This action research study examined the current attendance protocol at a Title I school in the southeastern region of the United States. Data were collected from three sources: survey, interviews, and a focus group. The collected data were analyzed using NVivo 14 software, resulting in six themes--two for each of the three questions for analysis.…

The purpose of the Dissertation in Practice was to explore the experiences and perceptions of a group of middle school teachers and administrators that were implementing a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program. The setting for this case study was an urban, Title I middle school located in Florida. Interviews were conducted…

Educators are increasingly using trauma-informed approaches to lessen the harsh effects of trauma on children. Although this practice is becoming more common in U.S. kindergarten through Grade 12 schools, it has been slow to reach the early care and education setting, which includes Head Start programs. Head Starts are encouraged to use a trauma…

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of elementary principals who successfully implement and sustain the AVID system school wide at their Title 1 elementary schools in Southern California as a means to close the achievement gaps and prepare all students to be college and career ready.…

Our country has a digital equity crisis, with many socioeconomically disadvantaged students disproportionately experiencing significant negative consequences from the digital divide. This program evaluation sought to investigate whether the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools (VILS) grant program decreases the consequences of the digital divide…

The purpose of this applied action research study was to close the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged (ED) students and their non-disadvantaged peers (non-Ed) through the implementation of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) system of processes. This study utilizes both quantitative and qualitative data to answer…

School systems have been implementing trauma-informed curriculums to offset any trauma students may be experiencing. In the Head Start classroom, many students enter with trauma and display behaviors that cause secondary traumatic stress for the educators working with them. Exposure to students' traumas can cause educators to experience secondary…

Declining achievement in reading has put enormous pressure on Title I middle schools to improve adolescent literacy performance. Poor student achievement in reading has incited the development of a national initiative; therefore, Response to Intervention (RTI) was created to comprehensively change educational practices. RTI was derived from the…

Background: Youth from low-income, racially and ethnically diverse families are at increased risk for academic challenges and nutritionally inadequate diets. Summer programs offer an opportunity to foster interest and engage students in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) education while addressing summer learning loss.…

In this study, the lack of teacher preparation to incorporate Social Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies in the classroom that could benefit African American and Latina girls in urban secondary schools was examined. Research showed that over 50% of students in urban schools experienced SEL challenges which correlated with higher risks for…

Social-emotional and character development (SECD) programs promote the development of youth's social-emotional skills (e.g., empathy) and cultivation of pro-social character virtues (e.g., gratitude). When provided universally within the school context, these interventions have been shown to increase students' social-emotional learning (SEL) and…

This comparative case study investigated how two Title I elementary schools within the same school district implement, promote, and maintain familial/community engagement programs. The district adopted and implemented a family engagement model based on Dr. Karen Mapp's Academic Parent-Teacher Team approach within the Dual Capacity-Building…

Existing literature suggests principal responses to teacher resistance to equity change remain crucial to the success of equity-based changes, yet great variability exists in format and effectiveness of principal responses. A gap emerged in the literature related to the role of identity development in principal response to staff resistance to…

Automated writing evaluation (AWE) is a cutting-edge technology-based intervention designed to help teachers meet their challenges in writing classrooms and improve students' writing proficiency. The fast development of AWE systems, along with the encouragement of technology use in the U.S. K-12 education system by the Common Core State Standards…

Closing achievement gaps for students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds is a decades-long issue in public education, particularly for reading instruction (International Reading Association [IRA], 2010; National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2013). Across the United States, initiatives to further integrate technology-based instruction to…