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"The purpose of the Task Force was to examine the issue of poverty and education and, in particular, the achievement gap related to that circumstance. The end goals were to both collect and compile information useful to members of the General Assembly as they deliberate education policy and to derive some practicable and proven-effective strategies from this effort that legislative action and state policy should support and enhance"--Page 4

"As expectations for increased student performance mounts, there are limited sources of assistance for teachers who struggle to bridge the gap between the practices they engage in and students' performance. This is particularly true for kindergarten teachers, who are currently being asked to do more with an increasingly diverse student population and calls for accountability. Given these challenges concerns exist about how satisfied teachers are with their job and whether the early academic achievement of children is being impacted by how they feel. Also of interest is whether children's socioeconomic status and professional development for teachers moderate the hypothesized satisfaction-achievement link. A nationally representative sample of students was used to investigate these associations in the kindergarten year. Results show that teachers' general job satisfaction is not significantly associated with students' academic achievement. No significant associations were found between teachers' professional development and students' academic achievement. However, children's socioeconomic status was significantly associated with students' academic achievement. Recommendations for future studies are discussed."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.

"The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the beliefs and practices of successful teachers in a high poverty school. Specifically, this study examined the role of teacher beliefs and how these beliefs were enacted in the classroom. This multiple case study of three teachers took place in one middle school during a unit of study for each teacher and examined teacher experiences and instruction throughout the unit of study. Data collection included classroom observations, audio recorded interviews, teacher assignments and information from school, district and state websites. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Through this analysis, three major themes surrounding teacher beliefs and practices emerged from the observation and interview data: (a) teacher beliefs enacted - this theme showed a connection between what participants said and what they did in their classrooms, particularly related to high expectations, student interests and needs, autonomy, social experiences, and cultural connections, (b) agency through resistance - teachers discussed in this study how they didn't feel they could be successful unless they pushed back against the standard curriculum by developing their own approach to teaching, which usually focused on culturally responsive teaching and building a community of learners and (c) support from colleagues and administration that impacted instructional decisions. These findings suggested that successful teachers in high poverty schools held and enacted beliefs that were centered on high expectations, social learning experiences and meeting the interests of students. As teachers acted on their beliefs, they also enacted agency in order to "push back" against the contextual constraints, primarily in regard to curriculum demands and assessment mandates, discussed in this study as "non-negotiables." In order to meet these demands, while still enacting their beliefs, the successful teachers in this study had to consider what was indeed negotiable within the context of local, state, and national mandates. In determining how they could navigate these negotiables, these teachers were able to find a balance that allowed them to develop instruction to meet the unique needs of their students."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.