Although School based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers have a variety of responsibilities within a comprehensive program, supervised agricultural experience (SAE) programs are considered an intracurricular component. Unfortunately, the ability for teachers to plan for and facilitate SAEs has been reported as lacking. The purpose of this…

Students need proficient literacy skills if they are to be successful in school and in life. Students typically master foundational literacy skills in the primary grades, and their abilities continue to develop throughout middle and high school as they encounter increasingly difficult academic work. Unfortunately, a substantial percentage of…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs have become increasingly popular during the last 20 years. Although the benefits of SEL programs are significant, the issue of implementation fidelity often arises. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of implementation fidelity in the Life Skills Training (LST) program implemented with…

The current study provides foundational research on the extent to which Florida Title 1 middle schools (schools including grades 7 and/or 8) have policies and practices that align with core components of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). Principals from 197 (42.73%) of all FL Title 1 schools that included at least grades seven…

Large numbers of qualified students do not apply to and enroll in college. Yet, earning a college degree is one of the primary pathways for economic success and is increasingly required for good jobs and high wages. A number of programs and practices aim to improve college readiness and enrollment, including "Take Stock in Children's®…

Decades of research have emphasized the need for engaging, accessible ways to help students learn fundamental mathematical concepts. Research also shows that teacher beliefs about teaching and learning have an outsized influence on the quality and effectiveness of curricular interventions. This article reports results of an independent evaluation…

Large numbers of qualified students do not apply to and enroll in college. Yet, earning a college degree is one of the primary pathways for economic success and is increasingly required for good jobs and high wages. A number of programs and practices aim to improve college readiness and enrollment, including "Take Stock in Children's®…

The National Summer Learning Project, launched by the Wallace Foundation in 2011, includes an assessment of the effectiveness of voluntary, district-led summer learning programs offered at no cost to low-income, urban elementary students. The study, conducted by RAND, uses a randomized controlled trial and other analytic methods to assess the…

The National Summer Learning Project, launched by the Wallace Foundation in 2011, includes an assessment of the effectiveness of voluntary, district-led summer learning programs offered at no cost to low-income, urban elementary students. The study, conducted by RAND, uses a randomized controlled trial and other analytic methods to assess the…

This study reports on a critical review of the language demands contained in the Common Core State Standards for English language arts (CCSS-ELA) with the aim of deriving important implications for the instruction of English language learners. The language demands of the CCSS-ELA were compared with those of existing English language arts (ELA) and…

Girls in Engineering, Mathematics and Science (GEMS) is a science and math outreach program for middle-school female students. The program was developed to encourage interest in math and science in female students at an early age. Increased scientific familiarity may encourage girls to consider careers in science and mathematics and will also help…

This applied dissertation was designed to evaluate a Reading Recovery program at an alternative school in Florida. The Reading Recovery program was used as an intervention for improving students' reading skills and performances on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) that is given each year to students in Grades 7 and 8. The…

Multigrade grouping is the practice of intentionally grouping two or more grade levels in the same classroom to enhance learning. It is becoming a much discussed and implemented alternative grouping practice in middle level education. This paper describes the implementation process of two multigrade "teams" in two Florida middle schools,…

This manual is designed for persons who are responsible for implementing career-mentoring programs, especially for middle and junior high school girls, emphasizing nontraditional, high-wage occupations. Such a program is recommended by the School-to-Work Opportunities Act as a connecting activity. The manual is organized in two sections plus…

This manual has been developed to assist mentors in working with mentees in a career mentoring program. The manual is divided into four sections. The first section provides information on how to be an effective career mentor. It suggests strategies to make the time mentors spend with mentees meaningful. The second section provides information on…