The Morrill Act of 1862 provided the funding mechanism for the modern land-grant college system. In the over 160 years since its passage, the tripartite land-grant mission of teaching, research, and service has become the most recognizable legacy of the legislation. Recent scholars of land-grant education caution against viewing the history of…

This research study examined teachers' perceptions of professional development needs of teachers on student achievement through 66 (Male=17; Female=49) secondary teachers. A closer look at current trends and research in education shows a link between teacher learning and student achievement. Teacher preferences are an important component in…

Historically, the educational journey for Blacks has chronicled both struggles and progress, dating back to slavery when Blacks were denied educational rights, and now as many face the consequences of the resegregation of schools. The resegregation of schools perpetuates social and racial inequalities, particularly in southern states like…

The responsibility to make a free appropriate public education available to all students with disabilities applies to ALL public schools under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Charter schools are public schools; therefore, they bear the same responsibility. Who is actually responsible for ensuring that special education…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that all school districts provide a free appropriate public education to students with Individualized Education Plans in their least restrictive environment. Co-teaching in inclusion classrooms is a collaborative effort, with a general education teacher and a special education teacher, to…

Counselors play a critical role in U.S. schools and provide a range of services to students, from academic guidance to mental health supports. Yet, the profession remains vastly understudied. This three-paper dissertation aims to contribute to the existing literature on school counselors, particularly on the experiences of Black school counselors,…

As a result of federal and state laws, it is necessary to identify an accurate predictor of student achievement before administering the state-mandated test. School districts are increasingly administering "benchmark assessments" throughout the year to measure students' progress and provide teachers with data about adjusting instruction.…

Nationwide, the teacher shortage and turnover concerns are an ongoing, ever-growing issue in public education. Ingersoll and Perda (2009) define turnover as the "migration of teachers from one school district to another" (p. 8). In 2016, the nationwide report on teacher retention showed that nearly half a million teachers will leave…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the effect of the yearly principal attrition rate on the state accountability ratings of 144 traditional public high schools in Mississippi from 2015-2019 and the proficiency rate of high school students in Mississippi in mathematics, reading, science, and history as evidenced on the…

On June 24, 2022, the United States (U.S.) Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which has provided federal protection for safe and legal abortion access and care for 49 years in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. This decision gave states the power to enact some of the most restrictive abortion policies, resulting in 14…

This research attempts to shed light on the persistence of the separate but equal ideology. An opinion that was ruled unconstitutional in 1954 by the US Supreme Court. Failure by the Holmes County School Board through intentional delays and legalities compelled Beatrice Alexander to file a civil court case with the District Court for the Southern…

In rural Mississippi, addressing the issue of reading nonproficiency for third-grade students has posed a significant challenge. To tackle the issue's complexity, the Mississippi legislature implemented the Literacy-Based Promotion Act (LBPA), also known as the 'no social promotion grade-level retention gateway" (Barrett-Tatum et al., 2019).…

The low income and poverty-stricken areas of Mississippi have historically suffered from low-test scores, low graduation rates, and a high concentration of special education students. Additionally, poor, Black Mississippians have performed lower, have lower graduation rates, and score lower in college readiness than do students in the rest of the…

Introduced in the era of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and continued with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states are required to assess students in English Language Arts. The Mississippi Department of Education, in accordance with NCLB and later ESSA, developed the statewide accountability and accreditation model to measure student progress…

The Mississippi Association of Independent Schools was born out of the turbulent years of the Civil Rights Era. "Plessy v. Ferguson" in 1896 had established the doctrine of separate but equal facilities, including schools. While the decision in "Brown v. Board of Education," handed down by the Supreme Court in 1954, ruled that…