This action research study explored the use of mentorship as an intervention to improve the attendance chronically absent ninth grade students at an urban high school. Chronic absenteeism is a phenomenon with multiple compounding negative impacts on students. Moreover, it is a complicated problem with multiple contributing factors and potential…

A history of trauma can have a significant negative impact on the functioning of a student in the school environment. Check & Connect, a school engagement and dropout intervention program, has been found to have positive effects on student school engagement and decrease the likelihood of dropping out of school. However, a review of the Check…

Local, state and national data show that graduation rates for African Americans lag behind White students. This problem has existed for decades, and African American students may not have the proper support to succeed. Further, research has shown that bonding or school connectedness can lead to better graduation outcomes. One approach that may…

This study explores how public-school teachers who host student teachers in urban, grade 7-12 classrooms (referred to as cooperating teachers or classroom mentors in this study) define their role in preparing pre-service teachers. This study is particularly interested in yielding insight into how participants describe the "practice" of…

The entrance into ninth grade is a critical time for urban high school students. A successful transition is needed to ensure that students do not fall behind and graduate on time with their cohort. There was a need to study the perceptions of teachers to better understand specific issues surrounding the transition to high school. The purpose of…

While many educators viewed transition as a one-time event, it often proved to be more of a process than simply an occasion (Cohen & Smerdon, 2009). The researcher observed through the role as a school counselor that students with high anxiety tended to exhibit low resilience during times of transition. In order to assist students as they…

The importance of a smooth transition from eighth grade to ninth grade is critical as this transition can have a lasting impact on a student's success or failures beyond high school. Studies in this body of research suggest that ninth grade students lead the list of high school grade students when it comes to tardiness, the number of discipline…

The transition into high school is a traumatic event in an adolescent's life. Students face several emotional challenges during their high school years as they struggle to gain a sense of self, develop the tools needed to advocate for their own needs, and navigate the demands of a new school. A successful transition into high school has a…

This research project focuses on a freshman class in a suburban high school where incoming ninth graders were identified as being at-risk or not at-risk; students' scores on eighth grade standardized tests were critical in determining a student's placement in one of the two categories. The researcher established the predictive value of this…

This study was conducted to obtain information about a mentoring program through the eyes of eleventh and twelfth grade student mentors. These students were able to tell what needed to be known about the strengths and weaknesses of this mentoring program and what they felt needed to be done to make the program more effective and meaningful. This…

Schools have gone through educational reforms having various focuses on curriculum changes, consolidation, open classrooms, mastery learning, decentralization, shared decisionmaking, legislative mandates and controls, high expectations, integrated thematic instruction, professional development, technology integration, and standards with…