Through semi-structured interviews with teachers and semi-structured interviews-turned-"testimonios" of students, I have sought to understand the purposes and consequences of Disciplinary Alternative Programs (DAP). Four different locations from across the state of Nebraska were utilized with 16 teachers and two students participating.…

The purpose of the multiple-site study was to explore educator's perceptions of the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) that had been operating in three school districts using in-depth interviews. The goal of this research was to describe from the educator's perspective what they perceived, thought and observed about the PLCs functioning in…

A ten-question survey instrument was used to measure teacher acceptance of vocational agriculture core curriculum materials in Nebraska. On a scale of one (poor) to ten (excellent), all 103 teachers who responded rated the core curriculum concept as 5 or higher, with 68 teachers scoring the core concept as 8 or higher. (LRA)

The 2008-2009 Annual Reading First Progress Report reflects on the final year of implementation for Round I schools and the third full year of implementation for Round II schools. This report focuses on the effect that Reading First implementation has had on selected schools across Nebraska with a special focus on vulnerable populations: English…

This report outlines the results of a two year implementation of the Nebraska's Reading First initiative. Over three thousand six hundred students from Kindergarten to Third grade were included in the project. Results indicated significant growth across all demographic groups. Student performance in the earlier grades has shown great promise for…

To determine the success of Nebraska's 3-year effort in energy education, an evaluation was conducted to solicit data concerning the effectiveness of on-going energy curricula using teacher responses. These curricula include "Energy Conservation Activity Packets" (ECAP) for elementary programs and "Basic Teaching Units on…

THIS PROJECT PROPOSAL OUTLINES PLANS FOR A COMPREHENSIVE COMPENSATORY EDUCATION PROJECT. THE PROPOSAL CONTAINS THE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE (BASIC DATA ON ENROLLMENT AND EXPENDITURES), PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS, PLANS FOR EVALUATION OF THE PROGRAM, A REVIEW OF RELATED RESEARCH, AND STATEMENTS OF JUSTIFICATION FOR A COMPENSATORY EDUCATION…

To determine perceptions of school board members, teachers, and principals in rural schools about the quality of their educational programs, the type of preparation they had received in preservice programs, and the inservice opportunities available to them, responses to questionnaires from 2,028 teachers, 119 principals, and 113 school board…