The purpose of this study was to explore administrators' and teachers' experiences and perceptions of how restorative practice strategies impact the execution of school discipline in an urban middle school. This study included a review of data collected from interviews with middle school administrators and teachers in a large school district. A…

State-funded prekindergarten educational programming for all children is a rarity in the United States. Five states offer no financial support to fund prekindergarten educational programming, and the majority offer partial funding. Only three states provide universally funded prekindergarten educational programming. The purpose of this study is to…

The effectiveness of the Check and Connect dropout prevention program was examined, over the course of 2.5 years, with 54 middle school students from diverse backgrounds experiencing one or more conditions of risk for dropout. Participants were randomly assigned to receive the Check and Connect intervention or business as usual (i.e., control) in…

The purpose of this study was to examine differences between academic and behavioral outcomes for three cohorts of sixth grade boys enrolled at Starlight Middle School, a large, urban school in the Midwest. A comparison was made between pre-, partial, and full intervention data, during three consecutive years of implementation of School-wide…

School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is a systems approach to supporting the social and emotional needs of all children utilized by more than 21,000 schools across the nation. Data from numerous studies and state projects' evaluation reports point to the impact of SWPBIS on student outcomes (office discipline referrals…

The purpose of this study was to analyze School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SW-PBS) and Behavior Intervention Support Teams (BIST) and their impact on managing student behavior in sample schools in Missouri by using methodological triangulation. Office disciplinary referrals (ODRs) and Safe School Act Violations during the 2012-2014 school…

Literature suggests that improving teacher use of culturally responsive classroom management strategies may reduce the disproportionate number of racial and ethnic minority students who receive exclusionary discipline actions and are identified as needing special education, particularly for emotional and behavioral disorders. Coaching teachers is…

Literature suggests that improving teacher use of culturally responsive classroom management strategies may reduce the disproportionate number of racial and ethnic minority students who receive exclusionary discipline actions and are identified as needing special education, particularly for emotional and behavioral disorders. Coaching teachers is…

This study evaluated a comprehensive mentoring program on selected at-risk students with specific school problems (attendance, discipline referrals, and core area grades). The sample included youths in Grades 4-8 who differed on some characteristics including grade-level, ethnicity, and gender. For the purpose of this mixed methods study, the…

Together, a school district and a local union are working to ensure that educators are trained in restorative practices in order to improve school climates and keep students in school and learning. This article describes how, in recent years, administrators and teachers have shifted from traditional school punishments, such as suspension, to…

Behaviors that warrant school discipline (e.g., fighting, victimizing peers) is detrimental to school climate and the learning process. This study examines the effectiveness of preventing school disciplinary incidents in middle school through an experiential, social and emotional learning (SEL) program. A community youth development organization,…

Research shows that school-wide positive behavior supports (SWPBS) can be an effective alternative to traditional reactive, punitive approaches to problem behavior. However, few studies examine the use of the approach as part of a comprehensive school improvement process involving academic as well as behavioral goals, particularly with regard to…

Today concern exists for the safety and success of students in the public education system. Families, educators, and community members are concerned with the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of students in an environment where incidents of violence are growing. Events like the school shootings at Jonesboro, Arkansas, and at Columbine…

Documentation of classroom disruptions caused by student behavior has steadily increased over the past 70 years. Researchers have theorized that professional development training for teachers slows the disruptions caused by student behavior, allowing all students to learn; however, there is a paucity of research on whether teachers implement the…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the Home Improvement for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program on school performance during the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th grades. The study employed a quasi-experimental, post-hoc design using existing data on children who participated in the HIPPY program as 3-, 4-, or 5-year-olds, including:…