Browsing by Author "Cook, Michael A."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Discipline Disproportionality in an Urban School Division within the Commonwealth of Virginia
    Ransome, Jaraun Montel (Virginia Tech, 2021-06-11)
    The purpose of this study was to determine what change, if any, existed in the number and percentage of student discipline referrals and exclusionary discipline practices of students by race, gender, and those with disabilities after the introduction of a division-wide, systematic approach to discipline that aligned behavior, social-emotional wellness, and academics into one decision-making framework. This research used quantitative data with a nonexperimental descriptive design. The researcher sought to answer the questions: 1. What is the number and percentage of students receiving an office discipline referral by race, gender, and those with a disability? 2. What is the number and percentage of students receiving suspensions, both in-school and out-of-school, related to office discipline referrals for students by race, gender, and those with a disability? 3. How has the number and percentage changed for incidents over the three years of implementing a systematic approach that aligns behavior, social-emotional wellness, and academics into one decision-making framework for students of different races, genders, and those with a disability? 4. How has the number and percentage changed for consequences over the three years of implementing a systematic approach that behavior, social-emotional wellness, and academics into one decision-making framework for students of different races, genders, and those with a disability? This study included 39 schools (24 elementary schools, seven middle schools, five high schools, one middle/high school, one specialty high school, and one alternative school) of an urban school division in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The selected division leadership team established an outcome to decrease office discipline referrals (ODRs), In-School Suspension (ISS), and Out-of-School Suspensions (OSS) in order to increase instructional time in the classroom. The sampled schools had evidence of varying levels of implementation. This study examined the effects of a multi-tiered system of support on student discipline. This study found that the proportion of students receiving ODRs was not reduced by the implementation of a multitiered framework. Additionally, the number of ODRs increased for most subgroups over the period of the study. However, the study did find that the disproportionality for SWD decreased for ODRs. The study also found that the gap in proportions between Black students receiving ISS and White students receiving ISS increased. Despite the growing disparity between Black and White students, disproportionality for SWD receiving ISS decreased. Conversely, the proportion of Black students receiving OSS decreased over the 3-year period of the study. In conjunction to the findings related to ISS, the disproportionality of SWD receiving OSS decreased during this study period. Finally, the study found that the proportion of female students receiving LTS increased over the 3-year period of the study. This study did not include an analysis of the critical features of a multi-tiered system of support.
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    Equitable Representation of Culturally Linguistically Economically Diverse Students in Intellectual Gifted Programs in School Divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia
    Wilkins-McCorey, Dornswalo Maria (Virginia Tech, 2021-01-25)
    The purpose of this study was to identify which school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia have equitable representation of Culturally Linguistically Economically Diverse (CLED) students in gifted programs within their schools. Existing literature on CLED students was reviewed. Three years of data (school years 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019) obtained from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) were analyzed to determine whether equitable representation exists within gifted education programs in each of the 132 Virginia school divisions. Furthermore, the researcher used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to acquire longitudinal gifted data from each school division 2016-2019. The Relative Difference Composition Index (RDCI), Equity Allowance Formula (EAF), and Representation Index (RI) formulas were used to determine, which schools have equitable representation within their gifted programs. This study sought to answer the following questions: 1. What school divisions have proportional representation of economically disadvantaged students? 2. What school divisions have proportional representation of Black or African American students? 3. What school divisions have a proportional representation of Hispanic or Latinx students? At the conclusion of the data collection process, the researcher examined (1) which school divisions have equitable representation of gifted students in their gifted programs in schools using the EAF, and (2) What schools have equitable representation utilizing the RI. The analysis revealed the majority of the school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia had equitable representation when the EAF was applied to the economically disadvantaged students. When the EAF was applied to the 2016-2019 school years data for the Black or African American students and Hispanic or Latinx students the range of 33%- 42% were proportionately represented. The English Language Learner students were not proportionately represented when the EAF was applied. When the RI formula was applied to the data, none of the school divisions had perfect proportion in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 2016-2017, Halifax school division had a score of .86 which translates to proportionate representation when the EAF and RI formula were applied to the data. The findings of this study provide educational leaders with relevant research toward equitable representation for CLED students in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VDOE and school leaders could offer professional development regarding equitable representation for teachers and staff that work with CLED students to resolve disproportionality. School divisions could benefit from the implementation of equity allowance goals to help reduce inequitable representation of CLED gifted students.
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    School Building Condition and Student Achievement and Chronic Absenteeism in Urban High Schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia
    Trigueiro, Amy Theresa (Virginia Tech, 2021-06-28)
    The purpose of this study was to examine the possible relationships that exist between the overall, structural, and cosmetic school building conditions and student achievement and chronic absenteeism of students who attend urban high schools located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This study utilized the Revised Commonwealth Appraisal of the Physical Environment (CAPE), for principals of high schools in urban school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia, to assess the condition of their school buildings. The Revised CAPE survey measured the educational condition of the school building by accessing elements and features of a school building that research has shown to have an influence on the learning environment (Cash and Earthman, 2019). The school's student academic achievement data for English, mathematics, and science, along with chronic absenteeism data from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) was used to investigate if there was a relationship between school building conditions and student achievement and chronic absenteeism. This study sought to answer the following research questions: 1. What is the relationship between the Achievement of All Students in English reading/writing and progress of English learners towards English language proficiency (English Combined Rate) on the Virginia Standards of Learning assessment and the condition of the school building in urban high schools? 2. What is the relationship between the Achievement of All Students in mathematics on the Virginia Standards of Learning assessments and the condition of the school building in urban high schools? 3. What is the relationship between the Achievement of All Students in Science on the Virginia Standards of Learning assessments and the condition of the school building in urban high schools? 4. What is the relationship between chronic absenteeism and the condition of the school building in urban high schools? Research has shown that students who attend school in school buildings that are rated above standard, or standard outperform students in school buildings rated in poor condition (Earthman, 2018) and relationships have been found between poor school building condition and greater school absenteeism (Simon et al., 2010). An ANOVA statistical test was conducted to compare the percent of Schools' Academic Achievement of All Students on the SOL assessments for English, mathematics, and science and chronic absenteeism percentage rates in the schools identified as standard to schools identified as substandard. Findings from this study indicated that the condition of school buildings had a significant relationship with student achievement and chronic absenteeism. Associated implications for practitioners included a need to conduct facility and safety audits, train principals on the impact school building conditions have on student achievement and chronic absenteeism and ensure school buildings are equipped with sufficient safeguards to provide safe learning environments.