Browsing by Author "Allen, Heather Marie"

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    High School Assistant Principals' Perceptions of Leadership Related to School Discipline in One Public School Division Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Pandemic
    Bacs, Corrin Matthias (Virginia Tech, 2023-06-08)
    The purpose of the study was to identify assistant principals' perceptions of their roles in school leadership, their experiences with student discipline in the public school setting pre- and post-COVID-19, and the professional learning they were provided to navigate the student discipline process. The basic qualitative study addressed two research questions: What were high school assistant principals' perceptions of leadership related to student discipline in public schools pre- and post-COVID pandemic? Furthermore, what professional development would support assistant principals with the student discipline process post-COVID-19? Using a standard interview protocol, the researcher interviewed eight high school assistant principals in one southeastern Virginia school division. The interview questions were organized into themes in response to the research questions based on the respondents' shared perceptions of their roles, student discipline experiences pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic, including professional development needs. This study revealed that assistant principals perceived changes in their leadership capacity due to declining student behavior, and the frequency of student discipline referrals "increased dramatically" post-COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas high school assistant principals prioritized instructional leadership before the pandemic, in the post-COVID-19 pandemic, negative student behavior caused school leaders to focus on processing school discipline over instructional leadership. This research found that student behaviors changed the educational landscape post-COVID-19, highlighting areas of concern for student well-being, such as physical aggression, substance abuse, lack of school attendance, and mental health concerns. The study also found that high school assistant principals reflected positive outcomes post-COVID-19 pandemic as they adjusted their professional practice as empathetic leaders fostering positive relationships with school stakeholders. Finally, the researcher sought to examine the high school assistant principals' experiences with professional development opportunities when learning the student discipline process. The study found that assistant principals wanted actionable, collaborative, and interactive learning opportunities, including authentic mentorships, hands-on learning experiences, and guidance to communicate with stakeholders during the student discipline process. Implications from this study include calling on the Department of Education, school divisions, and school principals to identify, plan, and support high school assistant principals as they navigate the role of school leaders post-COVID-19 pandemic.
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    Public School Foundations' Support of K-12 Public School Divisions in Virginia
    Allen, Heather Marie (Virginia Tech, 2014-06-12)
    Public school districts nationwide are subject to increased performance expectations as financial resources have decreased and school budgets are stretched to their limits. Less financial support from the state government means that localities must fill the gaps in their respective budgets to avoid reductions in or elimination of public school programs, services, and personnel. Insufficient funding for public education concerns many stakeholders. Virginia is one of many states in which localities have established public school foundations as a means to obtain private funds to support a variety of purposes in their public school divisions. Research was conducted ten years ago regarding the characteristics of education foundations supporting Virginia's public school divisions. The purposes of this study were to determine whether or not there was an increase in the number of public school foundations in Virginia during the past decade and to identify the foundations' longevity, purposes, governance, staffing, finances, revenue sources, and fund utilization of public school foundations that support of local school divisions. The study used a descriptive mixed-methodology design in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The mixed methods study gathered data sequentially in two phases. The first phase identified the existing public school foundations in Virginia, and the second phase collected state, local, district, and foundation data to describe the growth, purposes, governance, staffing, finances, revenue sources, and fund utilization of the public school foundations supporting K-12 public school divisions in Virginia. More than two-thirds of Virginia's public school divisions were found to be supported by public school foundations, which is a 42% increase from the findings of a similar study conducted one decade ago. Not surprisingly, the common purpose of these public school foundations are to partner with the community to support students through additional financial and social resources that support, enrich, or enhance their educational opportunities. The results of this research provide public school districts, foundations, and other interested parties with information on the operations of Virginia's public school foundations, which may aid in the establishment of new foundations or provide data and insights to improve or alter current foundation activities.