Background/Context: Students classified as Long-Term English Learners (LTELs) are those who have not gained fluency in the English language, even after being enrolled in the U.S. K-12 educational system for five to seven years (Olsen, 2014). Although LTELs are not consistently tracked across states, we know they constitute a sizeable portion of…

This dissertation examines the efficacy of a professional development program in developing data literate and culturally proficient community college instructors. Existing research suggests that there is a need for high-quality professional development in Cultural Proficiency and data literacy for community college instructors to make continuous…

School principals continue to struggle with building effective inclusive programming for students with disabilities. While principal preparation programs (PPPs) provide adequate training in social justice leadership and equity issues, they lack in direct training in special education. Using the theoretical framework of Disability Studies in…

The purpose of this phenomenology case study was to examine what motivated formerly incarcerated Black males to complete their community college degree and what best supported them on their educational journey. This study offers in-depth insight into a multifaceted situation and informs community college administrators, state policy and statute…

While policymakers have demonstrated considerable enthusiasm for "science of reading" initiatives, the evidence on the impact of related reforms when implemented at scale is limited. In this pre-registered, quasi-experimental study, we examine California's recent initiative to improve early literacy across the state's lowest-performing…

Objective: To examine how veterans resource centers (VRCs) and corresponding services influence student veteran transitions by applying the Schlossberg Transition Model. Participants: 12 student support staff and 6 junior/senior undergraduate student veterans at a four-year public university in California. Methods: In-depth semi-structured,…

In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom established the Governor's Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education (the Council) to assess and improve education about the Holocaust and other genocides (Holocaust and genocide education) in California schools. In response to declining youth awareness of these issues and events and to rising hate incidents, the…

Non-compliance is a challenge for practitioners serving children with and without disabilities. Many interventions have been developed to increase compliance. High-probability request sequences (HPRS), an antecedent-based intervention that is based on behavioral momentum theory, is one way to increase compliant behavior. HPRS includes the…

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS) on student academic performance. The participants in the study are eight middle schools from an urban Southern California school district where the implementation of SWPBIS was mandated. Using archival data collected by the…

The 2020-21 accreditation year continued to be impacted in significant ways by the ongoing nature of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. All accreditation activities, including site visits, were adjusted to reflect this new reality and to maintain full implementation of the system while continuing efforts to refine the newer aspects of the current…

Novice special education teachers (SETs) often report on stress and burnout in their jobs, identifying collaboration with colleagues as a factor that supports them during the first years (Belknap & Taymans, 2015). While previous research focused on teachers' support from their mentor teachers, administrators, and colleagues, in this study we…

Equity-centered preparation builds novice teachers' capacity to make meaningful instruction accessible to all students, particularly those historically excluded from high-quality learning experiences. Drawing on social learning theory, we examined Teacher Study Groups as a model for supporting preservice special educators' development of…

Nation-wide, the number of English Language Learners (ELL) in our classrooms continues to increase. Twenty percent of students enrolled in California public schools are ELLs, the highest percentage in the nation. With the continuously growing number of ELLs in our classrooms, our mainstream teachers must be prepared to teach content and meet the…

The primary goal of this evaluation report is to effectively communicate the value and impact of the Leading from the Middle (LFM) Academy to a diverse set of community college stakeholders and to provide valuable insights into the program's effectiveness. This report presents the findings from the 2021-2022 LFM Academy pilot evaluation, assessing…

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of students formally enrolled in a California community college promise program at Mountain View Community College, Lakeview Community College, Hillcrest Community College, and Ocean Valley Community College, each located in Southern California. The…