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To Plant A Garden Is To Believe In The Future: An Autoethnographic Journey Of Doubt And Restoration In A Co-Principalship
Get PDFThis autoethnographic research study explored the circumstances and challenges I encountered as an educational leader during the inception of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. Through the use of autoethnographic vignettes, I provided an intimate account of the circumstances and conditions that led my school district to establish a co-principal leadership structure. The use of autoethnographic vignettes was not only a vehicle to tell my story but also served as an avenue for the reader to connect, conceptualize, and contextualize the circumstances and outcomes associated with this personal journey. Specifically, the stories and responses within this research are intended to demonstrate the power of self-reflection in the overall professional and personal development of an educational leader. It is a journey into the past that lives within me every day, a journey that I have lived once and need to live again, a journey of discovery, reflection, and hopefully, one of growth
Narrowing Attainment and Achievement Gaps of High School African American and Hispanic Students: Policy Advocacy Document
Get PDFSchool districts have focused reform efforts on increasing the participation of African American, Hispanic, and low-income students in advanced courses to narrow achievement and attainment gaps. Suburban School District adopted these areas in its strategic plan and invested significant resources to address patterns of achievement and course enrollment of these students. This study examined the district’s policy and practices that impact these students’ participation in Advanced Placement courses. Based on its findings, this study recommends revisions to school board policy regarding gifted programs and includes disaggregated metrics for the reporting of board goals based on race and socioeconomic status. The goal is to establish transparency and increase the enrollment and academic performance of low-income, African American, and Hispanic students in advanced programs
Co-Teaching As a Vehicle To Inclusion In a Diverse Suburban Middle School: A Case Study
Get PDFMany school districts across the United States have adopted, or are considering adopting, full inclusion to meet academic and social-emotional needs of increasingly diverse student populations. Co-teaching has become a popular approach for districts committed to inclusion. This study is about a Midwestern school district which more than 10 years ago committed itself to inclusion and co-teaching. The primary research question was: How do we make co-teaching more effective in the Fairview School District? A survey was sent to 120 co-teachers from three middle schools about their experiences with co-teaching in the areas of sharing responsibilities, co-teaching relationships, planning time, administrative support, and professional development. Seventeen teachers from across the three schools volunteered to be interviewed in small groups to discuss the results of the survey. Themes which emerged from the survey and interview data were: allocation and use of planning time, the importance of co-teacher relationships, and a concern about parity in roles and responsibilities in the co-teaching partnership. Recommendations to address the primary research question include: a) performance of a needs assessment of co-teaching practices to design professional development tailored to the needs of teachers; b) creation of a co-teaching reference and resource guide, clearly outlining co-teaching expectations commitments, roles and responsibilities, best co-teaching practices, scheduling, honoring planning time, and administrative support; and c) formation of a co-teaching taskforce made up of representative stakeholders to assemble the resource guide, conduct and analyze the needs assessment, mentor co-teaching teams, and drive future improvement in co-teaching practices
Barriers To Student Connectedness and Engagement: How Socioeconomic Status Affects Student Involvement
Get PDFToday, as students prepare for post-secondary opportunities, a greater and greater emphasis is placed on the importance of engaging learners both in and out of the classroom. While many students are inclined to get involved, there is a growing number of young people who face barriers that prevent them from connecting and engaging in the high school experience. Importantly, socioeconomic status plays a key role in determining how engaged a student may be, as well as serving as a key identifier in what must be addressed to ensure more young people get involved in their academic and co-curricular learning. This study focuses on the role that socioeconomic status plays in students perceived ability to connect and engage in their secondary education, and proposes a policy where schools must include professional development and training on teaching young people who come from poor backgrounds
Factors Influencing Teachers To Remain At Charter Schools
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to investigate factors that contribute to teacher longevity in charter schools located in central and northwest Indiana. Phenomenological methodology was used to collect data regarding charter school teachers’ perceptions by conducting in-depth interviews. Charter school teachers who had remained with the same charter school for 2 or more years were asked to provide information about factors that influenced them to remain. Fourteen teachers were interviewed. Results showed that charter school teachers in this study were motivated to remain with a charter school for 2 or more years because of the following factors: (a) building relationships, (b) making a difference, and (c) teacher development. Understanding teachers’ decisions to remain in these schools may help charter school administrators improve recruiting efforts, attract more highly qualified teachers, reduce teacher turnover, and improve teacher retention
