School districts have historically operated summer programs to give students extra learning and enrichment opportunities to promote positive academic and behavioral outcomes. Despite the potential benefits and policymakers' endorsement of summer programming, recent research suggests that summer programs have a limited impact on post-pandemic…

As schools face increasing student achievement accountability, many educators have turned to school-level professional learning communities (PLCs) as a possible solution. The challenge is that many schools are not implementing PLCs with fidelity. It is imperative that school leaders assess PLC practices to ensure that critical components are being…

This report illustrates the statewide implementation and effectiveness of school breakfast in Ohio. In the 2024-2025 school year, approximately 94% of Ohio schools with USDA nutrition programs serve breakfast. In the 2023-2024 school year, 27.2% of enrolled children participated in the School Breakfast Program and 54.5% participated in the…

Great Expectations is a Virginia Community College System program for youth who were in foster care after the age of 13. Foster youth enter college with multiple disadvantages, including being less academically prepared compared to their peers and often lacking social support for their education. A program evaluation was conducted at a specific…

The worldwide adoption of holistic admissions in higher education is a recent phenomenon, inspired by elements originally present in the U.S. system. While holistic admissions have been rooted in the Korean higher education system since its adoption, now it is also faced with burgeoning debates over their fairness and impact on student access.…

Background: School breakfast programs (SBP) play an important role in reducing food insecurity and helping provide children with adequate nutrition. Using alternative service methods such as breakfast in the classroom, grab and go, and second chance breakfast may increase student participation. Methods: We compared the SBP participation of…

The practice of coaching caregivers requires early intervention (EI) providers to build relationships using compassionate care while implementing coaching practices to increase outcomes for caregivers and children. Coaching with compassion is highly valued and studied within other disciplines, yet investigations focused on interpersonal skills…

Employment and training services offered through Extension are part of and continue a long tradition of policy-focused employment and job training. This paper chronicles the successes of UT Extension's work as a third-party partner in the delivery of workforce development programming geared toward individuals receiving Supplemental Nutrition…

Background: Evidence-based practice (EBP) use is varied in autism spectrum disorder community-based organizations (ASD-CBOs) in the United States. Aim: The ACT SMART Implementation Toolkit--a multi-faceted implementation strategy guiding teams through implementation phases--was pilot tested to assess its preliminary effectiveness in increasing EBP…

Professional development for teachers must evolve to provide a personalized approach to better meet the needs of the individual. Micro-credentialing is one way to provide teachers with personalized professional development. This case study explores the implementation of a micro-credentialing course in one school district. The district selected a…

Mindfulness-based training of educators in our schools is a necessary skill for the success of young children. As a professional educator and a parent of three children, my interest is in exploring this topic and uncovering the "why" behind student executive functioning skills and the mindfulness-based strategies incorporated into their…

Efforts to broaden participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have remained at the forefront of initiatives across the United States (U.S.) and elsewhere. The importance of creating a STEM workforce that is reflective of the cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity of the overall population has been recognized. Peer…

District leadership teams perform key roles in building the systems to support schools in the implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). However, there is a lack of measures for assessment and progress monitoring specific to district PBIS systems. To address this gap, we evaluated the validity of a measure of…

Irish children's physical activity (PA) levels are below national guidelines. Schools are an ideal setting to promote PA but it remains challenging. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a step-back approach to Project Spraoi (PS); a facilitator (Energizer) led school-based PA intervention. Each Energizer in year one had 2 contact days per…

This study aims to explore in greater depth the role of implementing child-friendly schools, parental involvement in enhancing the effectiveness of child-friendly school policies and practices, and evaluating the challenges that arise in the implementation of child-friendly schools. This qualitative descriptive exploratory research utilizes the…