Browsing by Author "Arredondo, Jorge Luis"
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Item An Examination of Parent Engagement in Primarily Hispanic High School Campuses in a Large Urban School District(2018-05) Landa, Luis Ricardo; Rangel, Virginia Snodgrass; López, Ruth M.; Carpenter, Bradley W.; Arredondo, Jorge LuisBackground: Research shows parent engagement positively impacts student academic performance, motivation, behavior, and attendance. The impact has been of such significance that legislation, such as the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015), has mandated parental engagement and tied campus funding to it. Unfortunately, legislation, funding, and awareness of the importance of engagement have not prevented the ‘secondary slump’ of parent engagement. Purpose: The purpose of this comparative case study was to fill a gap in the literature by focusing on parent engagement at predominantly Hispanic high schools. Guided by the Framework of Six Types of Involvement and the Ecologies of Parent Engagement Framework, this study aimed to understand what primarily Hispanic secondary campuses do to strengthen parent engagement, why and how parents engage with schools, and ways to strengthen their partnership. Methods: This study included two primarily Hispanic, Title I high schools identified by their district as “high parental engagement” campuses. Data were collected through informal observations, semi-structured focus groups and interviews, and document analysis. Interviews were transcribed, organized, and prepared for analysis to identify emergent themes. Results: Findings revealed that schools focus on educating families on high school expectations, academic and social impacts on student health, college and career readiness, and opportunities for parents’ personal growth. Resources provided to families included medical, employment, and recently, immigrant legal assistance. Parent engagement appeared motivated to hold students accountable for decision-making, while student aging and inherited independence deterred engagement. On-going communication, a welcoming environment, and staff member, such as a parent liaison, served to support engagement. Challenges included language barriers, demanding schedules, and negative impressions or experiences in school. Conclusion: The findings have implications for school and district policy, as well as for current and aspiring educational leaders who seek to serve and impact student achievement by improving parental engagement.Item An Examination of the Problem of Failing Algebra for Title I At-Risk Students in a Large, Urban Comprehensive High School(2015-12) Lira, Sergio; MacNeil, Angus J.; Borneman, Robert C.; Emerson, Wayne W.; Arredondo, Jorge LuisThe purpose of this study is to examine the differences between Title I at-risk students who do pass algebra and those who do not. Many Title I at-risk students fail algebra during the first semester in a large, urban comprehensive high school. In Texas, House Bill 5 requires passing the End of Course (EOC) Algebra as the only math course for graduation. The study uses one large, urban comprehensive high school to compare the time spent with after school extracurricular activities with the time spent on completing algebra homework. Since the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, many of the students failing both algebra classes and algebra interventions are students of color who represent our largest subgroups – African-American and Hispanic students (Gomez, 2012). Recently, two authors’ stated that each semester that a student fails in ninth grade increases the probability of dropping out by 15%, regardless of whether they have high or low test scores (Nomi and Allensworth, 2013). A survey was administer to two large groups: students who passed algebra and those students who did not pass and another survey was administered to algebra teachers from a large, urban comprehensive high school. This survey research is descriptive statistic. The results determined after school extracurricular activities did not have a positive or negative impact on Title I at-risk students passing or failing algebra in a large, urban comprehensive high school. The Chi-square test for independence indicated no significant association between number of hours doing homework, hours spent with after school athletics and fine arts and whether Title I at-risk students passed algebra as a first-semester first time ninth grader in a large, urban comprehensive high school.Item Exploring the Role of Dean of Students and Comparing the Effectiveness of the Traditional Model Versus the Dean Model for Urban High School Administration Based on Student Achievement, Attendance and Graduation Rates(2016-05) Gutierrez, Edward Craig; MacNeil, Angus J.; Arredondo, Jorge Luis; Emerson, Michael W.; Hutchison, Laveria F.The role of Dean of Students in the field of education has been given very little attention specifically at the high school level. The study for this thesis sought to fill that void through an exploration and analyses of the role of dean of students at high schools in a major urban setting in southeast Texas, using descriptive statistics. The initial purposes of the study were to develop an understanding of the role of dean of students as described by administrators in the selected school district and to analyze their responses to a theoretical construct created to study the implementation of the dean of students’ role. The exploration data were collected using a survey-questionnaire that was sent to 899 employees of the independent school district, each of whom held the title of principal, assistant principal, counselor, dean of students, or dean of instruction. A total of 217 individuals elected to participate in the study. The analysis only included those who had served for at least one full year as a dean of students (40), school counselor (20), or assistant principal (43) at the high school level. The results of the exploration study indicated that the dean of students’ role is a hybrid between that of an assistant principal and of a school counselor. The ultimate goal of the study was to determine if one model of administration demonstrates itself to be more effective based on three key performance indicators: student achievement, graduation, and attendance rates. The effectiveness data were taken from Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) data published by the Texas Education Agency. The analyses indicated that high schools that employed deans of students as their administrators collectively outperformed the campuses that used the traditional model that uses assistant principals and school counselors separately.Item STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES AND ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL LEADERS(2014-12) Arredondo, Jorge Luis; MacNeil, Angus J.; Borneman, Robert C.; Emerson, Michael W.; McGlohn, Robin; Rodriguez, R. Joseph; Busch, Steven D.Educational leaders are faced with the challenge of preparing more students than ever to be college ready. Many school districts in the US have turned to offering the Advanced Placement (AP) program to add rigor to the curriculum. Focusing on one urban district in the Southwest, this study examined students achieving a qualifying score of 3 or higher (AP student achievement) on AP exams, and examined variances in AP student achievement across different high schools over a seven-year period. Also, the study examined whether AP student achievement showed differences between teachers with varying attainment levels of hours of professional development (PD) training over a six-year period. The study further conducted several analyses of AP student achievement and examined the differences between other dependent variables: student potential (student PSAT score), school characteristic (school mean PSAT), and student backound as a participant (low SES) or non-participant (high SES) in the free or reduced lunch federal program. Lastly, the study collected responses from teachers in a focus group about the quality and utility of their PD experiences. The analysis revealed overall increases in student participation in AP exams by 75% from 2007 to 2013. However, the percent of AP exams taken that scored a three or higher decreased from 47% of the total number of exams taken in 2007 to 33% in 2013. The results also revealed differences in student achievement between students identified as low SES even when controlling for student potential (student PSAT Index), and levels of teacher PD. Findings from the study should inform best practices to develop PD experiences for teachers involved in the AP programs and create more successful learning experiences for AP students.