The positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) framework is a well-researched framework used to teach, model, and reinforce positive behavior in schools across the country. Many residential and juvenile facilities have adopted the PBIS framework to fit a 24/7 delivery model spanning facility environments and activities (known as…

The CARES (customer-focused, action-oriented, responsive, empathetic, and service-driven) initiative was launched in AISD in 2018-2019 to bring about a culture of respect and inclusiveness throughout the district. The initiative puts an emphasis on positive customer experiences for families, students and staff members. In the spring of 2020, the…

Program managers frequently put staff training near the top of their lists of ongoing challenges. The mix of diverse, complex training needs in many programs means managers may be responsible for orienting new staff, implementing new administrative procedures, or facilitating steps toward long-term program improvement. The greatest underlying…

Changes and innovations in higher education learning and teaching acted as a catalyst for rethinking the way in which service was delivered to library clients at Australian Catholic University. The Single Service Point was piloted at one campus library in 2014 to develop a best practice approach to service delivery. The merging of cultures within…

The goal of safely and sustainably reopening K-12 school buildings for in-person learning is widely recognized as critical to minimizing the impact of academic, social, emotional, and mental strains brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic. In order for in-person learning to succeed on an ongoing basis, schools must be able to offer safe…

The Birth-to-Three Equity Initiative launched in April 2015 as a multiyear systems change process to strengthen equitable access, services, and child and family outcomes in the "early intervention" system in Martin Luther King County, Washington. This article describes the training of agency leaders and "equity facilitators"…

School districts shape the conditions in which schools operate and as such can support or undermine school success and thus student success. All of which is to say that school districts matter. This article looks at the success of two districts whose low-income and minority students beat the odds in academic achievement. Lessons from these…

Children with serious emotional and behavioral problems often present challenges that far exceed what seems to be manageable. Despite the best intentions and efforts, youth move through multiple failed services because of the lack of progress, the "failure to adjust," and a presumed need for a higher level of care. Renewing Our…

Shifts in the ways that science is being undertaken and marshaled toward social change argue for a new kind of professional competence. Taking the view that the science of social work is centrally about the relationship of research to social impact, the authors extend Fong's focus on transdisciplinary and translational approaches to science,…

APPA's highest institutional honor, the Award for Excellence in Facilities Management (AFE), recognizes those educational institutions whose facilities management organizations demonstrate quality in overall operations and effectiveness. The two most recent recipients, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro (ASU-J) and the University of Nevada-Las…

In this article, we describe an inclusive educational programme for a young boy severely affected by autism. The programme is exemplary not only academically, but also in terms of what children need socially and emotionally. It represents best practices in action. Given the wide agreement about what constitutes best education practices, but the…

The "Blueprint for Training and Practice III" (Blueprint III; Ysseldyke et al., 2006), attempts to pinpoint the vision for the field of school psychology through highlighting school psychologists' role as consultants engaged in activities ranging from individual to systems-level change. Although the literature is replete with calls to restructure…

It's true that adults learn differently than children. They have real-life experiences, strong preferences, time constraints, competing priorities, and varied objectives. But, they also share some similarities. Training the adults who work directly with children is the best way to make a positive impact on the children. In this article, the…

Transforming an entire district from one that is satisfied with being academically good enough into one keenly focused on improved student performance requires overhaul that reaches from end to end, from building to building, from bottom to top. Leaders in Birdville Independent School District in Fort Worth, Texas, learned that applying five…

The authors pursue three aims in this article. The first is to underscore critical praxis as an especially valuable approach to understanding and enabling teamwork. The second is to offer four dimensions of teamwork--vision, roles, processes, and relationships--as salient areas to interrogate using critical praxis. The third aim is to consider the…