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Attendance Matters! We Must Decrease Student Truancy and Absenteeism
Get PDFThis three-part dissertation concentrates on student attendance. It is clear that we have a student attendance problem in our nation, particularly in urban school districts. There have been other studies, discussions, and debates on how to improve student attendance, but identifying a single policy, program, incentive, and/or intervention to positively impact absenteeism is difficult. Student absenteeism has and will continue to be a national problem. Many factors play a role in student attendance, to a certain degree, some are controllable and others are extremely difficult to affect.
Part II of this dissertation is a Changed Leadership Plan focusing on a small suburban school district with stagnant average daily student attendance, high chronic truancy, and high absenteeism. By increasing student attendance data for the district, then in turn, we are also increasing a student\u27s instructional time. Wagner’s (2008) change leadership model 4C’s (culture, context, conditions, and competencies) were used to assess the district’s student attendance. The goal of this change plan is to significantly decrease student truancy and absenteeism in a district to increase their instructional time.
The overarching challenge is for school districts to be able to proactively manage student attendance to ensure children are in school on a regular basis.
Creating a culture of collaboration for student attendance, shared responsibility, and trust are key to address our national student attendance crisis
Impact of Leader In Me On Social-Emotional Learning of Elementary Students
Get PDFSocial-emotional learning and college and career readiness skills are increasingly important in preparing our students for a successful future. The Leader in Me, based on Steven Covey’s seven habits, offers a process intended to increase the leadership skills of students through the explicit teaching of each of the habits. By studying the practices and outcomes of The Leader in Me process from schools with high degrees of implementation, this study evaluates the impact on social-emotional learning of elementary students. The findings inform programmatic decisions for social-emotional learning implementation and advocate for policy that emphasizes teacher preparedness and accountability measures for social-emotional learning that best prepare our students for a successful future
Personalizing Professional Learning For Teachers: Pursuing Equity Through Systematic Personalization
Get PDFOur school system has not changed much in the last 100 years, yet our society and the job market are drastically different. In general, we are not preparing young people for life after high school in a meaningful way; the reality for minority and low-income students is even more depressing. We need to change how education works for students, we need to personalize for their individual needs, push them to collaborate, to innovate, and to own their own learning. This can only happen if we change how we develop, support, and retain teachers. This study examines models of and reflections on Personalized Professional Development (PPD) through a mixed-methods approach in order to provide recommendations for how to improve implementation of personalized professional learning systems and structures for educators. Based on learnings from the program evaluation and recommended change plan, three policies are proposed that highlight changes in how teachers and leaders are developed, how resources are aligned, and how accountability should be used to value personalization. This study proposes that system-wide personalization is one way to pursue an equity agenda and drastically change our schools to better serve ALL students
An Evaluation Of The New Teacher Mentoring And Induction Program At A Title One Elementary School
Get PDFLow performing Title I schools often experience a lower teacher retention rate when compared to schools with higher academic achievement. Vacancies are typically filled with new or inexperienced teachers who leave the school within a few years. To counter this problem, West Creek Elementary (pseudonym) introduced a comprehensive New Teacher Mentoring and Induction initiative. The program evaluation was a voluntary anonymous written survey with an optional in person interview conducted with the participants and administrators. Results indicated that the New Teacher Mentoring and Induction program was effective in enhancing teacher pedagogy, not effective in enhancing teacher retention, and that greater emphasis should be placed on addressing the stress and demands of working in a high pressure, results oriented environment
Perceptions of a Traditional High School Bell Schedule in the 21st Century
Get PDFThe daily bell schedule in a comprehensive high school has a significant impact on teaching and learning, school climate, and the well-being of students and staff. An increasing emphasis on the need for students to have strong critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and creativity skills provides an impetus for questioning the length of traditional class periods. This change leadership plan focuses on one school’s effort to examine their current school day schedule to determine what, if any, changes should be made to insure alignment between the daily bell schedule and the school’s mission and goals. Based on the work of a School Day Committee, a survey was developed to increase understanding of staff views about the current school day. Focusing on staff perceptions of how the current daily bell schedule impacts teaching and learning, student and staff well-being, and support for students, the survey results laid the groundwork for future work of the committee including a student survey
The Two Faces Of Education: Educators\u27 And Administrators\u27 Perspectives On Collaboration And Co-teaching
