This report examines two districts--Azusa Unified and Dinuba Unified--that have begun to shift district structures, policies, and culture to have a measurable effect on student outcomes. Both districts have committed to reducing the D/F rate for students (eighth graders in Dinuba and ninth graders in Azusa) as part of a learning community led by…

While spring of 2020 introduced virtual instruction to all public schools, virtual schooling had already been growing in most states. We focus on pre-COVID-19 changes to fulltime virtual school enrollment in public schools, and provide evidence on the relationship between virtual school enrollment, internet speed, community demographics, and…

This author conducted a comprehensive literature review that examined the associations of mindfulness, resilience, academic indicators, and test anxiety in school-aged pupils from the perspective of a beginning school psychologist. This comprehensive literature review aimed to investigate how mindfulness, resilience, academic indicators and…

Background: Suspensions can have negative effects on students' immediate academic and long-run outcomes, including increasing their likelihood of being arrested and incarcerated as an adult (Bacher-Hicks, Billings, Deming, 2019). School discipline practices have become a concern of families and policymakers and there have been increasing local,…

High turnover in the role of school superintendent signaled functional disruption, decreased morale and impaired student achievement. The principal researcher sought to explain perceptions among professional Florida K-12 public school educators about key factors related to the role of school superintendent, necessary qualifications, important…

This article investigates the racial and gender dynamics of educational inequality in suburban public schools in the United States during an era of rapid demographic change. As suburban schools transition from predominantly White enclaves to more diverse settings, it is unclear to what extent the popular narrative of "suburban advantage"…

Comprehensively updated, the second edition is a user-friendly resource for teachers and administrators to ensure their school's success in implementing and maintaining a dual language program. The book is filled with step-by-step instructions and strategies you can try immediately. The second edition includes key updates on technology, digital…

Teacher absenteeism has high individual and societal costs and triggers a vicious cycle by increasing teacher absenteeism for the remaining teachers. Moreover, teachers' non-attendance disrupts the learning process and affects student motivation and achievement. Teacher absenteeism further exacerbates the increasing teacher shortage observed in…

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) is an educational framework that illustrates how to foster educational excellence through a focus on cultural competence, critical consciousness, and academic success, which aims to empower students by making education more applicable and responsive to their lived experiences (Ladson-Billings, 1995). This study…

This research examines teachers' perceptions of cultural diversity training in a suburban school district. While there is an impressive amount of research on how large urban school districts deal with culture and equity in their schools, there is room for more research on how the smaller suburban school districts handle it. This study will add to…

This mixed methods study aimed to explore the effects that parental involvement and student online learner efficacy have on student achievement and perceptions of parents and exceptional education students in the traditional and virtual education settings. The study participants included parents and exceptional education students in grades K-12th…

The education pipeline is characterized by a series of well-defined and extensively documented transitions. From preschool to kindergarten, elementary to middle to high school, and college to work, students at multiple stages of human development experience transitions that shape their downstream outcomes. In this dissertation, I use…

Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, American students have demonstrated substantial losses in achievement (Amplify, 2021; Domingue et al., 2021; Dorn et al., 2020; Storey & Zhang, 2023), while chronic absenteeism doubled after the pandemic, with the largest increase among low-income students (Chang et al., 2022; Dorn et al., 2021). Among…

The negative impact of COVID-19 on students persists three years after the onset of the pandemic. A substantial body of research shows that students have yet to recover to their learning trends before the pandemic (Callen et al. 2023, Lewis & Kuhfeld 2023, Cohodes et al., 2022). This suggests that students face a lengthy road to recovery, and…

Background/Context/Setting: In the wake of growing evidence regarding the negative impacts of suspension on student outcomes, states and school districts have implemented disciplinary reforms, restricting or eliminating the use of suspension for minor misbehaviors. Recent evaluations of these reforms suggest that they have the potential to…