This study is a cost-benefit analysis examining an urban district's partial school nurse coverage conversion to full-time coverage. Through a partnership with a health care system, the district received funding, resulting in the hiring of full-time nurses to cover all K-8 elementary schools. Researchers compared the cost of nursing services to the…

Purpose: Urban school districts often face challenges in filling principal vacancies with effective leaders, especially in high-needs schools. Prospective principals' engagement with the job application process may contribute to these challenges. The goal of this study is to better understand the job search strategies and behaviors of prospective…

Purpose: Urban school districts often face challenges in filling principal vacancies with effective leaders, especially in high-needs schools. Prospective principals' engagement with the job application process may contribute to these challenges. The goal of this study is to better understand the job search strategies and behaviors of prospective…

Principals are responsible for planning school improvement efforts at the school level to leverage increases in student achievement. Recent research underscores how principals engage in satisficing behaviors that result in low-quality school improvement plans (SIPs). To disrupt compliance-based planning practices and produce high-quality SIPs,…

There is a sense of melancholy whenever a neighborhood school closes its doors forever. Communities lose identity with the loss of a beloved and familial, societal hub. Schools are where academic dreams and goals are born. The joy of a new school year and the social circle of friends in a thriving community give students the fresh start for…

Student absenteeism is a persistent concern in K-12 education. Not only are the negative academic and social consequences of excessive absenteeism well documented, but states, districts, and schools are increasingly being held accountable for student attendance. As research indicates that disruptions in students' learning contexts may exacerbate…

This dissertation examines the relationship between teacher retention and student perceptions of school climate in an urban school district, both in individual school years and across multiple school years. This secondary analysis uses a school-level measure of teacher retention from New York City (NYC) public schools and measures of school…

Chronic absenteeism is a trending topic among educators, as federal and state accountability policies have emphasized the importance of students being in school. The problem addressed in this study is the high rates of chronic absenteeism in a particular urban Midwestern school district. The study explored administrators' perceptions of causes,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between ICF coaching and early career principals' self-efficacy related to their a) management skills and b) instructional leadership. The sample for this study were principals in a larger urban school district in the northeast who began their principalship between July 2017 and June…

School learning environments play important roles in students' lives. But when do these relationships form? Previous research on middle school students has identified a strong association between student socio-demographics, school characteristics, and achievement. Yet, few studies have investigated the origins of these associations. This study…

Many district and school leaders have leveraged instructional leadership or social justice leadership to advance student achievement for minoritized students. While research has examined these approaches separately, we identify a potential gap at the nexus between instructional and social justice leadership. In particular, we find a need for…

Due to several factors, including salary and increased demands, there is a shortage of qualified leaders to assume the principal role. Although there is a shortage, there is also a bench of credentialed leaders in assistant principals. The problem is identifying how school districts and principals build the capacity of and prepare their assistant…

Many U.S. school districts now rely on instructional coaching to promote reform. Yet facets of coaching policy remain vague, and there is considerable variation in the structures and practices of coaching. We use longitudinal, qualitative data to analyze changes in instructional coaching, as a capacity building policy instrument, in one mid-sized…

A strong connection between schools and families is vital for student success and well-being. Previous studies on school-family relationships found that open communication between parties may aid in supporting students' needs and ability to attend school. In this paper, authors analyze how leveraging relationships to gain an increased…

Across the United States, school districts are reshaping the role of principal supervisors to include supervision practices intended to enhance the instructional and leadership skills of the principals they supervise. The purpose of this research study is to add to the existing body of research involving the predominant practices that principal…