The intention of this dissertation in practice is to provide structure to a peer-to-peer mentoring program to improve the academic success of students, while building students' engagement and social emotional skills through connections and relationships within the school district. This study is situated in a rural school community with an…

This phenomenological qualitative study examined the intersection between TRIO Upward Bound participation and resilience theory to determine how participation in TRIO Upward Bound impacted the resiliency of its at-risk youth participants. Accordingly, the participants of this study are alumni of the federally funded TRIO Upward Bound program, a…

"Statement of the Problem": Almost half of children in the United States have been exposed to childhood trauma (McIntosh, 2019). Discipline practices in many schools are often ineffective with and inappropriate for students who have experienced trauma. For example, students who are disciplined in traditional ways often continue to…

Educators develop and implement various academic/behavioral intervention programs designed to specifically address academic shortcomings or aimed at disrupting behavioral cycles that impede success in the classroom. The purpose of this research was to identify gaps in behavioral Response to Intervention (RtI) programs and to design a RtI program…

Conventional punitive detention- and suspension-based correctional approaches to student disruptive behavior are widely considered ineffective and counterproductive. Instead of offering opportunities for change and growth, they punish students they deem incorrigible by excluding them from instruction. While effective alternative approaches and…