Community Ties: Building Long-Term Partnerships as a Pathway for Improving Human Capital in Rural Schools

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Rural School-Community Partnerships

Abstract

This study examines the impact of a federal Teacher Incentive Fund-Cycle 5 grant award that facilitated the implementation of an educator effectiveness support system and higher education partnerships in a rural Arkansas school district. Preliminary results from the first three years of the grant indicate progress towards improving teacher effectiveness, increasing teacher retention, and impacting student achievement. Specifically, the percentage of teachers rated as effective has increased, the teacher retention of effective teachers has improved, and the attrition rate for all teachers has declined. Finally, student achievement, based on state standardize assessment results, indicate improvement in all subjects and outperformance of comparison districts.

Authors

• Trevor Leutscher, National Institute for Excellence in Teaching

• Joshua H. Barnett, National Institute for Excellence in Teaching