Chronic absenteeism is associated with poor health and educational outcomes. School nurses have great potential to address the health and educational needs that contribute to absenteeism. Through qualitative analysis of interviews with school nurses, we characterize their current role in reducing absenteeism and identify barriers 3 that limit…

Background: The whole school, whole community, whole child (WSCC) model suggests wellness councils, ongoing review of wellness policy, and a plan for evaluating set objectives are some of the key features needed to support school wellness infrastructure. This study explored the relationship between implementation of these infrastructure features…

In many parts of the country, enrollment in traditional public schools has fallen to its lowest point in decades. However, states, cities, and school districts have been slow to respond to the reality of empty desks. This report examines trends in school enrollment, focusing on several of America's most populous cities, as well as the budgetary…

Communication deficits are one of the main characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Self-injurious behavior (SIB) in individuals with ASDs often occurs due to the individuals' lack of social-communicative abilities to express what they want (e.g., attention; access to tangible items; help). Many researchers have successfully used…

Pennsylvania has experienced a significant reduction in certified K-12 school librarian positions. This exploratory sequential mixed methods research study explored principal decision-making impacting K-12 school library programming. 30 survey participants and 8 interview participants located across 3 IUs in PA took part in this research study.…

This qualitative research study focused on examining the lived experiences and defining moments of K-12 school principals that have contributed to their authentic leadership development, along with how they foster authenticity in their daily lives through the use of self- awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing, and an internal…

This dissertation examines the school-level impacts on student achievement in the state of Pennsylvania from the economic inputs provided to students and schools. I conduct a comprehensive review of prior literature on Pennsylvania education funding, the issue of equity versus adequacy, academic spending per pupil, and teacher compensation, as…

This report provides data about the special education teacher pipeline in Pennsylvania and projects associated with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Special Education's Attract, Prepare, and Retain (APR) efforts. We first used administrative data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education to provide a historical portrait of the special education…

At their best, K-12 public school systems can be engines of social and economic mobility. Unfortunately, schools in lower-income districts -- whose students have the greatest academic needs -- often receive less funding than their counterparts in more affluent districts. Discussions about closing these funding gaps usually zoom all the way out to…

Over the past 2 decades, eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) has become increasingly recognized as a common cause of gastrointestinal morbidity in children. A mainstay of treatment is food avoidance, which must be implemented in both the home and school settings for school-aged children. The aim of this study is to assess school nurses' familiarity…

This phenomenological study provides insight into the experiences of public-school board directors as they experience, cognitively process, and respond to religious-based reasoning during deliberations on controversial issues while serving in their elected role at school board meetings. Understanding how elected public-school district directors…

Since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, increasing attention has been paid to rural communities. For our study, we used a multicase study approach that included five states to study the difference between the rhetoric about the need to focus more attention on rural communities soon after the 2016 election and the practiced reality of state…

This case study explores a county-wide initiative to improve school attendance through a successful network collaboration among organizations within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The network was a collaboration between nonprofit, for-profit, governmental, and educational leaders who sought to raise awareness about the effects of chronic…

Purpose: Many K-12 teachers teach difficult topics as part of their curricula, and discussions of difficult topics are common across grade levels and content areas. As teachers increasingly engage with difficult topics in their classrooms, the need for high-quality professional learning experiences has also grown. In response, the purpose of this…

It is well known that Pennsylvania's K-12 schools are inadequately and inequitably funded. But the extent of the problem is not fully understood. This paper uses new data and methods to demonstrate just how unfair--and in fact, morally unsustainable--the funding of elementary and secondary education is in the Commonwealth. It shows that the…