The transitional period between elementary and middle school remains an area of concern for educators. Many middle schools are plagued with retention issues, core class failures, increased discipline problems, and decreased attendance rates among students during their transitional period. The issues increase for students labeled as at-risk…

The significance of the study was to examine intentional strategies to improve school climate relative to student school success as measured by academic achievement, attendance, and student behavior. It was important to understand how student school success was affected by factors related to school climate improvement such as leadership and change…

The effect teachers have on student achievement is perennial. Several factors contribute to declining teacher morale. Teachers have an insuperable amount of responsibilities and duties. Stress related to increased federal, state, and local demands, low pay, lack of administrative support, and heightened discipline problems, are all factors that…

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), just over 70 percent of students nationally arrive in high school with reading skills that are below "proficient"--defined as demonstrating competency over challenging subject matter. Of these students, nearly half do not exhibit even partial mastery of the knowledge…

Educators in the United States have been socialized to believe that their mission in teaching is to play nice and treat all of their students the same, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, or gender. What is often missing in this teaching-all-equally approach is a counter-narrative that questions whether teachers can in fact successfully act as…

Educators are concerned about the loss of instructional time resulting from student suspension. The right to obtain a free appropriate public education must be balanced with the myriad of discipline and school safety issues. The loss of instructional time due to disciplinary sanctions negatively impacts student achievement, possibly resulting in…

The number of high school dropouts in the United States is staggering. Every day, 7,000 students drop out and only about 70 percent of students nationwide leave high school with a traditional high school diploma. Previous research has shown that students demonstrating risk factors for dropout can be identified early in middle school. The purpose…

Two decades after I left teaching primary school for a university career, I observed students and teachers in a mainstream primary school in Hong Kong. There were three main student communities within the school. Those who were labeled extremely low achievers were taught in a small class of not more than 12; these students were taught a curriculum…

A substantial amount of controversy surrounds the issue of class size in public schools. Parents and teachers are on one side, touting the benefits of smaller class sizes (e.g., increased academic achievement, greater student-teacher interaction, utilization of more innovative teaching strategies, and a decrease in discipline problems). On the…

This book provides a roadmap to developing a high-trust classroom, a classroom: (1) With increased student achievement; (2) With few discipline problems; (3) Where students are intrinsically motivated; and (4) Where the teacher can confidently use creative lesson planning. The author presents a simple step by step approach to earning the trust of…

Each year, between 10 and 20 percent of schoolchildren in the United States are exposed to domestic violence. According to psychologists, such exposure can lead to aggressive behavior, decreased social competence, and diminished academic performance. A majority of parents and school officials believe that children who are troubled, whatever the…

This study assessed the effects of a modified version of Check & Connect, a comprehensive student engagement intervention, on the attendance, behavior, and academic performance of secondary African American females with violent and aggressive behavior problems. In addition, the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI) was used to assess cognitive…

Charter school administrators weathered start-up woes, among them challenging students with unmet needs, verbal assaults, dwindling student enrollment, and a first-year budget deficit exceeding $200,000 to implement a reading improvement strategy that holds promise for helping at-risk students read better, a point particularly underscored…

The Oregon Statewide Report Card is an annual publication required by law (ORS 329.115), which reports on the state of public schools and their progress towards the goals of the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century. The purpose of the Oregon Report Card is to monitor trends among school districts and Oregon's progress toward achieving the…

Does clothing make the person or does the person make the clothing? How does what attire a student wears to school affect their academic achievement? In 1996, President Clinton cited examples of school violence and discipline issues that might have been avoided had the students been wearing uniforms ("School uniforms: Prevention or suppression?").…