. The district's efforts to reform classroom instruction resulted in all elementary schools implementing, in varying degrees, the structures the district established for teaching reading. These levels of implementation were achieved through a gradual process and were met with initial resistance from principals and teachers. The district's shift to providing job-embedded professional development proved to be a major support in establishing a consistent teaching approach. Literacy coaches represented the main source of job-embedded professional development and played an important role in providing teacher professional development. Principals strove to achieve the district's expectation for them to become instructional leaders in their buildings, although some struggled with the content expertise required to be an instructional leader, while others expressed difficulty in managing their time between being a building manager and an instructional leader. Finally, the district's instructional improvement efforts were informed by student achievement data and teacher observation data, as teachers used formative and summative assessments to monitor students' progress and to provide appropriate levels of intervention to students.</p>

<p> Severe teacher shortages, caused by high attrition rates, have been the focus of attention for school districts and policy leaders for over two decades. Teacher attrition accounts for approximately 40 to 50% of new teachers leaving in the first 5 years of service. High teacher attrition rates in the United States impact tomorrow&rsquo;s leaders, innovators, and workers who today are struggling to succeed in math and science in a globally competitive world. By not addressing the reasons teachers leave the profession, or by not conducting further research on preservice teachers to better prepare them for the classroom, the nation will continue to be at risk. This study looks at the research on why teachers say they leave in the first 1 to 5 years of service and asks preservice teachers the extent to which they consider low salaries, working conditions that severely limit their autonomy over classroom decision-making, and the effectiveness of their teacher preparation in content areas and classroom management. Understanding whether preservice teachers considered these factors or felt they needed more effective instruction will help identify gaps in teacher education programs that may prevent new teachers from leaving the profession in the first 5 years. This study uses a semi-structured interview process to attain the unique stories of preservice teachers and to assess their consideration of the issues that have been shown to make teachers leave the teaching profession. A combination of criterion and snowball sampling techniques were used to select a group of 12 preservice elementary education teachers. The qualitative design uses a phenomenological approach to find the main themes of the preservice teachers&rsquo; stories. </p><p> The study revealed that preservice teachers do not consider low salaries, working conditions that severely limit their autonomy over classroom decision-making, and the effectiveness of their teacher preparation in content areas and classroom management prior to becoming a teacher. Although the preservice teachers in this study did not consider these factors, each expressed concern about working conditions during their clinical experience and the quality of their teacher preparation programs. The stories of these preservice teachers and the recommendations for future studies will help guide the transformation of teacher education programs and the teaching profession to lower attrition rates in K-12 schools around the country.</p><p>

<p> Education policy and mandates have changed drastically over the last 40 years. As politicians began adopting educational platforms as part of their political agenda, the educational standards of the United States have risen. Politicians have specifically targeted underserved populations as the focus of their educational reforms. Programs such as Race to the Top, FERPA, and No Child Left Behind are examples of politicians attempting to provide all students with equitable educations, regardless of ethnicity, gender, and economic background. </p><p> Just as it is na&iuml;ve to believe that all students learn the same, it is also na&iuml;ve to believe that there is one perfect program that will meet the needs of all students in all areas of the country. Under the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 2009, the US Department of Education strove to close the education gap with the introduction of School Improvement Grants. The SIG provided federal funds to underserved schools through a rigorous application process. The funds were available to approved schools for 3-year period. The purpose of this grant was to help underserved schools create and implement a program that was tailored to meet the needs of their students, while promoting academic growth. </p><p> This study focused on urban, public New England schools who received SIG funds between 2010 &ndash; 2016. Through semi-structured interviews with administrators at identified successful SIG schools, a list of best practices has been compiled as a reference for future urban, public New England schools who receive SIG funding. The key findings of this study indicated that communication, strong leadership, collaboration, and good staffing choices played a significant role in the success of the SIG programs. The conclusion of this study indicated that while schools and students have a vast range of needs and difficulties, there are several common shared experiences that could possibly help other administrators in their quest to implement a successful SIG program.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative exploratory single case study was to explore how parents and teachers perceive the influence of socioeconomic status on parental involvement in suburban southern Georgia elementary schools. Two research questions were posed to fulfill the purpose of this study: How do parents perceive the influence of socioeconomic status on parental involvement in suburban southern Georgia elementary schools? and How do teachers perceive the influence of socioeconomic status on parental involvement in suburban southern Georgia elementary schools? Epstein&rsquo;s Framework for Parent Involvement and Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler&rsquo;s Model of Parent Involvement served as the theoretical foundations. Purposive sampling was used to select 22 parent and 59 teacher participants. Data collection comprised of semi-structured interviews of parents and teachers, questionnaires, and archival review of school documents to triangulate the data. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Thematic analysis identified five themes: Defining Parent Involvement, Perception of Socioeconomic Status, Communication Methods, Perception of Involvement, and School Environment. Findings of this study revealed that elementary parents and teachers in South Georgia have differing perceptions of the influence of socioeconomic status on parent involvement. Overall, data revealed that while parent and teacher perceptions varied, they indicated that communication and the school environment were the most pertinent factors to their involvement. The implications for this study implicate that sharing the results of this study with both parents and teachers could possibly clarify expectations of each group and open a dialogue. </p><p>

<p> The current qualitative study focuses on how teachers perceive the Response to Intervention (RtI) framework for English learners, specifically assessments and the instructional decision-making process. RtI serves as a framework to help &ldquo;close the gap&rdquo; and create a more equitable environment for struggling English learners (Florida Department of Education, 2008). The current study explored elementary school general education teachers&rsquo; perceptions and understanding of the RtI process for English learners. Eight elementary general education teachers participated in two interview sessions each to address what general education teachers know about the RtI process for English learners, how teachers report their interpretation of policies and procedures with respect to instruction and assessment of English learners, how teachers feel about their understanding of RtI, and how teachers feel about their understanding of instruction and assessment for English learners.</p><p> Teacher participants shared their knowledge of the importance of progress monitoring and data collection during the RtI process. Participants reported that progress monitoring and data collection were used to inform instructional decisions for English learners. Participants also provided insight into a shift in teacher accountability related to data collection and progress monitoring. </p><p> Teacher participants addressed elements of the RtI process: three tiers of RtI, evidence-based interventions, data and data collection, and progress monitoring. Based on teacher responses, teachers monitor student progress, but find some elements of progress monitoring unclear. Participants expressed concern about measuring student progress and the means used to demonstrate growth and to compare struggling students to the performance of peers in the same grade level.</p><p> The RtI framework includes targeted interventions for struggling students, and participants perceive that RtI helps to identify students with disabilities earlier. Participants reported benefits and drawbacks related to RtI. The participants specifically focused on the collaborative problem solving team as a beneficial support system for teachers navigating the RtI process.</p><p> Teachers reported perceptions on language acquisition and learning disabilities, adjustment time for English learners, assessments for English learners, parental involvement and experiences, instruction for English learners, and professional development and support for the instruction of English learners.</p>