Understanding and addressing the literacy needs of middle school students is critical in ensuring their academic success. This quantitative study examines the literacy growth among middle school students participating in Tier II Response to Intervention and Instruction (RTI[superscript 2]) programs over the 2023-2024 academic year. It investigates…

School-based mental health screening has been identified as a major component of social, emotional, and behavioral multitiered systems of support models, and a promising practice that can be used to address unmet mental health needs of children and adolescents. However, there are frequently noted concerns about the feasibility of implementing…

The middle school years are marked by a critical interplay of biological, cognitive, and social development, which collectively shape adolescents' experiences and developmental trajectories. Recognizing the complexity of these processes is crucial for creating nurturing environments that support adolescents' academic, social, and emotional…

Youth suicide is a critical public health issue. School-based suicide prevention programs are one strategy to address youth suicide. This research study explores students' (N = 2,806) perspectives on the SOS Signs of Suicide program, a school-based suicide prevention program for youth in grades six through twelve that includes education and…

Student behavior problems in general-education classrooms present a major barrier to effective teaching. Behavior challenges, such as disruptions, noncompliance, and peer conflicts, reduce instructional time, whereas prosocial behaviors, such as paying attention, being ready to work, asking for help, participating in class, and completing…

Increased attention is being placed on improving psychological well-being and academic achievement in school students. Prior research on meditation provides support for student improvement in these important educational areas. As part of a 9th grade Quiet Time school program, 98 students were randomly assigned either to learn the Transcendent…

Upper elementary students in a Title I rural school participated in an expressive arts-based resiliency small-group intervention entitled Resilient Warriors (RWs). This mixed-methods study revealed positive changes in participating students based on teacher ratings on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. We also found four qualitative…

Student behavior problems in general-education classrooms present a major barrier to effective teaching. Behavior challenges, such as disruptions, noncompliance, and peer conflicts, reduce instructional time, whereas prosocial behaviors, such as paying attention, being ready to work, asking for help, participating in class, and completing…

Background: Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is a clinical guideline that can help delay, prevent or reduce substance use behaviors in youth. We aimed to describe the experiences of middle and high school (MS and HS) students attending a school with an SBIRT program. Methods: This was a survey study conducted in 2…

School-based empowerment programs are types of interventions targeting students with or without behavioral, psychological, and emotional difficulties at schools. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of a school-based social and mental empowerment program on students' behavioral and developmental problems. We…

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth. Suicide screening programs aim to identify mental health issues and prevent death by suicide. Objective: The present study evaluated outcomes of a multi-stage screening program implemented over 3 school years in a moderately-sized Midwestern high school. Methods: One hundred ninety-three…

Mental health (MH) stigma affects help seeking behaviors of youth, particularly youth of color. This article reports the impact of Look Around (LA), a social media campaign designed to reduce MH stigma and increase help seeking in 6th- to 12th-grade youth in one Midwestern county. The campaign utilized movie theater advertising, social media,…

This study was conducted to investigate the impact of Achieve3000 literacy intervention on students' reading achievement and self-esteem. The study focused on a middle school classroom using the digital intervention program Achieve3000. Star Reading a curriculum-based measure was used as a universal screener to measure Achieve3000's impact on…

Invest Early is a comprehensive early childhood collaborative of four school districts in Itasca County, Minnesota, that serves young children and their families with risk factors that may impede school success. Wilder Research, in conjunction with the Invest Early leadership team and staff, is conducting a longitudinal evaluation of the program.…

"For valid disability determination to occur, a diagnostic team needs to be able to determine that a student has received appropriate instruction in the general education classroom" (Johnson, Mellard, Fuchs, & McKnight, 2006, p. 4.2). The purpose of the study was to determine whether a middle school Response to Intervention (RTI)…