This phenomenological qualitative study explored the phenomenon associated with rural, public elementary teachers in Michigan and their experiences related to why they remain in their teaching positions. There were 7 participants from two rural, public elementary schools who had been teaching for one or more years and are currently teaching in a…

Educators and policymakers across the country have been raising alarms about a growing teacher shortage. In Michigan, teacher shortages were so severe in the 2018-19 school year that 2,500 classrooms were staffed by long-term substitutes --nearly ten times the number placed in classrooms five years prior. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised even…

This narrative inquiry highlights the first year of a 5-year Jacob K. Javits grant. In it, the authors detail their experiences writing and receiving the grant and beginning the equity-focused work of helping develop and expand gifted education in Michigan. Michigan currently has no gifted education legislation or funding, so this Javits team…

Educators and policymakers across the country have been raising alarms about a growing teacher shortage. In Michigan, teacher shortages were so severe in the 2018-19 school year that 2,500 classrooms were staffed by long-term substitutes--nearly ten times the number placed in classrooms five years prior. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised even…

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised even greater concerns about a growing teacher shortage. In this study, we use administrative data on more than 140,000 Michigan traditional public and charter school teachers in an interrupted time series framework to understand how teacher attrition and supply may have shifted after the onset of the COVID-19…

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised even greater concerns about a growing teacher shortage. In this study, administrative data on more than 140,000 Michigan traditional public and charter school teachers in an interrupted time series (ITS) framework is used to understand how teacher attrition and supply may have shifted after the onset of the…

Many students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) need evidence-based intervention in school, and applied behavior analysis (ABA) offers an array of treatment options shown to improve outcomes. However, in Michigan, ABA has not been thoroughly integrated into public schools. The present dissertation assessed the mechanisms thought to…

Learning to read by the end of third grade is a pathway to a successful life (Keesler, 2019). Research by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows that students who are not reading proficiently by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school and are ineligible for a majority of jobs in the United States (Hernandez,…

School transportation may increase student outcomes by providing a reliable and safe means of getting to and from school. Little evidence of the effects of such policies exists. In this paper, I provide some of the first causal evidence of transportation impacts on student attendance and achievement using a rich panel of student-level enrollment…

This paper asks whether improving the quality of public schools can be an effective long-run crime-prevention strategy in the U.S. Specifically, we examine the effect of school quality improvements early in children's lives on the likelihood that they are arrested as adults. We exploit quasi-experimental variation in school quality due to…

This study analyzes how bus eligibility impacts student attendance and achievement in Michigan where almost half of the largest districts limit bus transportation to students who live more than 1.5 miles from school. The study finds that while eligibility has no major effect on student attendance or achievement overall, economically disadvantaged…

Principal leadership is an important factor impacting student performance which has a major effect on student achievement. Consequently, during the 21st century, there has been a paradigm shift in principals exiting the public school system, which has resulted in the high level of principal turnover being a major challenge that public school…

We use administrative panel data from seven states covering nearly 3 million students to document and explore variation in "academic mobility," a term we use to describe the extent to which students' ranks in the distribution of academic performance change during their public schooling careers. On average, we show that student ranks are…

School choice has been accompanied by an increase in student mobility. Although changing schools can benefit students, mobility is often associated with negative student and school outcomes. This study sought to better understand the relationship between school climate and the likelihood of student mobility across K-8 schools in Detroit, a city…

The COVID-19 pandemic inflicted massive disruptions on all aspects of daily life, not least of which was the education of K-12 students. It is accepted wisdom among many educational researchers that students need face-to-face instruction from certified teachers in order to flourish. But because students in many districts were forced to stay home…