Poverty has an enormous impact on children and their success in school. Children with low socioeconomic status often perform poorly in reading. Poor reading skills often lead to truancy, low rates of high school graduation, low-paying jobs, and cycles of illiteracy in generations of families. Secondary data was collected from the Tennessee…

Students' social and emotional well-being can impact academic performance, the college planning process, transition to college life, and college retention. Many students have had their mental health and well-being negatively affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, especially within the educational setting. When instruction was shifted from…

Although researchers have found that family involvement impacts educational outcomes for children, there remains a dearth of knowledge regarding the connection between strengthening families and children's academic success. This study examined what parents' perceptions regarding the internal and external factors that strengthen families who face…

The relationship between PBIS implementation fidelity and reductions in student office discipline referrals (ODR) has been relatively well-established in the literature; however, results related to other student outcomes such as suspensions, attendance, and academic performance are not well explored especially at the high school level. The purpose…

Policy and professional standards shape the way that special education teachers partner with parents. Such partnership is key to engaging parents in the process of special education and can serve as the foundation for collaboration and information sharing. Although the literature describes recommendations for how teachers can provide information…

An essential goal of educational instruction is to ensure that all students become competent readers. To support students in becoming qualified readers, teachers need to identify struggling students and implement adequate curriculum programs. This study examined the effects of a computer-adaptive reading program on third-grade students' reading…

Transitioning from high school to college is a challenging time for young adults and can be more difficult for first generation students. In some cases, adolescents are assisted by community assets (coaches, teachers, church/family members) and community-based leadership education programs. This combination may provide youth with critical skills…

Decades of research have shown that exclusionary discipline practices are not only ineffective for changing student behavior, they lead to worse social, behavioral, and academic outcomes for students. This article explores the findings from a pilot study of the "Inclusive Skill-Building Learning Approach" (ISLA), an instructional…

The high school dropout problem has been the focus of educational leaders and researchers for several decades. Despite efforts, students continue to drop out of high school. In an effort to prevent at-risk youth from dropping out of school, educators have paired mentors with youth in hopes of increasing graduation rates. These efforts have…

This general qualitative study examined how people with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) were able to navigate adversity and ultimately pursue doctoral programs. The research focused on the academic experiences of doctoral students who had 4 or more ACEs and explored how resiliency helped these participants navigate the educational system. The…

This study examined the effects of the SRA FLEX Literacy (FLEX) program provided to 44 middle school students considered at risk for reading failure as compared to their peers who were not at risk in reading (N = 197) who received instruction in the Holt Elements of Literature series. Two outcome measures were used to judge the effects of the…

The number of students in the United States who did not complete high school decreased by 27% from 2008 to 2012 (Alliance for Excellent Education, America's Promise Alliance, Civic Enterprises, & The Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, 2015). This is a positive trend. High schools can help students complete school and…

Positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based framework for preventing and treating challenging behavior in schools and improving overall school climate. The efficacy of this positive, proactive framework has been well established across varying school settings, yet little is known about schoolwide PBIS implementation…

Urban districts are important places to observe the array of non-traditional schooling options in which high school students can be educated. We examined enrollment distributions in 1 traditional and 3 different types of alternative high schools in 1 urban school district. We coded all high schools in the sample district into 4 school types…

The XY-Zone program is a leadership and peer support program that guides adolescent males as they journey into manhood. This mixed methods study examined the influence of the XY-Zone program on developmental assets and academic markers of males in grades nine through 12 who were identified as youth at risk of dropping out of school. Results…