The COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity to reexamine many of the research findings associated with high school athletics. Utilizing a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology, specifically an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach, the research evaluated commonly held theories and beliefs associated with high school sports.…

This evaluative case study focused on how organizational changes--specifically a new directional system--affected staff culture in a rural Midwestern school district. This work was theoretically grounded in Owens and Valesky's school climate model. Through observations, interviews, and a review of documents, I determined that the new directional…

Family and community engagement are proven strategies for strengthening schools. Across the United States, parents and community members have pressed school boards and district leadership for more transparency and broader participation in decisions about school turnaround. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the…

This study borrows its title from the hashtag #CopsoutCPS, which is a student-led movement in Chicago to end the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program and divest from policing in Chicago Public Schools. This case study cross-analyzes student, staff, and community narratives on the transitional developments in alternative safety and student…

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…

Urban community leaders describe their perceptions of critical issues in education and offer recommendations for the creation of a college-going culture (CGC). This qualitative study employed a maximum entropy analysis. Results demonstrate critical issues with increasing educational attainment including complexity of the urban school system,…

College-going culture represents the development of college aspiration within individuals, and also the provision of guidance and support to prepare students for college application, enrollment, and success (Achinstein, Curry, & Ogawa, 2015; Corwin & Tierney, 2007). First- generation students are of particular research interest because…

In April 2008, the Wisconsin Erie School District attempted and failed to pass a school bond referendum to renovate its high school. In November 2008, again the school district did not pass a referendum. Interestingly, in the 2009-2010 school year, the district was successful in passing a bond referendum. Although the original bond measure called…

A new high school on a remote inland in Belize offers important educational opportunities to students who previously only had access to primary education. This qualitative case study applied Patterson's (2000) Culture of Poverty to understand challenges that exist that keep students from achieving their academic potential despite new opportunities…

Using critical race discourse analysis, this study examines descriptions of a heated controversy over the proposed closure of the only primarily black high school in a large urban city. Participants included community members and the district and school leaders who were key in the controversy. Based on Foucault's analysis of power we looked for…

This is the final external evaluation report prepared by SRI International for the Rural Math Excel Partnership (RMEP) project, an investing in innovation (i3) development project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Operated by Virginia Advanced Study Strategies, Inc. (VASS), the RMEP project included six rural school districts (LEAs) in…

One of the deadliest and most destructive tornadoes in the history of the United States ripped through the southeast Missouri town of Joplin on May 22, 2011. As it traveled along a 13-mile path it claimed 161 lives and caused more than $151 million in damages. Ten schools were damaged or destroyed and Joplin High School was a total loss. Just 48…

In 1954, when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka," the South Lawndale neighborhood on Chicago's southwest side was home primarily to Polish and Czech immigrants. In the decades since, South Lawndale has undergone dramatic change. Eastern Europeans moved out, and people of Mexican…

From the late 1860s, when they were established in New Zealand, the district high (now area) schools have sought to provide academically able rural youth with the opportunity to study a high status, abstract, examination-oriented curriculum. This curriculum enabled them to pursue clerical and professional careers in the towns and cities. However,…