Do principal preparation and teacher qualifications influence different types of school growth trajectories in Illinois?: A growth mixture model analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the independent effects of principal background, training and experience as well as teacher academic qualifications on school proficiency growth through time. Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyzed the entire population of all elementary and middle schools in the state of Illinois, n=3,154 schools, from 2000 to 2001 through 2005-2006 using growth mixture modeling. The authors examined growth at the school level in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards on the Illinois Standard Achievement Test, analyzing separate models for Chicago and non-Chicago schools. Findings – The results suggest that there are two statistically significantly different latent school proficiency trajectory subgroups through the six-year time period, one high and one low, for both Chicago and non-Chicago schools. In addition, the models suggest that teacher academic qualifications, principal training, principal experience as a principal and an assistant principal, and experience of the principal as a teacher previously in their schools are significantly related to school proficiency growth over time, dependent upon school context. Practical implications – Recent studies on the independent effects of principal experience, training and teacher academic qualifications have shown inconsistent results on school achievement growth. The authors demonstrate that principal training and background may have an effect on school-level proficiency score growth. Originality/value – This study is one of the first to examine statistically different proficiency growth trajectories using an entire state-wide data set over a long-term, six-year timeframe

Characterizing upward lightning with and without a terrestrial gamma-ray flash

We compare two observations of gamma-rays before, during, and after lightning flashes initiated by upward leaders from a tower during low-altitude winter thunderstorms on the western coast of Honshu, Japan. While the two leaders appear similar, one produced a terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF) so bright that it paralyzed the gamma-ray detectors while it was occurring, and could be observed only via the weaker flux of neutrons created in its wake, while the other produced no detectable TGF gamma-rays at all. The ratio between the indirectly derived gamma-ray fluence for the TGF and the 95% confidence gamma-ray upper limit for the gamma-ray quiet flash is a factor of $1\times10^7$. With the only two observations of this type providing such dramatically different results -- a TGF probably as bright as those seen from space and a powerful upper limit -- we recognize that weak, sub-luminous TGFs in this situation are probably not common, and we quantify this conclusion. While the gamma-ray quiet flash appeared to have a faster leader and more powerful initial continuous current pulse than the flash that produced a TGF, the TGF-producing flash occurred during a weak gamma-ray "glow", while the gamma-ray quiet flash did not, implying a higher electric field aloft when the TGF was produced. We suggest that the field in the high-field region approached by a leader may be more important for whether a TGF is produced than the characteristics of the leader itself.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication by the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmosphere

Efficient multiple time scale molecular dynamics: using colored noise thermostats to stabilize resonances

Multiple time scale molecular dynamics enhances computational efficiency by updating slow motions less frequently than fast motions. However, in practice the largest outer time step possible is limited not by the physical forces but by resonances between the fast and slow modes. In this paper we show that this problem can be alleviated by using a simple colored noise thermostatting scheme which selectively targets the high frequency modes in the system. For two sample problems, flexible water and solvated alanine dipeptide, we demonstrate that this allows the use of large outer time steps while still obtaining accurate sampling and minimizing the perturbation of the dynamics. Furthermore, this approach is shown to be comparable to constraining fast motions, thus providing an alternative to molecular dynamics with constraints.Comment: accepted for publication by the Journal of Chemical Physic

Introduction to School and District Leadership in an Era of Accountability: Chapter 1

