The role of the principal includes various obligations and responsibilities, including leading the school's special education (SPED) program. Many aspects inform how SPED students respond to the curriculum, including their learning needs, race, socioeconomic class, and other aspects that intersect and make their needs more complex. The researcher…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine enrollment in string orchestra instruction across Texas. Three central research questions guided the investigation: (a) How well is orchestra represented in districts and schools across the state of Texas? (b) What are the characteristics (FRPL eligibility, locale, student race/ethnicity,…

Previous research has shown that Black males do not find schools to be safe spaces or places where they feel a sense of belonging. Instead, they do not feel welcomed (Brooms, 2019a). If students must spend 8 to 9 hours in a place daily, we will want that space to be somewhere they want to be. Findings from research conducted by Collins et al.…

Research has shown that even though the A-F grading system is widely used in the system of public education, grading practices are inconsistent and are commonly unreliable. One reason for this is that teacher training is inconsistent or ineffective. This qualitative case study seeks to explore the meaning of grades by exploring educators' grading…

Many districts have adopted social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum that teachers must incorporate into their lessons. The purpose of this qualitative dissertation-in-practice was to explore teachers' perceptions of the quality of SEL program professional development (PD) for teachers at a small, rural West Texas high school. For this study,…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the opinions and views of teachers on parental involvement in elementary and high school education in the United States. This study utilizes secondary data acquired from the RAND American Teacher Panel (ATP), which is a nationally representative sample of K-12 school teachers. The specific…

A push for attendance improvement in the state of Iowa is a push to improve student graduation rates and maximize student success after high school. The purpose of this study was to identify how principals' perceptions of their attendance policies and enforcement of these policies affect student attendance and outcomes toward graduation. A…

This Data Point examines the school start time for public high schools in the United States by selected characteristics and state. It uses data from the School Questionnaire of the 2017-18 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), which is both a state and nationally representative sample survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals,…

The School Questionnaire was administered as part of the 2017-18 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), which is a state and nationally representative sample survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The selected school samples include about 10,600 traditional and…

Over the past 20 years, improving ethical awareness within organizations has become a priority in the public and private sectors. Ethics is formalized in the workplace, within structures, policies, and practices. However, few studies document the formalization of ethics with regard to its relationship to leadership. Findings from our previous…

At a time when the United States Department of Education openly advocates for neoliberal, free market policies, exploration of these efforts is needed. Investigation into one such effort, charter schools, can help provide insight into complicated questions surrounding the value and impact of these schools, especially on the marginalized…

Does creating small high schools have a beneficial impact on daily attendance? This question was addressed using time series analysis to examine the case of one urban transfer high school that serves students who previously dropped out of school. This analytical approach is uniquely suitable to examine the dynamical processes characterizing…

In 37 states, an accepted computer science course may qualify or "flex" as a high school graduation requirement in lieu of a traditional requirement, such as mathematics. Applying a first- and second-order barriers framework (i.e., tangible impediments and personal beliefs), we examined views of 60 high school administrators. The…

This study surveyed heads of schools of U.S. K-12 Christian Schools concerning foreign language instruction in the 2016-2017 school year. The purpose was to determine 1) the number of schools that offered foreign language instruction, 2) the languages those schools offered, 3) the grade levels in the elementary and middle schools in which…

Buy-in is an important component in the successful adoption, full implementation, and sustainability of any school-based initiative(e.g., Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005). In high schools, one key way to increase buy-in is to incorporate student voice. Since adolescents have a developmental need to play an active role in their…