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Do Principal and Self-Reported Evaluations of First Year Teachers Vary by Education Preparation Pathway? A Retrospective Predictive Study in Texas
Full text linkThe final composite examines the challenges faced by school districts in terms of teacher retention, first-year teacher readiness, and preparedness. Doctoral or master’s level students could use the first scholarly deliverable to discuss the challenges of teacher retention. The title of the case study is Navigating Challenges: Strategies for Enhancing Teacher Retention and Preparation in North Mason School District. This article focuses on the issue of high teacher turnover and its impact on student success in the North Mason School District, located in central Texas. The article examines the reasons behind this phenomenon by drawing on insights from meetings with school leaders and recruitment teams. The final scholarly deliverable is titled “Do Principal and Self-Reported Evaluations of First-Year Teachers Vary by Education Preparation Pathway?” A Retrospective Predictive Study in Texas.” This empirical article examined three types of educator preparation programs: traditional, alternative for-profit, and alternative non-profit programs, and their potential impact on the preparedness of new teachers
Enrollment Trends and Discipline Patterns: A Comparative Study of Texas Public School Districts
Full text linkThis paper synthesizes insights from two complementary works that examine how
organizational pressures and demographic change shape school discipline practices in
Texas public education. The first is a case study of a rural South Texas district
experiencing a sharp rise in suspensions despite minimal enrollment growth. Through the
lens of Organizational Strain Theory, the case highlights how limited counseling
capacity, rising behavioral needs, and the political expectations tied to a newly approved
$36 million facilities bond create competing demands that intensify stress on school
leaders and contribute to increased reliance on exclusionary discipline. The second study
is a large-scale longitudinal analysis of 833 Texas public school districts from 2012–
2019, which investigates how enrollment trends, demographic composition, and resource
constraints predict disciplinary outcomes. Findings from this empirical analysis show that
enrollment growth, racial composition, and fiscal capacity significantly shape suspension
rates, revealing structural drivers of discipline patterns beyond individual student
behavior. Together, these two works demonstrate how local organizational dilemmas and
statewide demographic dynamics intersect to influence disciplinary practices. This
synthesis underscores the need for equity-centered leadership, proactive resource
planning, and data-informed policy to ensure discipline systems remain fair and
supportive amid demographic and organizational transition
EMERGING PERSPECTIVES ON BELONGING: A MULTIMETHOD STUDY OF FIRST-GENERATION STUDENTS
Full text linkThis culminating work explores the role of a sense of belonging for first-generation students in higher education. The first scholarly deliverable is a case study article titled, “I Don’t Think I Belong Here: The Role of a Sense of Belonging for First-Generation Students,” which could be used to teach future educational leaders and college community members how to better understand and support first-generation students in a higher education setting. This case study takes the reader through a day in the life of a rural first-generation student who experiences challenges in acclimating to university culture while navigating barriers around his home life, financial challenges, and a lack of familiarity with higher education processes. Through this work, the reader is invited to explore and recognize the challenges experienced by first-generation students in higher education and articulate the role that mentors, faculty, and student affairs professionals can have on a sense of belonging for students. The second scholarly deliverable is an empirical article titled, “Emerging Perspectives on Belonging: A Multimethod Study of First-Generation Students,” in which the purpose was to identify and articulate the factors that shape a sense of belonging for first-generation students while enhancing the broader understanding of non-traditional student populations
The Influence of Title V Funding on Degree Attainment at Regional HSIs
