This study is a cost-benefit analysis examining an urban district's partial school nurse coverage conversion to full-time coverage. Through a partnership with a health care system, the district received funding, resulting in the hiring of full-time nurses to cover all K-8 elementary schools. Researchers compared the cost of nursing services to the…

Background: Schools need to implement universal student supports that prevent social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties; minimize associated risks; and promote social, emotional, and behavioral competencies. The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of the Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) implementation strategy…

Despite increasing reliance on licensed practical nurses (LPNs) to provide health services in schools, we do not know whether this is a cost-effective prevention strategy against student absenteeism. Therefore, we evaluated the costs and effectiveness of an LPN-based school nursing program for improving attendance and chronic absenteeism at a…

Many schools face barriers that hinder access to services, including limited funding and staff trained in evidence-based interventions. In particular, rural schools must provide targeted intervention to promote academic growth and narrow achievement gaps despite these barriers. One seldom-considered solution to ease the resource costs in the…

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore K-12 educators' perceptions of the use of social media as professional development tools in an independent school district in Texas. The population for the study was approximately 934 teachers, administrators, and instructional design coaches. The sample size was twenty participants. A word…

Although intensive interventions can be more costly than less intensive interventions, for some individuals, they may be more cost-effective. We extend the examination of differential cost-effectiveness to teacher consultation by examining the association between teacher-level characteristics (baseline knowledge, beliefs, skills) and change in…

Cost analyses are used to determine overall costs of implementing evidence-based programming and may help decision makers determine how best to allocate finite resources. Child sexual abuse (CSA), regularly viewed as a human rights violation, is also a public health concern estimated to impact 27% of females and 5% of males by age 18. Universal,…

Utilization of telehealth in school-based health centers (SBHCs) is increasing rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effect on school absences and cost-benefit of telehealth-exclusive SBHCs at 6 elementary schools from 2015-2017. The effect of telehealth on absences was estimated compared…

Despite increasing reliance on licensed practical nurses (LPNs) to provide health services in schools, we do not know whether this is a cost-effective prevention strategy against student absenteeism. Therefore, we evaluated the costs and effectiveness of an LPN-based school nursing program for improving attendance and chronic absenteeism at a…

This study examines the efficacy, cost, and implementation of an integrated science and literacy curriculum for kindergarten. The study was conducted in a large urban district and included 1,589 students in 71 classrooms in 21 schools. The research includes a multi-site cluster-randomized controlled trial and mixed-methods cost and implementation…

The purpose of this dissertation was to understand the ways forms of literacy and cultural oppression operate in the content of the corpus of 60 books distributed by Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (DPIL) to children who entered kindergarten in the fall of 2022 from their birth to age 5. A growing number of affiliates, including many U.S.…

According to UNESCO, one-third of the world's youths are victims of bullying, which deteriorates academic performance and mental health, and increases suicide ideation and the risk of committing suicide. This paper analyzes a four-month parent-directed intervention designed to foster empathy in middle schoolers in China. Our implementation and…

Private tutoring (PT) has significantly expanded worldwide in recent decades. Despite its popularity and implications for the operation of formal education systems and cultural and social development, research on English private tutoring (EPT) is still in its infancy. Guided by Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory (1994), this mixed-methods study is…

Small-group interventions are often used in schools to support the development of children's social skills. One such intervention, Lego®-Based Therapy (LBT), is increasingly popular internationally in schools. Although LBT has an emerging evidence-base, there is limited research exploring effective LBT implementation. An in-depth, exploratory…

"The Upstart Great Plains TASK Force: Taking All to Success in Kindergarten" was a five-year Education, Innovation and Research (EIR) expansion grant (U411A180001) funded through the US Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Four research studies were conducted during the grant period of 2018 to 2023: a…