Campus Leadership Institutional Process Practices That Positively Impact the Completion Rate of Economically Disadvantaged Students

This study examines the relationships between principal decisions regarding school institutional processes and practices in high poverty high schools in one school district and the impact of those decisions on the high school completion rates of economically disadvantaged students using narrative inquiry and archival data. The schools represented in this study have increasing percentages of economically disadvantaged students.
Results of this study reveal that the current demands of the principalship require school leaders to possess a transformational skill set to succeed with the neediest student population in the history of our nation. The findings from this study have practical implications for high school leaders and add to the body of leadership knowledge regarding the importance of principal decision making in the necessary transformation of institutional processes and practices that meet the needs of today’s students. High school completion holds the key to opening doors of opportunity for all students.