Full text linkUsing a quantitative, non-experimental, retrospective analysis, this study ascertained whether public, regional HSIs that received a Title V grant achieved higher degree attainment compared to those that did not receive the grant. Secondary data from IPEDS was used to compare degree attainment rates between regional HSIs that received Title V grants and those that did not, from 2014 to 2023. The findings provide empirical evidence suggesting that Title V funding led to increased degree attainment. Notably, the most significant gains were observed among women and Hispanic women. However, the majority of subgroups demonstrated increases in graduation rates, indicating a positive association between Title V grants and degree completion within the specified timeframe
THE IMPACT OF USING ALGEBRAIC TILES TO FACTOR QUADRATIC EXPRESSIONS
Full text linkThe purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of using algebraic tiles to factor quadratic expressions. A quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest model was employed to conduct a study with 74 ninth-grade Algebra 1 students in an urban high school in Connecticut (experimental group, N = 38; control group, N = 36). Students in the experimental group were taught how to factor quadratic expressions using algebraic tiles whereas students in the control group were taught how to factor quadratic expressions using the standard algebraic instructional methods. A knowledge test, consisting of 10 objective-type questions, was used to collect data for this study. The knowledge test was administered to both the experimental and control groups as a pretest before the start of instruction, and as a posttest at the end of instruction. The test scores were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a t-test, and ANCOVA with the pretest as the covariate. The results from this study indicated that using algebraic tiles to factor quadratic expressions had a positive impact on the ninth-grade students in this study. Results indicated that using algebraic tiles significantly improved students’ ability to factor quadratic expressions when compared to students who did not use algebraic tiles
Amarillo Symphony: Musicians Lesson
No full textThis lesson includes introduction/warm-up questions, selected readings, video interviews with eleven symphony musicians (with an accompanying worksheet), and some ideas for fun engagement activities.
These files are music lesson plans created by Dr. Kimberly Hieb for the Texas Panhandle Curriculum Initiative.In this lesson students can learn about the people who play in the Amarillo Symphony by reading about them and watching a series of video interviews with several symphony musicians
Examining the Ice-Nucleating Particles and Biological Composition of Aerosol from the Gruvebadet Observatory in Ny-Ålesund, Spitzbergen
No full textArctic amplification is expected to increase the abundance of soil-derived and marine microbes, some of which may act as biological ice-nucleating particles (INPs) and influence aerosol-cloud interactions. This study integrates immersion freezing analysis and metagenomic profiling to investigate the contribution of ice-nucleating active microbes to atmospheric INP activity in Spitsbergen, Arctic Norway. Ground-level aerosol particles were collected during spring 2023, spring 2024, and summer 2024 and analyzed using offline immersion freezing experiments with heat-treated and non-heat-treated samples to quantify heat-labile and heat-stable INP fractions between 0 °C and –25 °C.
Results showed consistently higher INP concentrations in non-heated samples across all seasons, indicating a significant fraction of heat-sensitive, likely biogenic INPs. Heat treatment analysis revealed that heat-labile INPs ranged from 14% to 96% across samples. Metagenomic analysis identified Pseudomonas as the dominant bacterial genus in spring 2023 and summer 2024, while Fusarium, a known ice-nucleating fungal genus, dominated spring 2024 samples. Samples with >60% heat-labile INPs exhibited elevated abundances of these taxa, suggesting their potential contribution to INP activity.
Spearman’s correlation showed a moderate positive relationship between Pseudomonas abundance and INP heat-lability in spring 2023 (ρ = 0.52, p = 0.20) and between Fusarium and heat-labile INPs in spring 2024 (ρ = 0.50, p = 1.00), although not
statistically significant due to limited sample size. One-way ANOVA revealed significant seasonal differences in microbial diversity (Shannon index) between spring and summer 2024 (F = 21.40, p = 0.004). Also, the Mann-Whitney U tests indicated significant variation in fungal composition between spring 2023 and spring 2024 (p ≤ 0.05), underscoring the role of seasonal environmental drivers, such as wind patterns and air mass trajectories, in shaping microbial communities.
