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This feature article describes a collaboration between the West Virginia University Extension Service and the West Virginia Department of Education to implement the "Responsible Students through School Wide Positive Behavior Supports" program (RS-SWPBS) throughout the state. A case study of Grandview Elementary School in Kanawha County illustrates the benefits that the collaboration brought to local youth. West Virginia Department of Education established the program and brought local schools onboard, while educators from the West Virginia University Extension Service became coaches and led the effort to collect and analyze data. Results included the development of positive behaviors, a decrease in negative behaviors, and the creation of a positive school climate.

University faculty and staff regularly participate in academic conferences as part of their professional responsibilities, yet the literature on their value is scarce, especially when examining conferences held jointly by two associations. Research is needed to help association leaders, planning committees, and attendees make informed decisions about conference organization and participation. This paper highlights the benefits and challenges of a jointly held academic conference for participants, association leaders, and organizational liaisons. In June of 2016, two Cooperative Extension associations, the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) and the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals (ANREP), jointly held a conference in Burlington, VT. Surveys were administered to conference participants, planning committee members, and liaisons at the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to collect data immediately following the conference and six months later. Using the Community Capitals Framework (CCF) to organize evaluation results, the authors discuss the benefits and challenges of planning, sponsoring, and attending the conference from the perspectives of these different groups. The authors focus on three community capitals: human capital, social capital, and cultural capital. Based on the findings, they offer recommendations for future evaluation of jointly held academic conferences.

This article explores how evaluation has been developed and expanded within the Cooperative Extension system, from the beginning of agricultural education in America in 1800 to the present day. Important periods across the history of Extension evaluation have been identified and categorized according to major themes and significant contributions of Extension individuals and organizations. Challenges for the future of evaluation within Extension are discussed.

Recognizing the need for education that addresses social emotional and mental health issues faced by adults, Extension developed two different types of programs. Michigan State University (MSU) Extension developed the RELAX: Alternatives to Anger program (RELAX) to address anger management, and West Virginia University (WVU) Extension created Stress Less with Mindfulness (SLM) to build stress management skills among adults. At a national conference, the two states independently shared their programs' objectives and delivery implementation and then later cross-trained each other's Extension team. The research reported here shares the designs of both stress-reduction health programs and the results of a combined two-state SLM evaluation with 1,304 participants. The benefits of SLM included skill learning and practice. Recommendations for practice include state Extension services sharing curricula resources, training teams from each other's states, and jointly implementing evaluation protocols. Extension professionals looking for established programs that help people gain skills to promote emotional health and stress-reduction may consider implementing one of these community-based programs in their states.

The authors describe an exploratory investigation of a relationship education program based on the Five Love Languages (5 LL) (Chapman, 2007), implemented by Extension educators in seven rural counties. Relationship assessments measured participant changes related to the quality of the primary relationship, belief in the future of the relationship, and partner empathy. Confidence in using the 5 LLs was also assessed. Two groups were compared, a "no booster" group that participated in didactic and final sessions and a "booster" group that received a book, tips, and reminders to practice the 5 LLs. Focus groups revealed how participants benefited. The results showed significant gains in knowledge of and confidence in using the 5 LLs. All participants significantly improved on partner empathy and the "booster" group showed significantly more improvement than the "no booster" group. The value to the family life education mission of Cooperative Extension is discussed, and recommendations for future research are given.

The impact of residential camp participation is needed for camps focused on a variety of outcomes including education, summer fun, prevention, and youth development. One system, the Cooperative Extension Service, conducts 4-H residential camps in most states nationwide every year. These camps, though offering educational enhancement and fun activities, are focused on youth development, incorporating a framework called the essential elements of positive youth development. The National 4-H Camping Research Consortium (NCRC), a group of Extension specialists and county-level educators, designed and piloted assessment tools for 4-H camps that can be used at any camp that focuses on youth development. The camp context questionnaire measures three essential elements of youth development: relationship with a caring adult, self-determination and mastery, and safe and inclusive environments. The life skill questionnaire measures three life skills: accepting self and others, accomplishing goals, and taking responsibility. Logic models and evaluation guidelines help camp directors plan camps that work for youth.