The intent of this study was to assess the perceptions and actions of Wyoming principals concerning their role in supervising and evaluating teachers. A survey was sent to all 286 principals in the state of Wyoming, of which, 143 returned surveys, a response rate of 50%. Findings suggested that principals utilized supervisory behaviors more often than evaluative behaviors. Elementary principals perceived their evaluative practices as significantly more prevalent than secondary principals. Furthermore, principals indicated that their greatest frustrations in supervising teachers were time, the evaluation instrument, and teachers' unwillingness to change. Additionally, findings suggested that Wyoming principals utilized classroom walkthroughs because they provided a snapshot of teaching and provided a medium for providing feedback. In regards to developmental supervision, principals indicated that novice teachers received much more supervision than veteran teachers. However, their reported use of differentiated supervision only applied to teacher autonomy concerning professional development goals. Principals reported that teachers had little input concerning the methods by which they were supervised. Finally, a majority of the Wyoming principals felt that improvement plans were effective at changing mediocre teaching behaviors, but 40% were speculative that such plans truly remediated poor teachers.Keywords Supervision . Evaluation . Formative . Summative . Principal perceptions As both the political and public sectors call for excellence in schools, the demand for accountability trickles down to all school personnel including principals (Ovando Educ Asse Eval Acc (2011) 23:243-265

Non-Native English Speaking (NNES) international students attending colleges and universities in the United States often encounter difficulties in adjusting to their new cultural environment. In addition, they often struggle with academic language while learning the content and conceptual structures of various graduate level disciplines. This phenomenological study identified cultural and linguistic challenges experienced by NNES Asian international graduate students at a mediumsized rural university in the northwestern United States. A pedagogical framework and recommendations for professional practice address the linguistic, cultural, and academic needs of this particular student population in higher education.

This study explored Wyoming school leaders’ perceptions about the traits of incompetent teachers, strategies used to work with incompetent teachers, and the barriers to their dismissal. Most importantly, this study differentiated how principals and superintendents viewed incompetency issues. Some major findings include school leaders’ beliefs that classroom management problems were an indicator of incompetence, counseling to leave the profession was a strategy used with incompetent teachers, and teacher unions were a barrier to their dismissal.

This study examines the perspectives of Wyoming instructional facilitators, concerning three coaching constructs-namely, their instructional leadership roles, teachers' instructional practices, and the support that they receive from principals and teachers. Findings suggest that instructional facilitators were positive about their instructional leadership roles and about the support received from principals yet were neutral concerning teachers' autonomy about instructional practices. Instructional facilitators highlighted their roles in mentoring, coaching, and data analysis. Significant differences were found concerning the perceptions of technology instructional facilitators and high school instructional facilitators about their leadership roles, teachers' instructional practice, and support received from principals.

Save the Date! October 18-20, 2013 the 105th NREA convention and Research Symposium will be in Branson, Missouri. The theme of this year’s meeting is “A New Generation of Learning in Rural Schools.” The opening keynote speaker is John Nash from the University of Kentucky who will help us focus on the theme and stimulate our thinking.