Check-In, Check-Out (CICO) is one of the most widely implemented Tier 2 behavior interventions in a school-wide system of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Much literature has documented implementation of CICO across individual schools or districts. The Illinois PBIS Network, currently known as the Midwest PBIS Network, has…

This study investigated children's acquisition of three aspects of an early literacy curriculum, "Foundations for Literacy" ("Foundations"), designed specifically for prekindergarten students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH): syllable segmentation, identification of letter-sound correspondences, and initial-sound…

A need exists for intervention strategies that are both effective in reducing challenging behaviors and practical for use by typical practitioners of early childhood care and education. In this article, we describe a model, "Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Young Children," which is based on extensive research and includes features designed…

In an environment of accountability, the development of evidence-based practices is expected. To demonstrate that a practice is evidence based, quality indicators of rigorous methodology should be present including indications that teachers implementing an intervention have done so with fidelity to its design. Because evidence-based practices…

Danielson's Framework for Teaching has provided a common language for discussions of teaching practice for almost 20 years. Many educators love the Framework's comprehensiveness; they find the specific language to be useful as they strive to improve their practice. For other educators, however, the Framework's 22 components and 76 smaller elements…

The "State Benchmarks of Quality" is used by a collaborative State Leadership Team(SLT) to assess progress and plan future actions so that Recommended Practices (RPs) are available for providers and families statewide. The Benchmarks are grounded in the science of implementation which bridges the gap between an evidence-based practice…

Public policy implementation is frequently regarded as problematic globally and reasons for these vary. In particular, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector has been criticized for lack of delivery and most of the criticism is directed towards the non-implementation of government policy. In South Africa managers of TVET…

Reading skills are the key building blocks of a child's formal education. Yet, the national statistics on literacy attainment are profoundly distressing: two out of three American fourth graders are reading below grade level and almost one third of children nationwide lack even basic reading skills. This study reports on an evaluation of the…

Associated with complex developmental, personal, and environmental risk factors, adolescent parents have been found to display higher rates of unfavorable parenting practices than adult parents, placing their children at high risk for social, emotional and behavioral concerns. Nevertheless, interventions targeting this group often focus solely on…

Background: With the rise in childhood obesity, school policies related to nutrition and physical activity have been written and implemented. In this paper, we present a model to evaluate the degree to which state legislation for school health policies are implemented at the school level. Methods: Using Washington, DC's Healthy Schools Act (HSA)…

In this article we describe a three-year study that was conducted in three phases to evaluate the feasibility of assessing digitized portfolios of student creative work for high-stakes purposes. The first two phases suggested that creative work could be digitized with adequate fidelity, and that students could submit their own work from schools to…

Phonemic awareness has been consistently identified as an essential skill for as well as an important predictor of later reading achievement. Children who lack these early literacy skills at kindergarten entry are more likely to demonstrate both short- and long-term reading difficulties. Despite the importance of providing intervention early,…

Many schools are beginning to implement universal behavior management interventions as part of multitiered systems of support. Past research suggests that teachers need support to implement new practices with fidelity. Coaching is one method for supporting implementation, but little is understood about how coaching takes place when relying on…

Positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based framework for preventing and treating challenging behavior in schools and improving overall school climate. The efficacy of this positive, proactive framework has been well established across varying school settings, yet little is known about schoolwide PBIS implementation…

The UTeach program, a national model for undergraduate teacher preparation, includes "Perspectives on Science and Mathematics," a class designed to share content about the History of Science (HOS) with preservice teachers. UTeach provides a model curriculum as a sample for instructors teaching "Perspectives." The purpose of…