Browsing by Author "Campbell-Rhone, Khalilah"
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Item Conditions that Influence Student Achievement in a Futures Dual Credit Academy(2017-05) Baez, Marcela A.; MacNeil, Angus J.; Emerson, Michael W.; Hutchison, Laveria F.; Campbell-Rhone, KhalilahBackground: The Futures Academy Program provides students the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree and industry certifications in high-demand career fields concurrently while completing their high school diploma. There is a need for empirical investigations on the effectiveness of this program in improving students’ academic achievement. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of school environmental conditions on students’ academic achievement in a Futures Academy Program at the “experimental site” (School E) versus three other Futures Programs at control sites one (School C1.1, C1.2, & C2.3), and three other high school programs at control sites two (School C2.1, C2.2, & C2.3) in an urban school district in Texas. Method: The study explored if there were significant differences in mean scores on the STAAR/EOC tests (A1, E1, & E2) of students with multiple risk factors based on the High School Program they pursue across the research sites. The study also examined if there were significant difference in students’ mean STAAR/EOC scores based on the Transformational status of the high school they attend. Finally, the study explored how students’ STAAR/EOC scores were related to a combination of: type of High School Program, Principal Turnover frequency, % High School Education or Below in community, Public Housing status, Students’ Gender, and At-Risk Status. An Ex Post Facto research design and linear prediction model was employed. Results: The results of One-Way ANOVA analyses revealed that students from School E had significantly higher mean STAAR/EOC scores than students from the “control sites” (p = .000). Multiple Linear Regression analyses confirmed that students’ STAAR/EOC scores are significantly related to the combination of: type of High School Program, Principal Turnover frequency, % High School Education or below in community, Public Housing status, Students’ Gender, and At-Risk Status [R = .352 (A1), .428 (E1), & .393 (E2), p = .000]. Conclusion: The best predictors of students’ STAAR/EOC scores were At-Risk status and Attendance at School E. The results of the study verify that the practices at School E positively impacted students’ achievement. These practices can be tested and reproduced and eventually lead to a positive transformation of urban education in Texas and beyond.Item Deconstruction of Recidivism: A Study of Minority Males Returning to the Home Campus from a Disciplinary Alternative Education Campus(2014-08) Campbell-Rhone, Khalilah; Reyes, Augustina H.; Phillips, Carlos R., II; Conyers, James L.; Zou, Yali; Hassett, Kristen S.America is failing its young Black and Latino boys (Losen and Gillespie, 2012; Reyes, 2006; Skiba, Horner, Chung, Rausch, May & Tobin, 2011). In metropolitan ghettos, rural villages, and midsized townships across the country, schools have been holding tanks for populations of Black and Latino boys who have statistically higher probability of walking the corridors of prison than the halls of college. According to Educational Testing Service (2013), “We fail our Black and Latino sons more than any other racial or ethnic groups” (p.1). In addition to differences in overall academic performance, Black and Latino male students are typically more likely to be labeled with having emotional, behavioral or learning disorders, and to be reported by teachers as disruptive to classroom activities. Black and Latino males are suspended or expelled more than Black and Latino girls or boys from other racial or ethnic groups, and are more likely to be overrepresented in discipline programs (Holloway, 2011). These conditions have resulted in a high overall rate of removal of minority male students from academic settings into discipline alternative education programs (DAEPs). The purpose of this mixed-method study was to identify how participation in Disciplinary Alternative Education Placements (DAEPs) has affected the academic status of a sample of Black and Latino males in a large urban school district in the South. The second purpose is to investigate the use of processes, services, and programs to reduce recidivism (students referred twice or more) rates for DAEP placements. This study was grounded in the following research questions: 1. How do DAEPs affect the academic outcomes of Black and Latino male students? 2. How do home schools, teachers, and administrators facilitate the transition of repeating DAEP students into the home campus? While the initial intent of zero tolerance was to improve teaching and learning, learning for African American and Latino students is negatively affected with data showing that while African American students make up 12% of the state school enrollment, they make up 35% of the DAEP enrollments (OCR, 2012; Rausch & Skiba, 2009; Reyes, 2012). A review of student disciplinary cases and subsequent DAEP enrollment shows that Black and Latino males are more likely to be transferred into DAEPs than any other gender or ethnicity (Texas Education Agency Annual Report, 2010). This is consistent even when the offenses are similar to those of white male students who were not transferred to a DAEP for similar offenses. A recent report by the Education Law Center defined the school-to-prison pipeline as “the use of educational policies and practices that have the effect of pushing students, especially students of color and students with disabilities, out of schools and toward the juve¬nile and criminal justice systems” (Education Law Center, FairTest, Forum for Education and Democracy, Juvenile Law Center & NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., 2010, p. 1). This study used the mixed research method (Wiersma & Jurs, 2009), including student interviews and survey research methods (Yin, 2003). Data for this study were analyzed using descriptive data to assess teacher preparedness and development to assist student transition from DAEP to the regular school and to prevent recidivism. Correlational methods were used to analyze survey responses. Quantitative methods were used to develop simple statistics from the survey responses, including frequency distributions, measurements of central tendency, and measures of variability (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2007). Interviewing and qualitative research methods were used including triangulation of data sources, peer debriefing, and member checks (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011; Kvale, 2008). The recommendations derived from this study were the following: Recommendation #1: Implement Caring and Counseling Services into schools with high referral rates to decrease referrals. Recommendation #2: Implement teacher and staff development for positive behavior management and for building positive rapport with students. Recommendation #3: Implement processes for re-acclimating students from a DAEP into a regular classroom environment Recommendation # 4: Implement school-wide, research-based, discipline strategies with fidelity. The plan must be specifically effective in schools with high referral rates.