Vaughn Bowen

02/10/2023 · Junior High School

and program administration. Hence, above and beyond all else, these individuals will primarily determine the outcomes of students. The effective practice literature clearly supports that well-trained and qualified teachers and support personnel are the predominant ingredient in successful programs for students with EBD (Blood \& Neel, 2007; Downing, 2007; Jones \& Jones, 2004; Morse, 1994; Walker, Shea, \& Bauer, 2004). Without a doubt there is an undeniable connection between educational outcomes of students and the quality of their teachers (Darling-Hammond, 1999; Darling- Hammond \& Youngs, 2002; Ehrenberg \& Brewer, 1994; Sutherland et al., 2008). Wayne and Youngs's (2003) obser- vation that "both intuition and empirical research tell us that the achievement of school children depends substan- tially on the teachers they are assigned" (p. 89) is a pithy acknowledgement of this clear fact. In spite of mandates and overwhelming evidence that