School district takeovers--when a state education agency (SEA) assumes control of a low-performing district--are the most aggressive accountability intervention available to SEAs. Much of the scholarship on takeovers has been skeptical on both normative and pragmatic grounds, but these analyses don't wrestle with what else to do when students'…

Authentic connections and experiences frequently occur between students, educational material, peers, and staff. Staff set the climate and culture of the classroom and impact the academic, behavioral, social, and emotional achievement of students. To support students behaviorally and academically, schools across the United States have created a…

The implementation of Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) has been successful in multiple elementary systems across the United States. Providing three tiers of support for students struggling academically, social-emotionally, and behaviorally in the classroom setting and created success for many students until they reach the secondary level,…

Chronic absenteeism and truancy have plagued the United States for more than a century. Various interventions have been utilized, yet eight million students are absent from school every day, and seven million meet the threshold for chronic absenteeism in a school year. Some communities implemented voluntary court-based truancy diversion programs…

Public schools have experienced an endless cycle of reform aiming to improve student achievement. Despite the time, funding, and resources that have been expended, most school reforms have not been successful at manifesting and sustaining meaningful change. New Jersey's latest attempt at school reform involved Regional Achievement Centers (RACs)…

Leaders in education need to identify ways to better train and support professionals so that they do not leave the field (Garcia & Weiss, 2020). Using behavioral education practices, such as precision teaching and Say All Fast Minute Every Day Shuffled (SAFMEDS), promotes skill development and generative learning (Johnson, 2021). Training…

The problem addressed in this study is the disproportionality in office discipline referrals (ODRs) for Black students at a Northeast Florida Middle School despite the implementation of School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand middle school teachers'…

Emerging adulthood, the period of time between adolescence and adulthood, is full of new adjustments. During this time, individuals must acclimate to heightened expectations with diminished support. Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience even greater academic and vocational difficulty during emerging adulthood…

Student writing outcomes in the U.S. are dismal, and this has been an area of concern for decades, yet schools and teachers are not implementing evidence-based practices (EBP) in writing instruction. Self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) is an EBP in writing yet the administrator's role in implementing EBPs in writing has not been studied.…

Cyberbullying remains a significant issue in school environments, impacting students of diverse backgrounds. The problem addressed by this study was that despite the proven effectiveness of traditional bullying interventions within the school environment, the ability of teachers to identify incidents of cyberbullying and apply intervention methods…

Recent policy efforts in early care and education (ECE) have aimed to ensure that all children have access to high-quality ECE programming. However, there is debate about how to most effectively improve ECE quality at scale. The three papers in this dissertation provide new insights into the impacts of two widely-used policies aimed at improving…

Chronic absenteeism and truancy are pervasive problems that may lead to tremendous adverse outcomes for students. All states have compulsory school attendance laws, and school districts have established compulsory school attendance policies. Principals and truancy officers are tasked with meeting the state-mandated policy to reduce chronic…

As federal and state involvement in higher education has evolved over the last century, increased funding preceded new measures of accountability. Even with a more diverse student population, the graduation rates for bachelor's seeking students has stayed the same for nearly 40 years. Student retention and departure theories have imparted a rich…

The study reported in this dissertation is a response to the call for school science argumentation interventions to shift from a focus on argument framework towards epistemic criteria valued by the scientific community, and to focus on the practice of critiquing in addition to constructing arguments, as both practices are part of scientific…

The high expectations of the standards movement, the many budgetary constraints, and the societal challenges of living in cities are some of the complexities principals in urban districts face when trying to serve the needs of children in their schools. This research explores an intervention model of principal professional learning communities…