Search

In this paper, we describe a rural school-university 22 year partnership. The partnership serves students with disabilities and students at-risk for being classified with a disability. Despite personnel changes, the undergraduate teacher candidates have consistently provided intense instruction to their assigned students. Electronic surveys were sent to school and university professionals affiliated with the undergraduate course "Introduction to the Exceptional Learner" to determine why the partnership has lasted so long. Follow-up focus group sessions were held, and data from the sessions were collected and analyzed for a deeper review of identified themes. The data analysis and theme development supported the following reasons for the longstanding partnership: (a) academic gains, (b) interpersonal benefits, and (c) specific program components.

Many educators struggle with the challenges of effective behavior management. In rural schools, this frequently means that educators are struggling to do more, with little or no additional resources. Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) is one approach to proactive behavior management. In order to facilitate PBIS in a regional area, researchers implemented a week-long training and year-round ongoing coaching for representative members of participating schools/districts to create a plan for implementation suited to the needs of their schools/districts. This article provides a brief overview of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports with a particular focus on one rural school's successful implementation.