The Virginia Tiered Systems of Support (VTSS) represents the merger of the behavioral side Positive Behavioral Supports (PBIS) and the academic side Response to Interventions (RtI) (Mann & Leutscher, 2014). VTSS is the Commonwealth of Virginia's adaptation of the federally required systemic response program schools are expected to adopt to address the behavioral and academic needs of students (Landers, Courtade, & Ryndak, 2012; Prasse et al., 2012). The development of specific implementation guidelines has been assigned to local levels of leadership. Thus, VTSS programming differences are common between both districts and schools. The purpose of this study is to assess the implementation levels of the behavioral components of three middle schools within the same school district. Three middle schools were selected for this study. The schools operate in the same school district and are separated by approximately ten miles. The study revealed that the schools varied greatly in their interpretation and facilitation of VTSS despite having access to similar resources and external supports. The degrees of behavioral programming implementation and the types of behavioral interventions varied by school location, and these differences are related a variety of different variables: from each school-based VTSS teams' diverse interpretation of VTSS objectives to insufficient faculty buy-in of VTSS-recommended interventions. Additionally, the study revealed that the schools desire to correct the implementation issues and seek to have more central office-driven standardization in programming among their locations.

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There are profound implications for students who suffer from mental illness, have unmet social emotional needs, and those who are being taught by ill-prepared teachers with little self-confidence in their ability to adequately address student needs. Teachers spend a significant amount of time with students who experience social and emotional challenges which requires relevant high quality professional development to learn how to recognize possible student mental health issues and to collaborate with internal and external partners to address these issues. This study employed Stufflebeam’s Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) Program Evaluation model to determine the context, input, process, and product of a social emotional support services (SESS) program. A mixed methods design was used to conduct the evaluation to determine the value, worth, and merit of the program for educators and school districts who understand that a narrow focus on academic achievement is no longer adequate for all students to succeed in and out of school. In order to determine the value of the program, participating teachers were asked to respond to survey evaluation questions through the use of the Teachers’ Sense of Self Efficacy Scale (TSES). The TSES (Appendix A) is a reliable and valid instrument that is designed to determine what creates the most difficulty for teachers in the areas of student engagement, instructional practices and classroom management. Additionally, teachers were asked to respond to questions that provided information regarding their teaching demographics (i.e., years of experience, level of instruction, etc.), implementation of learned skills, and unique success stories and challenges they have faced. Data analysis was conducted to identify differences between respondent demographics and actual survey questions. Although significant gaps were not revealed, relevant findings and recommendations were able to be made.

Abstract Community Learning Centers (CLC) provide extended learning opportunities for students and families that live in fiscally under-resourced communities. These centers provide opportunities for academic enrichment. This includes an array of additional services, programs, and activities. The programs should be designed to reinforce and complement the academic program of participating students and provide the families of students with opportunities for dynamic and meaningful engagement in the education of the child. Significant research has been done on the effectiveness of community learning centers but little research has been conducted on the formative process for establishing programming for a community learning center. This formative evaluation provided key stakeholders with a unique insight into the program. To accomplish this, the evaluator used Robert E. Stake’s Responsive Evaluation Approach to design a constant-comparative qualitative program evaluation. The evaluation engaged in an analysis that identified the perceived program components. Insight from the analysis will be used to formulate a Theory of Change for the CLC. The Theory of Change process pivots upon identifying the essential program components and establishing the sufficient conditions required to bring about a given long term outcome. The formulation of a Theory of Change will assist with establishing programming, resource building (i.e., grant, monetary solicitation), external program collaborations and potential expansion.

Service learning is a widespread educational practice, which, at its foundation, deploys students into partnerships with community organizations toward mutual benefit. Thirty years into the practice, there is a substantial body of research pointing to benefits of service learning for students, with less examination on benefits for community partners with whom students are engaged in service. Further, there is a dearth of examination of equity in service learning partnerships between universities and community organizations. This mixed methods program evaluation examined benefits and equity in service learning partnerships brokered and supported by the Ginsberg Center at the University of Michigan. Through this study, we sought to increase our understanding of perceived benefits for community partners, as well as university faculty and staff partners. Additionally, the study was aimed at increasing our understanding of the extent to which equity was present in these partnerships. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using partner interviews and extant partnership surveys. Findings point to important perceptions about benefit for both community and university partners and that overall benefits outweigh challenges for both partner groups. Findings also illuminate a relationship between perceptions about equity and benefits and point to the Ginsberg Center playing an important mediating role in fostering this relationship. Implementing recommendations to strengthen key infrastructural supports for these partnerships within Ginsberg Center and, more broadly, within the University of Michigan can mitigate challenges, ensure mutual benefit, maximize equity, and advance the mission of the Ginsberg Center to create positive social change for the public good.

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Abstract Supporting and retaining new teachers is an ever-growing challenge faced by school districts across the nation (Anhorn, 2008; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011; Lieberman, Saxl, & Miles, 1988; Lorti, 1975). One way that many schools approach this opportunity to support new teachers is through teacher mentoring programs (Goldrick, 2016; Gray & Gray, 1985; Moody, 2009; Strong & Baron, 2004). as school leaders implement mentoring programs, it is important to know whether the programs are meeting their stated goals (Stufflebeam & Shinkfield, 2007). The purpose of this program evaluation was to look at the perceived influence of a teacher mentoring program upon novice educators within a single hard-to-staff school in an urban neighborhood within a school district in Virginia. Specifically, 10 novice educators were interviewed regarding the influence of the various components and activities of a mentoring program upon their teacher self-efficacy as well as upon their plans for continuing to teach within that school. Interview data revealed teachers felt supported by mentors but the changes in practice and in their own self-efficacy occurred when they observed peers who successfully managed classroom discipline or when they applied strategies learned through induction programs. Interviews also revealed that a mentoring program had little impact upon new teachers’ decisions to remain at a particular school or in a specific school district. Recommendations include ensuring that all new educators—including late hires—receive a mentor, strongly recommending opportunities for peer observations, targeting hard to staff school mentors with coaching and additional training, and providing earlier and more varieties of training opportunities for new teachers in classroom management.

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