Get PDFThis phenomenological study investigated the experiences and perceptions of special education teachers, general education teachers, and administrators on inclusion, collaboration, and co- teaching in supporting the academic and behavioral growth of all students. The following themes were identified: (a) individual definition of collaboration, (b) school leader training, (c) support and feedback from administration, (d) teachers’ and principals’ perceptions, (e) student achievement, and (f) participants’ knowledge base of co-teaching models. The findings indicate that although co-teaching and inclusion has become common practice and educators generally believe in its virtues, there are some persistent difficulties based on limiting beliefs about students with disabilities, teacher roles and knowledge base, administrative support and understanding, and issues of respect and parity. Recommendations for systemic change are included
The Impact of Traumatic Brain Injury on Neuropsychological Functioning and Tau Accumulation Later in Life in Military Veterans
Get PDFAbstract The following study examines aging veterans that experience a TBI while in service and
compares to older veteran without a history of TBI. The objective is to look at cognitive profile later in life for military veterans with moderate to severe TBI different and compared to older veterans with no history of TBI. Is there a difference in tau accumulations on neuroimaging in military veterans with moderate to severe TBI compared to older veterans without a history of TBI? What is the relationship between the cognitive profile and tau imaging correlates for military veterans with moderate to severe TBI later in life? There were 39 participants in the TBI group and 65 participants in the non-TBI group that participated in neuropsychological testing. Out of the above participants 8 in the TBI group and 19 in the non-TBI group participated inPET 18F-AV1451 imaging to compare Braak regions. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for analysis of neuropsychological tests (Clock score, BNT, TMT-A, & TMT-B). T-test was used for analysis of neuropsychological test category fluency animals and one-way ANOVA was used for the analysis of Auditory Verbal Learning test. Additionally, Mann-Whitney U test was used for the analysis of PET imaging: BRAAK regions 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6. The results suggest no statistically significant differences between TBI and non-TBI groups in neuropsychological tests and Braak regions (all p’s \u3e .05). However, there was a trend noticed with TBI group having higher levels of tau in all Braak regions. Ultimately, this study showed that the TBI group and non-TBI did not differ in neuropsychological performance and tau accumulation in BRAAK regions
Posing for the Camera: An Analysis of Pre-service Teachers’ Discursive Practices During a Video Analysis Session
Get PDFIn this study, we inquired into the potential that the collective analysis of teaching via a Video Analysis Session (VAS) might serve as a form of critical reflection for pre-service teachers (PSTs) to not only pose questions about their own practice, but to take on a critical stance, or pose, toward their craft. Specifically, we analyzed the experiences of pre-service English Language Arts teachers as they planned for, participated in, and collectively reflected on video clips of their teaching in a collective VAS. We drew on positioning theory and the tools of Conversation Analysis to examine the nature of the interactions among PSTs as they provided feedback to one another during the VAS. Implications suggest that to facilitate critical reflection via a VAS, teacher educators must guide PSTs to consider the myriad contextual factors that shape student learning and teachers’ pedagogical choices
How Principals Understanding Of Best Practices In Professional Development Impacts Teacher Pedagogy
Get PDFThe role of the principal has changed drastically from what was once known as a building manager to an instructional leader. Principals are the key lever to creating professional development with teachers in order to improve teaching and learning. The single most important variable to student achievement is the quality of the teacher in the classroom ( Darling-Hammond, 2014). In order to ensure teacher quality, principals need to understand adult learning theory and professional development design. I am examining using Wagner’s 4C’s how principals’ understanding of PD design can impact staff perceptions, beliefs and teacher quality. This study also looked at through Wagner’s “as is” and “to be” framework, identifying leadership strategies needed transformation of the current professional development happening in Sunny Side School District. Making this leadership shift, however, demands, resources, time and support. Professional development for educators must encompass more than training teachers: it must also help principals acquire the skills necessary to be successful. There is a call for legislative changes where the federal government invest time and resources to provide sustained professional development for teachers and school leaders
A Phenomenological Study Of The First Year College Experience Of First-generation Latinx Students
Get PDFThis qualitative study explored the first-year college experience of four first-generation Latinx college students and how they made sense of that experience. The participants were all graduates of a private independent high school in a suburban community, and research was conducted through interviewing the participants. Analyzing their perceptions garnered a deeper understanding of and insight into their lived experience in order to help develop strategies and programs to better support the enrollment, retention and graduation of first-generation Latinx college students. Study findings suggest that future practices at both the high school and the college level should include emphasis on providing culturally congruent outreach to parents, developing cultural competency in faculty and counselors, providing culturally responsive mentoring to students and their families, and including early exposure to the college process and financial aid information to better support these students in attaining their goals