The problem examined in this qualitative arts-based phenomenological multi-site case study was the existence of racial discipline disparities in K-12 public schools throughout the United States. The purpose of this study was to illuminate the lived experiences of middle school principals leading the implementation of restorative justice practices…

Fidelity of implementation of school practices is crucial to student outcomes. Several types of tools, including self-assessments, are available for measuring fidelity, but little is known regarding the relation of self-assessments of fidelity to fidelity instruments completed with the support of external experts, specifically, during the first…

Physical education (PE) programs provide learning experiences designed to fulfill developmental and behavioral needs of the whole child. In the state of Illinois and across the country, however, student-centered PE programs are being limited or eliminated. Illinois laws reduced the requirements of PE and gave school district administrators the…

Academic achievement in the nation's lowest performing schools is troubling. Despite improvements in students' overall academic achievement over the past few decades, proficiency gaps in reading and mathematics remain across income, racial, and ethnic groups. One promising strategy for reducing achievement gaps is to expand the school day, often…

How educational leaders initiate and sustain change is often hotly debated by those inside and outside of the system. Given the many reform initiatives of the past 30 years, and the resulting changes public educators have made lurching from initiative to initiative, one must ask if public education has truly improved. The answer to why public…

Check-In, Check-Out (CICO) is one of the most widely implemented Tier 2 behavior interventions in a school-wide system of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Much literature has documented implementation of CICO across individual schools or districts. The Illinois PBIS Network, currently known as the Midwest PBIS Network, has…

This study investigated Response to Intervention (RtI) implementation in two Illinois middle schools and its impact on the collaborative relationship between general and special education teachers. The intended and unintended consequences of RtI implementation for general and special educators were examined. This qualitative research study was…

In this qualitative study, the authors examine the advisory program of a Horizon Schools to Watch middle grades school. Horizon Schools to Watch is the Illinois affiliate of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle School Reform national Schools to Watch (STW) program, meaning schools with the STW designation have made significant inroads in…

In this article, the authors trace teachers' experiences while participating in an educational technology development and research project focused on the creation and use of an online writing and peer review environment. They follow teachers from their initial expectations of the program, to their response to professional development training…

Introduction: Quality professional development (PD) is critical for health teachers to positively impact student learning. PD elements include administrator support, teacher involvement, content-specific focus, collaboration time, and program evaluation. Purpose: This study investigated (a) whether PD was supported, (b) which PD opportunities were…

Discusses collaboration between a teacher and an education professor in developing and implementing a new reading/language-arts program in a fifth-grade classroom. The move from a traditional basal reading and language-arts textbook approach to one using novels and process writing meant many changes for both teacher and students. An Author's…

A survey of representative schools in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois showed that most small and rural schools house middle-level students in buildings primarily designed for elementary or high school students. Middle level students often receive an inappropriate educational program that is not taught by teachers trained to understand and…

An action research project implemented a program for the development of citizenship, cultural awareness, and positive character attributes. Targeted population consisted of middle and high school students in several growing, middle class communities located in northern Illinois. Problems of lack of awareness and sensitivity are documented through…

This report describes a program for improving moral character to increase academic achievement. Targeted population consisted of middle school students in a growing middle class community in a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The problem, an absence of proper moral character, was documented through data collected from discipline referrals to…

This document, which was developed with input from 14 Illinois middle schools, is a comprehensive guide to planning and implementing career development activities in middle schools. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) background information (the rationale for and importance of career development; young adolescents' interests and…