Schools have an increased focus on implementing schoolwide initiatives (e.g., multi-tiered systems of support; MTSS) to address risk factors related to dropping out. These interventions can involve multiple domains, including academic, behavioural, and social and emotional supports. Although researchers suggest that schoolwide interventions are…

U.S. Department of Education research indicates that early warning indicator systems are being used in at least half of high schools in the United States. Previous findings from an efficacy study of one early warning indicator and response system, the Early Warning Indicator (EWI) team model, indicated that ninth grade students in schools using…

The transition period of a student from middle school to high school is of critical importance because students who can successfully navigate the first-year physical, academic, and social pressures of high school have the greatest chances for successfully completing high school in four years (Allensworth & Easton, 2005). Students who cannot…

High schools around the nation are attempting to find a solution to the "9th-grade bulge," and the ever-growing systematic problem of 9th grade retention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the daily bell schedule on ninth-grade student achievement and overall school performance. A mixed method, sequential…

Alternative schools are vital spaces for students who are not successful in traditional schools. The knowledge of social and emotional learning (SEL) and the impact it has on students who attend alternative schools specifically is limited. The problem addressed by this study was the lack of success that explicit SEL programs have in meeting the…

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the body of literature regarding decisions school leaders make when developing strategic plans to improve student outcomes. This study investigated whether there is a significant relationship between school climate and graduation rates for public high schools in the state of Georgia when controlling…

The purpose of this program evaluation was to evaluate the impact of CORE District's Breakthrough Success Community (BTSC) Program at an urban Title I high school located in Southern California. BTSC aims to improve the ninth-grade experience through a focus on five key change drivers and the implementation of improvement science. Through teacher…

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the interventions and strategies used with students considered at-risk of dropping out of high school in Missouri public high schools. Self-determination theory was used to explain how students became motivated to stay in school when their need for competence, connection, and autonomy are fulfilled.…

Background/Context: Emerging experiences suggest that research-practice partnerships (RPPs) can benefit both research and practice. As researchers and practitioners become part of the same social network, they also can become trusted sources of information for one another. By modeling the research use process, practitioners can incorporate what…

Each year approximately 1.3 million students dropout of high school and an estimated 40% of minority students do not graduate on time (Roybal, Thornton, & Usinger, 2014). In high school, 22% of students repeat 9th-grade classes because students fail to make a smooth transition. This gives the 9th-grade the highest enrollment rate and the…

"Continuous Improvement in High Schools" gives educators and policymakers an accessible, actionable framework to address one of the nation's most important educational priorities: improving high school graduation and postsecondary preparedness rates. Martha Abele Mac Iver and Robert Balfanz, national experts in dropout prevention, apply…

The school-to-prison pipeline is a theoretical construct that explains how disproportionate discipline and exclusionary punishment of Black and Brown students ultimately pushes youth out of mainstream schools and into the criminal justice system (Basford and Lewis in From education to incarceration: dismantling the school to prison pipeline, Peter…

In this paper, the authors examine how a charter high school in a large upper-Midwest city is successfully serving students who have not succeeded in the traditional school system and are in danger of experiencing the school-to-prison pipeline. The school accomplishes this through its enactment of five key qualities: (1) a casual, family-like…

Not completing the equivalent of a high school education has significant economic and social implications in the U.S. and globally. When opportunity and information gaps between students are allowed to continue, the impact on dropout rates is considerable. School building leaders and school counselors can collaborate to encourage students'…

Purpose: This paper is one of seven in this volume, each elaborating different approaches to quality improvement in education. The purpose of this paper is to delineate a methodology called positive deviance. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents the origins, theoretical foundations, core principles and a case study demonstrating an…