Background: Art making is a personal and social process in which learners make meaning for themselves and audiences through the production of artifacts. In classrooms, this personal and social process is made concrete through dialogue. Methods: This paper presents an illustrative case study of how sixth-grade student, Jo, developed voice through…

Background/Context: A minority of U.S. eighth graders reach the proficient level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (U.S. Department of Education, 2021). Early evidence suggests that the pandemic has made things worse, especially so for underserved student populations (Lewis et al., 2021). Math proficiency is central to advanced…

This dissertation chronicled a multifaceted study utilizing the Historical, Philosophical, Societal and a Takeaway (HPST) Framework, an organizational tool used for document analysis. Utilizing a case study format, this research unpacked how a charter school teacher used HPST within her own ninth grade Advanced Placement World History class. As a…

Utilizing longitudinal data from the national Schools to Watch (STW) program, this paper examines school demographic characteristics and teacher ratings of the implementation of STW criteria in STW schools and schools that have applied but have not yet been designated as a STW. The STW program was established by the National Forum to Accelerate…

Teaching in an inner city school requires classroom management, resilience, and most importantly strategies to promote learning and growth. There is a constant need for acceleration in student growth in core subjects, especially Math. A blended learning model can be an effective option for schools to personalize learning experiences for students…

Citizens Leadership Academy (CLA) in Ohio is preparing its middle schoolers for success in high school, college, and life. CLA is second among all public schools in the city on student growth. The school's eighth graders reach and surpass proficiency at a rate that is more than three times that of their peers across the city. Reading and math…

Coaching is a strategy employed by districts to improve teacher skill and advance student learning. Despite widespread adoption of coaching, research has not yet explored teachers' emotional responses to coaching, which may impact the success of the coaching practice. This study examines teacher perception of coaching and coinciding emotional…

Ten middle school principals of Title I charter schools were interviewed in this qualitative, phenomenological narrative study to explore the influence of parental involvement on students' success in Title I charter schools in Texas as perceived by middle school principals. Each interview was analyzed before combining them to develop a complete…

The purpose of this study was to identify whether maladaptive perfectionism predicts elevated symptoms of anxiety in a sample of primarily Puerto Rican middle school students. Participants included students (N = 128) from Grades 6 through 8 (48% male; average age = 11.9 years) who attended an urban, bilingual, public, charter school. Results…

Education in the United States has a foundational public purpose: to prepare students for effective citizenship. The idea that an educated and engaged citizenry is essential to the health of a democracy motivated the creation of government-run "common schools" in the early decades of the nation and remains an important value in modern…

This dissertation analyzes data in order to answer the research question, "Do eighth grade students who have participated regularly in their school band programs for four consecutive years achieve higher scores in New Jersey's Grade Eight PARCC Assessment than students of similar ability who do not play a musical instrument?" Data was…

Theory suggests that charter schools may affect neighboring traditional public schools either positively or negatively. Empirical findings are mixed, which may be due to variation in the policy context or estimation approach. Our contribution is in considering a new measure of charter penetration and comprehensive methodology. We combine the…

There is wide recognition that supporting social-emotional learning (SEL) is a critical task for schools as they emerge from the pandemic, but implementation is challenging and SEL programs can easily turn into isolated and disjointed initiatives. When schools treat SEL as an isolated initiative, implementation can be uneven and difficult to…

Louisiana's Believe and Prepare pilot program, supported by grants from the Louisiana Department of Education, aimed to prepare teacher candidates or in-service teachers through a residency with a mentor and a competency-based curriculum. To improve teacher preparation and teacher residencies, state and teacher education leaders in Louisiana…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a larger study on Louisiana's Believe and Prepare pilot program. The program aimed to provide teacher candidates or in-service teachers a competency-based curriculum and a residency with a mentor. State and teacher education leaders in Louisiana sought to better understand the early career outcomes…