This study is among the first to link seasonality, microbial composition, and immersion mode INP activity in Arctic aerosols. Findings emphasize the relevance of biogenic INPs in polar atmospheric processes and highlight the need for integrated ground-to-cloud observational approaches to improve predictions of Arctic Earth system feedback
NOVEL USE OF LONG-RECEIVING REGIMENS IN BEEF × DAIRY CROSSBRED STEERS
No full textWe evaluated use of a complete starter diet (RAMP; Cargill Corn Milling, Blair, NE) compared to a receiving diet containing a novel Sweet Bran- based test product (SBT; Cargill Corn Milling) in conjunction with varying transition program lengths on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and health outcomes in beef × dairy (B × D) crossbred steers. Steers (n = 3,024; initial BW = 146 ± 9.70 kg) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 transition programs: RAMP with a 60 d transition (60R), RAMP with 105 d transition (105R), or SBT with a 60 d transition (60SBT). This study was evaluated in 3 periods, growing, finishing, and the overall feeding period. Steers fed 60SBT had greater interim BW, ADG, and G:F (P < 0.01) than those fed 60R or 105R. Steers fed 105R had the greater (P < 0.01) end of transition BW and DMI, however 105R steer s had an additional 44 DOF during the growing period. In the finishing period although 105R steers entered at a heavier (P < 0.01) BW, there was no difference (P ≥ 0.20) for final BW and ADG. Steers fed 105R tended (P = 0.07) to have increased DMI and lower (P = 0.03) G:F compared to 60R and 60SBT. Overall, there was no difference (P ≥ 0.16) for DMI, ADG, and G:F. The 105R steers tended to have greater (P = 0.07) BRD 1 morbidity in the growing period and less (P ≤ 0.04) BRD 1 morbidity and mortality in the finishing period than 60R and 60SBT. Overall, there was no difference in morbidity (P ≥ 0.50) and a tendency for 60SBT to have greater (P = 0.06) respiratory mortality. Carcass characteristics and quality grade distribution
did not differ (P ≥ 0.19). Liver abscess prevalence was less (P ≤ 0.02) for 105R, particularly for A+ LA, compared with 60R and 60SBT. Extending the adaptation period to 105 d reduced LA severity without negatively affecting cumulative performance or carcass traits
ANALYZING THE STATISTICAL DIFFERENCE IN STANDARDIZED TEST PROFICIENCY OF ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN WISCONSIN PRE AND POST PANDEMIC
No full textThis paper analyzes the difference in percentages of proficient students pre- and post-pandemic for economically disadvantaged students in public and private schools. Proficient in this paper is used to describe students who are at or above grade level targets. Where there is a current lack of investigation into whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected economically disadvantaged students in public and private schools differently, this research aims to examine that. This is investigated for grades 4, 8, and 11 using a fractional logit Difference in Difference model to understand how the treatment group (private schools) changed in relation to the control group (public schools) over a timeframe including the pandemic. The analysis shows that with all observed grades combined and in grade 8 there are higher odds of private schools having proficient students relative to their comparison to public schools before the pandemic. This is taken with the knowledge that in the two populations when the model was statistically significant, model assumptions necessary for validity model are close to being violated. The other grades investigated did not have a statistically significant result and the conclusion that private schools had higher odds of proficiency following the pandemic relative to their pre-pandemic comparison to public schools overall could not be reached
Amarillo Symphony Repertoire
No full textIn addition to introduction questions, selected readings (and reading questions), this lesson includes a podcast-style interview with Amarillo Symphony music director George Jackson in which Jackson discusses trends in orchestral programming and describes how a music director goes about selecting compositions for a symphony season. The lesson also includes a collection of Amarillo Symphony programs that students can peruse to learn about the history of orchestral programming in Amarillo. Paired with those primary sources are activities that ask students to either study the programs of Amarillo in isolation or to compare/contrast them with contemporary concerts performed by the New York Philharmonic and/or the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The lesson materials also include an Excel spreadsheet listing all of the works that have been performed by the Amarillo Symphony between 1924 and 2024 and an accompanying activity that can guide students in their engagement with that data. Finally, links to videos of the Amarillo Symphony performing a selection of both canonic and recently-composed symphonic repertoire are accompanied by study questions that will help prepare the students for watching. A PowerPoint slide deck containing all of the lesson materials is provided along with worksheets to facilitate the proposed activities.In this lesson, students will learn about the repertoire that is played by a professional symphony orchestra