Our fourth book in the International Research on School Leadership series focuses on school leadership in an era of high-stakes accountability. Fueled by sweeping federal education accountability reforms, such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (RttT) in the United States and Australia’s Performance Measurement and Reporting Task Force, school systems around the world are being forced to increase academic standards, participate in high-stakes testing, and raise evaluation standards for teachers and principals. These results-driven reforms are intended to hold educators “accountable for student learning and accountable to the public” (Anderson, 2005, p.2). While policymakers and the public debate the merits of student achievement accountability measures, P-12 educational leaders do not have the luxury to wait for clear guidance and resources to improve their schools and operating systems. Instead, successful leaders must balance the need to create learning communities, manage the organizational climate, and encourage community involvement with the consequences testing has on teacher morale and public scrutiny. The chapters in this volume clearly indicate that school leaders attending to these potentially competing forces affects their problem-solving strategies, their ability to facilitate change, and encourage community involvement. 123 In soliciting manuscripts for this volume, we encouraged authors to explore successful leadership being practiced by building and district level leaders as external pressures to improve student achievement have increased. Our goal was to create an edited book that examines successful school and district leadership during the accountability era from multiple perspectives. Our call for manuscripts asked potential authors to consider these important questions: - How do educational leaders successfully manage the politics of accountability? - To what degree are innovation and creativity affected as accountability increases? - What are effective ways of maintaining staff morale and community involvement as the pressure to raise student achievement rises?- Why do some schools thrive during times of increasing accountability? - How has accountability shaped what schools and districts do to build leadership capacity, professional learning communities, and continuous improvement? - During the accountability era, how have school leadership practices changed? Have these changes led to improved student achievement? - How have school leaders used elements of accountability (e.g., transparency, testing, data disaggregation) to inform their practice? This first chapter in the book volume provides a brief overview of the theme of the book and then an introduction for each of the eleven chapters, with links to the full book

A Mi\u27kmaq First Nation cosmology: investigating the practice of contemporary Aboriginal Traditional Medicine in dialogue with counselling – toward an Indigenous therapeutics

This paper explores from a Mi’kmaq and Aboriginal standpoint foundational knowledge in Indigenous therapeutics. Based on an eco-social-psycho-spiritual way of working, the article proposes Indigenous cultural models that open a window to a rich cultural repository of meanings associated with Indigenous cosmology, ontology and epistemology. The three layers of meaning, theory and practice within the symbolic ‘Medicine Lodge’ or ‘Place of The Dreaming’ give rise to ways of working that are deeply integrative and wholistic. These forms of Indigenous theory and practice have much to offer the counselling and complimentary health professions

Optical and electronic properties of sub-surface conducting layers in diamond created by MeV B-implantation at elevated temperatures

Boron implantation with in-situ dynamic annealing is used to produce highly conductive sub-surface layers in type IIa (100) diamond plates for the search of a superconducting phase transition. Here we demonstrate that high-fluence MeV ion-implantation, at elevated temperatures avoids graphitization and can be used to achieve doping densities of 6 at.%. In order to quantify the diamond crystal damage associated with implantation Raman spectroscopy was performed, demonstrating high temperature annealing recovers the lattice. Additionally, low-temperature electronic transport measurements show evidence of charge carrier densities close to the metal-insulator-transition. After electronic characterization, secondary ion mass spectrometry was performed to map out the ion profile of the implanted plates. The analysis shows close agreement with the simulated ion-profile assuming scaling factors that take into account an average change in diamond density due to device fabrication. Finally, the data show that boron diffusion is negligible during the high temperature annealing process.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, submitted to JA

Satisfaction of Mortgage

Satisfaction of Mortgage between J. J. Freeze to G. M. D. Bowers and B. R. Colson. The document is dated 11 April 1914

Considering the Use of Data by School Leaders for Decision Making: An Introduction

Our fifth book in the International Research on School Leadership series focuses on the use of data in schools and districts as useful information for leadership and decision making. Schools are awash in data and information, from test scores, to grades, to discipline reports, and attendance as just a short list of student information sources (Bernhardt, 2004), while additional streams of data feed into schools and districts from teachers and parents as well as local, regional and national policy levels (Henig, 2012; Honig & Venkateswaran, 2012; Piety, 2013). To deal with the data, schools have implemented a variety of data practices, from data rooms, to data days, data walks, and data protocols (Mandinach & Gummer, 2013; Marsh, 2012). However, despite the flood of data, successful school leaders are leveraging an analysis of their school’s data as a means to bring about continuous improvement in an effort to improve instruction for all students (Boudett & Steele, 2007). Nevertheless, some drown, some swim, while others find success. Our goal in this book volume was to bring together a set of chapters by authors who examine successful data use as it relates to leadership and school improvement. In particular, the chapters in this volume consider important issues in this domain, including: - How do educational leaders use data to inform their practice? - What types of data and data analysis are most useful to successful school leaders? - To what extent are data driven and data informed practices helping school leaders positively change instructional practice? - In what ways does good data collection and analysis feed into successful continuous improvement and holistic systems thinking? - How have school leadership practices changed as more data and data analysis techniques have become available? - What are the major obstacles facing school leaders when using data for decision making and how do they overcome them