This grounded theory study seeks to 1) understand what barriers North Carolina kindergarten teachers experience as they implement a new authentic formative assessment, the North Carolina Early Learning Inventory (NC ELI), and 2) identify factors that increase implementation fidelity with the new measure. Data were collected from 10 teachers, from…

This article examines the impact of proactive, data-informed success coaching on students' retention and completion outcomes, drawing on theories of student engagement and a five-year (2016-2020), mixed-methods study of coaching conducted across 10 North Carolina community colleges. Results from a randomized controlled trial show that coaching…

Coaching is an important component in multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) such as school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS), but little is known about which coaching activities are most related to sustained implementation of this school-wide framework. A survey was developed to examine the amount of receipt and…

High schools hold great potential as contexts within which educators implement evidence-based practices shown to change post-school outcomes for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Unfortunately, educators feel unprepared to use transition and disability-focused evidence-based practices. Coaching, as an essential feature of effective…

This study works to assess the degree to which the impact of implementation of Mastery Learning can be described through teacher perception, academic achievement, and student growth. Elementary school teachers in a suburb in North Carolina implemented the Mastery Learning framework. The school's end-of-grade test scores were above state and…

Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) is a schoolwide initiative implemented in many schools to address discipline concerns and promote a positive school climate. This phenomenological study examined the school climate perceptions of 12 staff members from three secondary schools in two North Carolina school districts that implemented…

The Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at UNC Chapel Hill (FPG) partnered with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Division of Child Development and Early Education (NCDHHS DCDEE) to assess a pilot implementation of the NC Preschool Pyramid Model (Pyramid Model). This social-emotional coaching program is…

This report completes a three-year (2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19) quasi-experimental evaluation of the fidelity of implementation of the Capturing Kids' Hearts program and its impact on two outcomes, teacher-student relationships and student behavior within the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS). Findings from focus groups, teacher…

Advancing Social-Communication and Play (ASAP) is a classroom-based intervention targeting the social-communication and play development of preschool-age children with autism spectrum disorder. We used a multimethod approach to measuring intervention fidelity, including adherence, exposure, treatment differentiation, and quality of treatment…

This is the executive summary for the report "North Carolina Pre-K Pyramid Model Evaluation Study: Implementation and Outcomes Evaluation Study Final Results." The report is an assessment of a pilot implementation of the NC Preschool Pyramid Model (Pyramid Model), a social-emotional coaching program to support NC Pre-K teachers to engage…

Bullying is a significant school problem. Policies have been developed to reduce bullying, yet little is known about their implementation, which must occur for these policies to have an effect. This study examines associations between the overall implementation of a state anti-bullying policy and implementation of specific components outlined in…

Purpose: This work describes community-based participatory research (CBPR) to support language and literacy development with Pre-K and kindergarten African American boys. Method: The aim and goals of the project were designed using the CBPR model. Interventionists were trained with researcher-designed videos. Interventionist fidelity to training…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has undergone numerous revisions since 1965 when the first federal statute dealing with the education of students with disabilities was implemented. A revision completed in 1975 instituted the concept of least restrictive environment (LRE), which demands that all students with disabilities be…

Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS) is an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support colleges seeking to incorporate technology into their advising and student services. In iPASS, such technology is intended to increase advising's emphasis on a student's entire college experience, enabling…

In 2016, Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) senior leadership determined that students were not consistently engaged with content, instruction, or tasks that support the specific instructional shifts in the North Carolina State Standards and 4Cs (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity). After an internal review…