Although the community college's original intent was to fulfill a mission dedicated to offering a low-cost, high-quality education to its community, fulfilling its mission is has become more difficult based on ever-increasing financial stresses being placed upon it by various constituent groups. As such, a growing piece of the community college…

Traditional grading practices have been in place for well over a hundred years and grades received served to identify in which subjects a student is "smart" or in which ones they are not (Dewitt, 2017). The problem with traditional grading is that it does not provide qualitative information on the difference between an A, B, C, D, or F…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore how one elementary school administrative team responded to their changing student populations to include Latin(x) within their black community. The responses included looping practices, relationship building with families and culturally relevant pedagogies. In particular, this paper considers how the three…

Centered on the theories of Carol Dweck (2006) and James Burns (1978), an expanding theory case study approach was used to analyze how growth mindset and transformational leadership influence instructional decisions made specifically for economically disadvantaged students. In addition, analysis of how leaders perceive these decisions to have…

This study was designed to investigate the decision-making processes involved with deciding the funding and framing of music programs in three suburban school districts in the New York metropolitan area. School leaders were interviewed to understand the factors associated with the decision-making process. The findings helped to understand…

Amidst continued disparity in educational outcomes and problematic responses of educators to underrepresented students, The National Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity Project (SEED) trains leaders to facilitate conversational communities focused on inciting multilevel change and social justice. The present study utilized Interpretative…

The critical shortage of qualified teachers in hard to staff urban schools has been a persistent issue in the U.S. for decades. Teachers and researchers have pointed to the inadequacy of teacher preparation programs to prepare teacher candidates to address the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students and special education students…

This exploratory, quantitative study examined positive student-faculty interactions, sense of belonging, and cumulative grade-point average among a population of disabled undergraduate students. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not positive student-faculty interactions and sense of belonging are predictors of the academic…

The number of students struggling with chronic absenteeism, while on the rise prior to COVID-19, appears to have increased dramatically since the onset of the pandemic. This dissertation explores the challenges faced in a suburban middle school in Western New York throughout and following the COVID-19 shutdown. Data from the district's student…

It is widely accepted that the involvement of parents in their children's education leads to various academic, social, and mental health benefits. Further, parent involvement has been identified as a critical component to ensuring robust and rewarding experiences for students with disabilities throughout their educational journeys and essential in…

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of elementary administrators' and elementary teachers' on the effectiveness of school-based disciplinary policies as they relate to English language learners. This study identified the current policies and beliefs that are in place when it comes to discipline for our ELL population, and if…

This study explored the role of school superintendents and board of education trustees in closing the achievement gap, which can be defined as "the disparity in academic performance between groups of students" (Muhammad, 2015, p. 14). District leaders (superintendents and school boards) set the priorities and policies in their school…

Inequity and marginalization exist within educational structures, policies, and practices. As such, practitioners, like district-level leaders need a clearer understanding of the barriers and their role in making meaning and shaping progress to overcome the disconnect between their beliefs, data, and meaningful and sustainable action. This study…

Results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP; National Center for Education Statistics, 2020) have shown that despite efforts to raise the literacy skill levels of students in elementary school, the average reading scores for fourth-grade students in 2019 were still cause for concern. The NAEP data showed the reading scores in…

The disproportionate representation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in school disciplinary actions is well documented in the literature (e.g. Balderas, 2015; Rocque & Paternoster, 2011). Further, the discipline students who are BIPOC often involves suspension and/or expulsion from school (Skiba, 2001; Wallace et al., 2008).…