Empathy plays a vital role in improving student engagement and supporting organizational change in schools. In fact, empathy is widely recognized as an essential skill for integration during such efforts. In collaboration with Battelle for Kids, the Cumberland Valley School District in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, launched a vision for school…

The Common Core State Standards recommend that all educators equip students with the literacy skills needed for college and careers. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine middle-level content-area teachers' perspectives on a district-led literacy professional development program and their implementation of the literacy…

As America's prekindergarten through 12th grade population becomes increasingly diverse, educator preparation programs (EPPs) are tasked with attracting, admitting, supporting, and graduating more teacher candidates from underrepresented groups. The research reported here was designed to improve our understanding of strategies that some EPPs have…

The Philadelphia Education Research Consortium--or PERC--was launched in August 2014 as an innovative partnership designed to provide research and analyses on some of the city's most pressing education issues. This partnership was forged among the School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia's charter school sector, and Research for Action (RFA).…

The purpose of this study was to determine K-12 teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and practices of brain-based learning strategies in western Pennsylvania schools. The following five research questions were explored: (a) What is the extent of knowledge K-12 public school teachers have about the indicators of brain-based learning and Brain Gym?; (b) To…

In 2003, Lumina Foundation for Education launched a bold, multiyear, national initiative called "Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count," to help students stay in school and succeed. The initiative is focused particularly on students who have faced the most barriers to success, including low-income students and students of color.…

Widespread replications of evidence-based prevention programs (EBPPs) prompt prevention scientists to examine program implementation adherence in real world settings. Based on Chen's model (1990), we identified five key factors of the implementation system and assessed which characteristics related to program adherence. The sample included 32…

This article describes a design partnership that investigated how to integrate Google Earth, remotely sensed satellite and aerial imagery, with other instructional resources to investigate ground cover and land use in diverse middle school classrooms. Data analysis from the implementation study revealed that students acquired skills for…

A project was undertaken to develop an inservice staff development program for vocational teachers working with disadvantaged students in local school districts in Pennsylvania. The focus of the inservice activity was on the improvement of instructional approaches such as individualized instruction, teaching and reteaching, small group…

A project was undertaken to develop a realistic survival skills curriculum in language arts for adult basic education (ABE) students that could be used with predischarge residents in institutions for mentally ill individuals in Pennsylvania. After identifying 28 predischarge residents at the Harrisburg State Hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,…

This article describes the implementation of a state-funded grant, the challenges that emerged, and the lessons learned. This yearlong grant, Technology[superscript 3], provided the resources for university faculty, teacher candidates, and cooperating teachers to integrate technology. Findings from the grant did not indicate significant changes in…