In this qualitative study, the researcher investigated and described the specific leadership practices employed by elementary principals in Texas to initiate school improvement in campuses designated as needing targeted support, additional targeted support, or comprehensive support and improvement by the Texas Education Agency (2023a). The…

School leaders have faced unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Though there is existing research into crisis management, the majority of the work focuses on other industries outside of education, such as the business sector, public management, government and military leadership, and nonprofit management. Thus, there is a continued…

Assistant principals are essential to the campus leadership team as instructional leaders. However, many assistant principals spend most of their day participating in noninstructional leadership duties and responsibilities. This can drastically reduce the assistant principal's ability to fulfill instructional leadership duties, thus negatively…

The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to examine the co-teaching experiences of secondary choir teachers in associate director positions in the state of Texas. We interviewed 12 participants, who had held an associate director position for at least 3 years, two times across a 4-month period. Three themes emerged from the data:…

Elementary school principals play a key role in leading school personnel to provide prekindergartners and kindergartners with the support needed to ensure their short- and long-term school success. Yet, few studies examine how principals conceptualize what it means for children to be ready for school and how principals support students as they…

The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine how mentoring support systems, race and gender intersectional challenges shape the pathway for five African-American women principals in a South Texas urban school district. The researcher used a semi-structured interview question protocol, audio-recorded, and professionally transcribed…

This qualitative case study explored assistant principals' practices in instructional leadership. This study was conducted in two small school districts in the South Texas Region 1 area. Research questions included (a) What instructional leadership behaviors are assistant principals in Region 1 engaged in? (b) What support is needed for assistant…

This study explores the issue of food insecurity within community colleges in Texas and highlights administrator's responses toward best and most promising practices and challenges in addressing food insecurity. The research was guided by complex adaptive systems theory and cynefin. Food insecurity among college students, especially community…

Secondary-postsecondary partnership reforms have grown in scale and importance throughout the past few decades as part of the national agenda to increase college access, equity, and completion. However, little research has examined the role of the principal in cross-sector partnerships. This qualitative case study explores how one nationally…

The university president's role can be complicated and ambiguous. The pathway to the presidency remains a mystery as traditional and non-traditional presidents approach the position with various experiences, and 75% of those hired arrive as first-time presidents (Gagliardi et al., 2017). New and aspiring university presidents would benefit from…

Effective recruitment and retention strategies of teachers remain elusive for school districts. This study examines the pilot implementation of a year-long teacher residency program throughout four high-needs districts. This program embeds eight residents in these schools and provides various teacher preparation supports to support these beginning…

Principals' roles have been transformed from solely managerial and now include instructional leadership. Principals were formerly responsible for hiring teachers, communicating the vision and mission for the school, and overseeing the daily operations. Currently, the primary focus of school principals is student achievement for all students. The…

This qualitative study sought to explore the perceptions of women school superintendents in K-12 public schools in Texas about the challenges they face as leaders and how they endure these impactful challenges, particularly during critical times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Using Polidore's Resilience Theory (2004) as the theoretical framework,…

The superintendent is one of the most important positions within public school districts because they have the capacity to influence policies, practices, and perceptions among school staff while simultaneously holding sway over the public. Yet, few Latinx administrators are hired into the superintendency -- even fewer are Latinas. Consequently,…

Research has shown principals have the second highest impact on student achievement, only surpassed by the level of instruction. This being the case, it is critical to have the most effective leaders serving in the principal role who are committed to continuing to grow and evolve to meet the needs of their students. This case study was designed to…