While research shows that teacher training and professional development intertwine with the overall success of a student and academic achievement, there is still research needed regarding students in poverty that attend online schools and low student achievement benchmarks. The problem addressed in this study is the lack of clear understanding…

Teachers at all educational levels and disciplines are leaving the profession at a rapid rate across the United States with numbers increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic. Retention tools and strategies are critical to the success of a school and school district. The purpose of this single case study was to explore urban high school principals'…

There are 22 traditional public and 14 public charter schools in Central Harlem's Community School District 5 ("CSD 5"), educating approximately 9,200 students in grades 3 to 8, of whom 94% are Black or Hispanic and 84% economically disadvantaged. School results on 2019 statewide tests ranged from 99.8 % down to only 8.3% at grade level…

Recent charter school enrollment trends suggest that many parents are choosing to enroll students in charter schools instead of traditional public schools, even though data indicate public school achievement is equal to or above charter schools. Guided by Rogers and Maslow's humanistic theory, the purpose of the study was to examine reasons why…

This co-authored qualitative case study explores the problem of teachers connecting with their students especially at the middle school level. While research has established the need for teachers to better understand the background experiences of their students, more research is needed to explore the value of place-based professional development…

In this dissertation, I empirically investigate the changes in the market structure after new entrants, and how these changes affect the welfare of market participants. In Chapter 1, using records for public and charter schools in New York City, I empirically show that public schools adjusted after charter schools entered the neighborhood. I…

There has been an increase in violence in many public schools over the last few decades. While school leaders have attempted to address this problem of violence, no recorded documentation of significant change exists. Teachers are the ones who usually see violent behaviors by students before, during, and after an incident, but many studies do not…

This co-authored qualitative case study explores the challenge of teachers connecting with their students at the middle school level, especially when White teachers serve predominantly African-American students in large urban metropolitan areas like St. Louis, Missouri. While research has established the need for teachers to better understand the…

This dissertation systematically explores the origins and evolution of the charter school movement in the United States from 1985 to 2015. I begin by analyzing the role of governors in K-12 education policymaking and find that while governors have generally placed greater emphasis on K-12 education policy over time, Republican governors have…

This explanatory case study investigated why educators (teachers, administrators and support teachers) in a northeast charter school found it difficult to implement a data-driven decision-making (D3M) process. To comprehend where the breakdown in the process occurred, the researcher examined the cultural, technological and political barriers that…

The importance of a high school diploma continues to increase. Still, certain student at-risk factors have been identified across the research literature that negatively impact likelihood to finish school and may increase prevalence of school dropout. That is, for students identified as at-risk, more maladaptive profiles of risk factors often lead…

K-12 online and blended learning initiatives have experienced unprecedented growth in the past decade and are fast becoming a mainstream option for today's generation of learners. In 2016, over five million students were enrolled in K-12 full-time state virtual schools and all 50 states and the District of Columbia offered some form of online…

This case study attempts to better understand the nuances of charter school impact by documenting the story of the Board of La Escuela Freire (the Board), a group attempting to open a democratic, social justice charter school in Santa Ana, California. In asking the question: "What has been the development process of La Escuela Freire?",…

This study uses an interview protocol made up of a cluster of questions that refer to five different stages of a charter school principal. This interview protocol is used to explore the skills and leadership qualities that charter school principals have in order to analyze the difference between charter school principals and traditional public…

Funding for special education is done collectively, with inputs received from the federal, state, and local level. Each state is responsible for determining the mechanism by which they will fund their programs. Arizona funds their special education population's services through a foundational approach. Eligibility areas are used to determine the…