Chronic absenteeism continues to be an ongoing problem for schools in the southern Illinois region. This project aims to examine how schools meet the basic needs of chronically absent students, and if there are systems in place to track how student's basic needs are met. Basic needs were defined by the theory and work of Abraham Maslow. The data…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to investigate the potential effect that blended learning has on student achievement in high school math. The theoretical framework used for this study was constructivism theory. The constructivism theory focuses on the idea that learning is a process where students build new knowledge…

The importance of establishing positive relationships is a common theme in educational philosophies and recommended practice. Educators inherently believe this to be true. It is assumed relationships are the key to academic and behavioral success, as well as students' social emotional well-being. Furthermore, relationships may even be the key to…

A popular alternative disciplinary framework from zero-tolerance school policies is restorative justice, which refers to a set of ideologies and practices that emphasize healing relationships in lieu of community exclusion. This work investigates the differences between ideological support for restorative approaches compared to program…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among collective efficacy factors, as measured by the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, and college readiness scores, as reported by American College Testing (ACT), for high schools in the state of Illinois. The 5Essentials have been considered crucial to school success and therefore used to…

This study is a phenomenological inquiry into the experiences of female high school principals who participated in leadership coaching during the first years of their principalships. Understanding how female principals found value in their leadership coaching, discovering the experiences between leadership coaches and the participants that yielded…

In this study we employed regression analysis and between-group matched pair design to analyze whether participation in a competency-based education pilot was associated with improved high school completion and postsecondary entry. Data were obtained for high schools participating in a CBE pilot program in Illinois. Results of the matched pair…

In a time in which teacher recruitment and retention play such a vital role in reducing the teacher shortage, principals need to be cognizant of their leadership style and the potential impact it can have on not only teachers, but on the school climate as well. Within this study, I explored the relationship between leadership style and school…

Following thirty-nine states, Illinois became the 40th state to make Civic Education a mandatory class for students to graduate high school in 2015. The mandated class is a semester long and usually occurs in the students Junior or Senior year of high school. The Illinois General Assembly then passed a separate bill that indicated that the 2016-17…

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between specific leadership behaviors and student achievement in Illinois high schools excluding those within the Chicago Public School System. The leadership behaviors examined in this study include setting direction, developing people, redesigning the organization, and improving the…

This dissertation examines the processes and procedures high schools utilize to increase student voice and student efficacy within the identification and enrollment of students into grade 9 literacy intervention. The purpose of this collective case study is to investigate how schools identified students for additional literacy support and how they…

Schools in the United States average an annual teacher turnover of 16%, with half of all teachers who change jobs also leaving the profession. This problem is important because high teacher turnover interrupts the development of pedagogical acumen among teachers, adversely affects student achievement, and diverts budget dollars that are needed…

This report describes the establishment and delivery of Illinois career and technical education (CTE), the existing condition of Illinois CTE based on fiscal year 2021 data, and the future developments and recommendations for CTE in the state as required by Illinois School Code 105 ILCS 435/2e. Illinois CTE focuses on providing equitable…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the READ 180 literacy intervention on a public high school district. This study compared the SRI test scores of two campuses. One campus had students engage in the READ 180 literacy intervention for one hour daily and the other campus had students engage in the READ 180 literacy…

The purpose of this descriptive, nonexperimental quantitative research study was to examine Illinois High School Principals' perceptions of principal leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Areas of focus include daily leadership responsibilities, instructional leadership, and associated stressors. Quantitative data were collected through a…