This design experiment addresses the question: How can second-grade students from low-SES schools attain the same levels of achievement as students from high-SES schools on standards-based social studies and content area literacy assessments? Students from two high-SES school districts were assessed in order to establish target levels of achievement. Two project-based units focused on state sta...

This is the fi rst study to evaluate the effects on school spending of repeal of constitutional property tax levy limits. While several studies report that the imposition of tax limits constrains local government and school district spending, this study fails to reject the null hypotheses that tax limit repeal in New York State induced no signifi cant immediate or gradual impact on the average ...

OBJECTIVES Project Northland is an efficacy trial with the goal of preventing or reducing alcohol use among young adolescents by using a multilevel, communitywide approach. METHODS Conducted in 24 school districts and adjacent communities in northeastern Minnesota since 1991, the intervention targets the class of 1998 (sixth-grade students in 1991) and has been implemented for 3 school years ...

Much debate surrounding teacher quality has focused on students’ standardized test scores, but recent federal and state initiatives have emphasized the use of multiple measures to evaluate teacher quality, including classroom observations. In this study, we explore differences across school districts in the relationship between student achievement outcomes and the observed quality of teachers’ ...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the contribution of school neighborhood socioeconomic advantage to the association between school-district physical education policy compliance in California public schools and Latino students' physical fitness. METHODS Cross-sectional Fitnessgram data for public-school students were linked with school- and district-level information, district-level physical educatio...

This study examined the diet quality of the school meals in two Mississippi school districts and compared them to the national guidelines. We examined the lunch menus of the two school districts that participated in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program focusing on food quality and assessing both healthy and unhealthy foods and eating behaviors. This analysis was comple...

INTRODUCTION Policy is a key aspect of school-based efforts to prevent skin cancer. We explored the extent and accuracy of knowledge among principals and teachers in California public school districts about the elements specified in their district's written sun safety policy. METHODS The sample consisted of California public school districts that subscribed to the California School Boards Ass...

INTRODUCTION Although evidence-based interventions to prevent childhood obesity in school settings exist, few studies have identified factors that enhance school districts' capacity to undertake such efforts. We describe the implementation of a school-based intervention using classroom lessons based on existing "Eat Well and Keep Moving" and "Planet Health" behavior change interventions and sch...

BACKGROUND No overarching federal agencies or policies are responsible for ensuring environmental health at schools in the United States, potentially allowing many inequities for low-income and minority communities to persist. This article examines emergent research, policy, and practice-based efforts that may be used to identify and address environmental justice at school. METHODS A brief li...

Objective: Examine whether requiring children to place fruits and vegetables on their lunch trays increases consumption of these items. Design: Observational study that exploits naturally occurring variation between two school districts and a pre-post observational study at schools that changed their lunch policy mid-year. Setting: 15 elementary schools from two school districts, one requiring ...