Strong, well-prepared school leaders are a well-known lever for improving student achievement and retaining teachers, but principal retention has received less attention even as principals are leaving at worrying rates. State leaders can help develop strong principals in their states by investing in evidence-based professional learning…

The study aimed to build the capacity of assistant principals to identify and support teachers in using equitable classroom practices. The Participatory Action Research (PAR) study in a rural North Carolina school district included a team of the principal and two assistant principals as co-practitioner researchers (CPR) to study how the principal…

This technical supplement provides details on the survey methodology and results presented in the report "Developing Effective Principals: What Kind of Learning Matters?" The full report shows that principals' access to high-quality learning opportunities varies across states and by school poverty level. To draw these conclusions, the…

A substantial and growing body of research suggests that strong school leadership is critical for shaping productive learning environments, supporting high-quality teachers and teaching, and influencing student outcomes. But what characteristics contribute to high-quality principal preparation programs and learning experiences? And to what extent…

Childhood trauma is an all-too common factor in the lives of students and their families. Schools and communities across America are more likely to serve families that have experienced trauma (Anderson, 2016). Although trauma or toxic episodes can impact families across the economic spectrum, children living in poverty, in socially isolated areas,…

To best train and support school leaders in their evolving roles, they require high-quality preparation and in-service pipelines that both address the changing demands on their positions and acknowledge the cascading effects that well-prepared leaders have on both student outcomes and in school culture and retention. Including school leaders in…

Anecdotal evidence points to the importance of school principals, but the limited existing research has neither provided consistent results nor indicated any set of essential characteristics of effective principals. This paper exploits extensive student-level panel data across six states to investigate both variations in principal performance and…

This case study helps students better understand barriers to youth sport participation that low-income families face and then offer solutions to alleviate some barriers and create a more inclusive sport community. The case focuses on the struggle that many sport organizations face when trying to increase diversity and inclusiveness, regardless of…

Children spend as much as ten hours per day, five days a week in childcare centers and preschools. In providing healthy environments, these facilities deal with a variety of pest and pesticide issues influenced by their geographic location, local environment, and pesticide regulations. Some rely extensively on pesticides while others use…

In the spring of 2019, RTI implemented the All Hands on Deck program in three North Carolina counties. The program was funded by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction School Safety Grant, which was offered in response to a growing need for safer schools in the state. According to the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 10.1% of…

The Effective Teaching Framework (ETF) initiative was designed to provide a common language and lens for understanding the skills, strategies, and resources needed for teachers and school leaders to create an optimal learning environment for all students. ETF training consisted of six full days of training for principals, assistant principals…

Throughout every region of North Carolina, leaders of organizations in all fields -- business, education, government, community, faith-based, and others -- agree that the future prosperity and well-being of the state's citizens requires successfully educating all of its children. That means effectively supporting children of every race and…

Focused on the use of teacher evaluation data, this case was designed for use in two principal licensure courses, one on data literacy and the other on supervision and personnel. The principal of Baker Middle School has been instructed by the superintendent to use data from the state's new teacher evaluation system to determine which teachers…

Principals who are strong, effective, responsive leaders help to inspire and enhance the abilities of their teachers and other school staff to do excellent work. Such principals also tend to retain great teachers and create opportunities for them to take on new leadership roles. This leads to the following key question: What can state policymakers…

Emotions provide a ubiquitous and consequential backdrop to daily life, influencing everything from physiology to interpersonal relationships in the blink of an eye. Instances of emotional experience accumulate and compound to impact overall mental and physical health. Under optimal conditions, emotions are adaptive for the successful navigation…