Compared to all other options, homeschooling provides parents with the most control over their children's educational experiences. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in the U.S. homeschool population. Black families had the largest increase in home educators from 3.3% to 16.1% between April 2020 and October 2020. The emerging literature on Black…

Research with Western samples has uncovered the rapid development of infants' visual attention. This study evaluated spatial attention in 6- to 9-month-old infants living in rural Malawi (N = 511; n[subscript Boys] = 255, n[subscript Yao] = 427) or suburban California, United States (N = 57, n[subscript Boys] = 29, n[subscript White] = 37) in…

In 2019 more than half of the nation's population under age 16 identified as a racial or ethnic minority. As of 2014, Latinx in California surpassed whites as the state's largest ethnic group and today, more than 200 different languages are spoken. This makes California home to one of the most diverse student populations in the world. However,…

For rural students, finding one's voice and identity on a college campus and developing a sense of belonging are important for engagement and degree persistence. Rural affinity groups can create a feeling of comfort or connection that affirms students' place identity and can lead to a more successful college experience. Additionally, an organized…

The literature on mentorship centralizes formal mentoring programs with hired and trained staff and volunteers to work with at-promise youth of color at school- or community-based sites such as Big Brothers Big Sisters or smaller localized programs; however, these programs are not always available in rural areas. This multiple case study explores…

In 2016, California residents widely supported the passage of Proposition 58, which allowed non-English languages to be used in public education. This proposition was intended to benefit all students, especially the state's large Latinx K-12 student population, who tend to speak Spanish and English at home and in school. Yet educational resources…

This report provides background information on Forest Service (FS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) revenue-based payments and a brief overview of a related payment program--the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. Because the revenue-based, Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (SRS), and PILT payments interact…

Background: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine for healthcare delivery was uncommon. Medicare restricted routine fee-for-service reimbursements for rural patients, with payments made under restricted circumstances. In response to the pandemic, the Department of HHS amended the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental…

The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of middle school principals or Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program designees on the implementation practices of SEL programs at their school sites. Adolescents in grades sixth through eighth experience diverse changes that are physical, social, and emotional in nature given their…

High rates of special education teacher attrition negatively impact teachers and students. In an effort to address attrition and support new special education teachers, many school districts pair mentor teachers with novice teachers. Effective mentoring programs have been shown to alleviate some of the stresses of novice teaching and reduce the…

This brief details the significant strides made by the Paradise Unified School District (PUSD) in establishing robust school mental health systems to facilitate healing and recovery. PUSD, which serves the rural communities of Paradise, Magalia, and Stirling City--areas deeply affected by the 2018 Camp Fire--has launched several key initiatives…

As experiments and models of participatory, sustainable living, ecovillages demonstrate how to enact just, cooperative, and regenerative economic and social constructs, as alternatives to 'unsustainable' capitalist economies and consumerist/individualistic lifestyles. Work is central to these enactments, which provides an opportunity to examine…

A university in the California Central Valley and three rural district partners designed and implemented a rural teacher residency (RTR) to address the urgent need to prepare and increase retention of qualified educators serving students in rural communities. The RTR program prioritized building partnerships through data use and continuous…

Expected growth in the population of rural areas of California and in the number of jobs in middle-skill occupations has increased interest in the alignment of middle-skill workforce supply and occupational demand, particularly in rural regions. This study focuses on that alignment in four rural regions of the state: Central Valley and Mother Lode…

This study snapshot presents the key findings from the full study on the alignment of middle-skill workforce supply and occupational demand across four rural regions in California to help stakeholders strengthen the economy in rural parts of the state. The four rural regions in the study are Central Valley and Mother Lode North, Central Valley and…