Examining the Relationship Between Preservice Teachers’ Interest in Various Disciplinary Areas of Social Studies and Their Planned Teaching Effort for These Disciplines’ Topics
Get PDFThis study examined the relationship between preservice teachers’ interest in economics, geography, history, political science, and sociology and their planned teaching effort for topics related to these disciplines in social studies. Participants were 222 preservice elementary school teachers and 94 preservice social studies teachers at the Faculty of Education of a state university in Turkey. Results showed that both preservice elementary school teachers and preservice social studies teachers were interested in history the most. Geography was the second most interesting discipline, while economics was the least interesting discipline. Similarly, preservice teachers from both programs considered making the most teaching effort for history-related topics in social studies, followed by geography-related topics. The least effort was devoted to teaching economics-related topics. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that interest in economics, geography, history, political science, and sociology correlated with and influenced positively and significantly the planned teaching effort for topics in these disciplines in their social studies classes
Policy Advocacy: Transgender Students in a Public School Setting
Get PDFThe purpose of this policy advocacy paper is to encourage the State of Illinois to implement a statewide policy on how school districts can best support students undergoing a gender transition. It has been proven that students in the LGBTQ community are subject to more harassment and bullying than their straight, cisgender peers. It is incumbent on schools to provide a safe, caring environment for all students. This policy was analyzed from educational, economic, social, legal, and ethical points of view. The implementation of this policy will help to guide students who are struggling with their gender identity by helping them through many of the items that are within the control of the school, allowing them to direct more energy to the socialization challenges they will be facing. The expected impact of the implementation of this policy was also included
An Evaluation Of A Sixth Grade Intensive Mathematics Program And Impacts On Student Achievement
Get PDFThe purpose of thisevaluation is to analyze anIntensive Math program’s quality and design, as well as, address the impact of the program to determine whether the intensive mathematics class, and the use of computer-based support,impacts student achievement. The program design incorporates a two-prong model of teacher-directed and computer-based intervention. The relationship of the intensive mathematics curriculum implemented with struggling learners and closing the mathematics achievement gap are evaluated through the analyses of student data, the quality of implementation and program usability and teacher and teacher leader perspectives. The findings indicate that small groups and individualized attention for students is vital to student success and the misalignment of content with the core mathematics course should be addressed
Educators’ Perceptions of Restorative Justice, Care, Inclusion, and Disability: A Phen[women]ological Study
Get PDFIn the State of Illinois, changes are taking effect related to classroom culture and educational policy is moving from “safe schools/zero tolerance” policies to restorative justice practices. Through a feminist disability studies lens, the focus of this a phen[women]ological study of the lived experiences of six educators from two different schools in Illinois and their perceptions of restorative justice, care, inclusion, and disability was to ask: How are educators making sense of restorative justice practices? What are the implications for students with disabilities? Five topics of significance surfaced, including (a) caring; (b) restorative justice and inclusion; (c) impact of technology; (d) safety and guns; and (e) healing, empathy, and forgiveness. With the emerging laws, policies, and procedures currently being implemented throughout the United States, it is essential to create educational systems that encourage restorative justice practices, assist students in addressing adverse childhood experiences, promote the importance of social emotional learning (both in and outside of the classroom setting), and remain current on trauma-informed practices so all students (regardless of ability, label, background, or adversity) have the opportunity to be included and to succeed in both their education and in life. Educators, administrators, and future policy creators are in a unique position to create healing learning spaces where human rights cultures can be cultivated and everyone is valued, respected, and included
An Analysis of Gifted Identification for Elementary-Aged Students in A High Performing School District: A Program Evaluation
No full textThis program evaluation examines the initial identification processes for inclusion in the formalized gifted reading and language arts program offered in an elementary school district located just outside of a major city. Student performance in the school district is near the top in the nation. Both qualitative and quantitative research was conducted including interviews with teachers to understand their perceptions regarding the identification process and data collected through standardized assessments used within the school district. An analysis between the top performing 20% of students over four years was made in comparison to the children that met criteria for inclusion in the gifted program. As a result of the evaluation, it was determined that the school system has a research-based identification process in place. There are a few areas where refinement would benefit the identification process