The recent decision by the United States Supreme Court to limit affirmative action in college admissions could make it even more challenging for academically talented students of color to gain access to competitive schools. The importance of school counselors in guiding and supporting these students is now more crucial than ever. This qualitative…

I examine the effect of out-of-school suspensions (OSS) on attendance in a large midwestern urban district with high rates of chronic absenteeism. I do so from an ecological perspective and using daily attendance and discipline data. Out-of-school suspension has a modest and persistent negative effect on subsequent attendance, particularly for…

This study's purpose was to determine whether the use of course-embedded learning assistants compared to sections that did not use course-embedded learning assistants in intermediate algebra courses impacted student performance at a community college. The sample was composed of 5,738 students who were enrolled in an intermediate algebra course…

Social-emotional competencies (SECs) stand to benefit children in a myriad of ways. However, school-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programs are often ineffective in low-income, urban school districts, calling into question whether they adequately address student needs. The present study investigated whether and how one source of stress more…

Trauma is defined as an experience that threatens the life or physical integrity of oneself or others (Enlow, et al., 2019). A significant number of school age children are impacted by trauma. According to Martin et al. (2017), two-thirds of the US child population have been exposed to some level of trauma. Although trauma affects children from…

This article examines the prevalence of receiving course registration sanctions (i.e., past due balance notification, stop registration hold, and cancel registration order) caused by past due financial balances. The longitudinal data set follows all first-time, first-year students at a public flagship university during their first 2 years of…

Sociology of education scholars have positioned punitive discipline practices as factors that work to "push" unwanted students to drop out of school before graduating. However, limited research examines how punitive discipline practices may push students to transfer to another schools--potentially acting as a critical step in the process…

Learning loss due to COVID-19 and the digital divide will have dire consequences for low-income students. This study used the Faucet Theory (Alexander et al., 2001) as a theoretical framework to determine the extent that the COVID-19 learning environment impacted the Southern Public Schools District's African American, low-income, and high-income…

One part of COVID-19's staggering impact on education has been to suspend or fundamentally alter ongoing education research projects. This article addresses how to analyze the simple but fundamental example of a multi-cohort study in which student assessment data for the final cohort are missing because schools were closed, learning was virtual,…

This dissertation examines how the recent rise in college going for young people from low-income families in the United States has shaped processes that reproduce poverty. Drawing on 2,400 hours of ethnographic fieldwork conducted over 25 months with eight young Black men in New Orleans, the study provides an in-depth look at the experience of…

The current article examines associations between preschool cognitive and behavioral skills and indicators of college enrollment in a sample (n = 379) of primarily Black and Hispanic youth growing up in low-income areas of Chicago. Although we found that most early cognitive and behavioral skills were only weakly or moderately related to later…

Parental and family engagement are critical parts of a child's educational journey. This is especially true in the Response to Intervention (RTI) process whereby students receive academic, and behavior supports and interventions before referral to special education. An absence of parental input in the RTI process could lead to students being…

This Dissertation in Practice explored the impact of an individualized meeting with family members of low-income students on the family member sense of connection to the university and knowledge of campus resources. Parents and family members play an important role in higher education as influencers, stakeholders, fundraisers, bill payers, and…

To address inequality, philanthropists support "no excuses" schools in majority-Black low-income communities. While the model has raised achievement, its practices are problematic from a social justice lens. Montessori is a highly contrasting model, and over 25% of public Montessori students are Black. Here we examine whether Montessori…

The purpose of the phenomenological transformative study (Mertens, 2010) is to understand Black teachers' perceptions of students in predominantly Black, low-income schools. Seven Black teachers took part in this qualitative study in individual virtual interviews. Five of the participants were interviewed in a virtual focus group interview. The…