Empowered Women Empower Women

Good afternoon and thank you for your determination to hold this important event today regardless of the weather. When Jenny said that we would go forward rain, sleet, or snow, I did not anticipate that we would have all three in the same day! Maybe your determination derives from the residual spirit of a group of women who gathered here 100 years ago, also determined, but that time they were determined to ensure that their community acknowledged their right to vote. They were empowered, excited, and ready to act because, five years prior, in 1915, Katherine Wentworth of the Pennsylvania Women’s Suffrage Association, commissioned the Justice Bell, also known as the Women’s Liberty Bell or the Suffrage Bell. Once it was done, they loaded in the back of a flatbed truck and drove it to all 67 Pennsylvania counties. But they chained the clapper so it would not ring to symbolize the silence imposed upon women through the denial of the right to vote. When the 19th Amendment finally was ratified in 1920, Wentworth and her fellow suffragists gathered in Philadelphia to ring the bell 48 times to honor the 48 states of the Union at the time. All courthouses and churches in Pennsylvania were supposed to join in a statewide ringing at 4 pm that afternoon. The women of Gettysburg were gathered here, anxiously awaiting 4 pm. It came and passed. 4:01. 4:02. Then, as the Gettysburg Times reported “they decided that action would have to be taken by themselves.” They rushed the courthouse and proceeded to ring the bell “several minutes,” which, as the Times also reported, “the women thoroughly enjoyed . . . until officials arrived and relieved them.” Sometimes, you have to take matters into your own hands if you want to make a difference in your community. [excerpt

The Predictive Relationship between Student Engagement Scores and Pass/Fail Rates of a Credit Recovery Course among High School Students

The purpose of this predictive correlational study was to examine the relationship between Finn’s conceptual framework of student engagement as it relates to the pass/fail rate of an online credit recovery course. A logistic regression was utilized in this study. The predictor variable was student engagement of high school students. The criterion variable was the pass/fail rate of a credit recovery course. The participants included a nonrandom sample of 49 students from two public high schools. The students completed the Motivation and Engagement Scale – High School (MES-HS) survey comprised of 44 questions, which measured student motivation and engagement. The results indicated that student engagement was a predicator of a student\u27s academic success. Suggestions for further research were included

Staying Power: Examining Factors That Influence Educators’ Decisions to Remain in Special Education

This mixed methods study was designed to examine the factors that experienced special education teachers report as being influential in their decision to remain in the field of special education. The study collected data using surveys and interviews with experienced special education teachers to gather their perspectives and identify common themes that supported their desire and motivation to remain in the field. Results indicated that relationships with, and advocacy for, students and colleagues were the strongest factors in their motivation to stay in special education

Building a Foundation for Cultural Responsiveness

This site provides an overview of culturally responsive teaching philosophies and practices in order to make educators aware of the importance of having a culturally responsive mindset. This module also provides research, classroom practice resources, and thought-provoking videos meant to assist educators in using a culturally responsive mindset to improve their practices and positively impact all students. View professional learning module.https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/improve/1018/thumbnail.jp

Best Practices among Certain Classes of Pennsylvania Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs)

The researchers originally became aware of the existence of DMOs (previously known as tourism promotion agencies or TPAs) when reading materials in the Gettysburg Times. The two student-authors plan to work in local government following graduation, and they were curious about perspectives shared in the Gettysburg Times about the local DMO. Thereafter, a representative from the Gettysburg Borough Council approached the faculty-author about conducting research on DMOs’ policies, procedures, and practices, and, relatedly, the “pillow tax,” a hotel room occupancy tax that is administered by counties and disbursed to DMOs, among others. Specifically, the Borough Council representative was curious about best practices with respect to allocation of the pillow tax; how DMOs use pillow tax revenue; and how DMOs account for such use. The Borough representative also was curious about general business practices among DMOs. The faculty-author applied for and obtained approval from the Gettysburg College Institutional Review Board for research among Pennsylvania DMOs and their representatives on these issues. This white paper briefly summarizes the history of the relationship between Pennsylvania DMOs and the pillow tax then describes the researchers’ methodology. Next, the white paper describes what Study DMOs appear to believe are best practices, or most commonly accepted practices, in six categories: Boards of Directors; Revenue; Grant Making; Spending; Assessment; and Future Planning. All data are reported in aggregate to minimize the risk of revealing individually identifiable data. These findings may inform DMO, community, and county decision-making

Noble Intent Is Not Enough To Run Veterans Court Mentoring Programs: A Qualitative Study of Mentors’ Role Orientation and Responsibilities

Mentoring is a key component of veterans treatment courts, a diversionary problem-solving court for justice-involved military veterans. Mentoring programs are unique to veterans’ courts; no other problem-solving courts systematically include them as critical components of their court programming. Despite their prominence in veterans courts, little is known about mentor program operations and court expectations for mentors’ roles and responsibilities. This study examines mentors’ roles and responsibilities as perceived by mentees, mentors, and veterans treatment court staff. Using in-depth interview data from respondents from each of these groups, supplemented by observational data from court hearings and pre-court meetings, we identify three types of mentoring styles: enforcers, sponsor/advocates, and friend. We find a lack of clarity in mentors’ roles and responsibilities, which negatively impacted mentor-mentee relationships and mentors’ relationships with the court. The three mentoring styles identified in this study offer veterans treatment courts a framework to shape and refine the mentor role and guide future efforts to provide standardized training for mentors