Purpose: Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) encounter many challenges in the school environment. We sought to identify school-based SLPs' needs in the areas of training and research to support school-based practice. Method: We collected surveys from 145 school-based SLPs practicing in Wisconsin. Respondents were asked to describe aspects of…

Planning for farm succession is vital to the longevity of the farm business. To understand the challenges with succession planning, the University of Wisconsin - Division of Extension facilitated focus group meetings across the state. These authors classified the information from the focus groups into eight codes, and each code was further…

For Wisconsin schools and districts, implementing an equitable multi-level system of supports means providing equitable services, practices, and resources to every learner based upon responsiveness to effective instruction and intervention. In this system, high quality instruction, strategic use of data, and collaboration interact within a…

National shortages of school psychologists have started conversations about training, the number of training programs needed, and how to initiate new programs. This article discusses the difficulties associated with traditional training programs for school psychologists and proposes exploring online education and virtual school psychology service…

Wisconsin's infants and toddlers (defined as children less than three years old) are more than 200,000 in number. Seventy-one percent are white/non-Hispanic, and the largest minority group is Hispanic, at 12 percent. Black, Asian American, and American Indian infants and toddlers make up smaller percentages. To help states target policies related…

Since 2012, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has maintained a statewide predictive analytics system providing schools with an early warning in middle grades of students at risk for not completing high school. DPI is considering extending and enhancing this system, known as the Dropout Early Warning System (DEWS). The proposed…

Adoption of the edTPA as part of new teacher licensing and/or program approval requirements has created heated discussions among teacher educators. Among the discussion topics is the supposition that state-level bureaucrats have been the sole source of the decision to require the edTPA, with little input from the preparation programs. This article…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously "food stamps"), is the nation's largest federal entitlement nutritional assistance program which assists individuals and households living below the federal poverty level in order to reduce the amount of money they spend on food. With the conversion of food stamps coupons to…

Before massive numbers of students can take online courses for college credit, the challenges of providing tutoring support, answers to student-posed questions, and the control of cheating will need to be addressed. These challenges are taken up here by developing an online course delivery system that runs in a cluster computing environment and is…

Bilingual programs continue to expand in school districts across the United States to address the growing numbers of students whose home language is other than English. The Response to Intervention (RTI) framework was used to guide this qualitative study, the purpose of which was to identify the extent to which the five elements of RTI exist in…

"We wish we had that option in our area." "Wish we lived closer." "I wish I would have known." These statements, made by parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing, illustrate a frustrating reality for many families--a lack of access to qualified professionals and specialized services to help children with…

Dwindling public funding as well as greater competition for grant dollars create a challenge for Extension. For Extension to remain a financially viable organization, educators have to be able to produce substantive, measurable program outcomes and impacts. Evaluative data can inform program development and delivery, and helps administrators…

Little is known about the implementation of assistive technology (AT) services for students in rural areas. This study investigated the AT service delivery in 10 rural districts across six states. The results indicated that students use AT across functional areas, but considerably fewer number of devices than do those not living in rural areas. AT…

Implementation science defines training and coaching as two important competency components to support fidelity of implementation of evidence-based practices. The present study explores the perspectives of 21 preschool teachers, located in the United States, about the professional development (PD) they received, which included training and…

The Working Alliance, consisting of building bonds, establishing goals, and developing tasks, has been deemed the cornerstone of helping professions, and has been found to significantly and reliably predict client outcomes. The importance of client characteristics and perceptions of working alliance has been established in the literature. Less is…