Schedule of Events

My research focused on combating middle school absenteeism by building meaningful relationships with students. The project's goal was to identify students who are absent frequently, build a relationship with these students and their families, and create a safe place so they want to be at school. Most of my in-class practices focused on building meaningful relationships with my students and making the transition from absent days to school easier on them academically. I used the school's attendance portal, student questionnaires, and parent connection platform information to gather data. Through my research, I found that there are a lot of cultural factors that are tied to my site's absenteeism. Not only were students missing school for illness, but students were also missing school to travel out of the state and country around school breaks, which increased the absentee percentage. One of my favorite discoveries in this research was finding out that 60 percent of the students and their families do not have conversations about attendance, and therefore it is something that is not important to them. In continuing to combat absenteeism, I would like to value attendance at the beginning of the year, make it an important factor for success in my classroom, and share this research with my site so we can make great attendance a school-wide expectation.

Homework can play a crucial role in students' learning and their potential to enhance academic achievement. This study explores the impact of homework on student success. Applying Quinn's Competing Values Theory, this research assesses how different types of homework align with different types of educational priorites. Dezca's and Ingols' Theory of Change Path Model is also used to evaluate how structured homework contributes to long-term academic growth. Ultimately, this study highlights the importance of knowing your students and learning what homework type will maximize their learning to lead to maximal student success. 

This study examines the relationship between a specific district's goals for English Language Learner Reclassification, the administration's leadership in implementing a plan to achieve the goals, and the teachers' understanding and confidence to teach what is needed to help students reclassify from English Language Development. It is clear that more leadership is required from the district for administrators and educators to better communicate the goals, better train school sites for healthy intervention and instructional practices for multi-language learners, and more accountability to ensure school sites adhere to best practices for student reclassification. The data provides a clear path towards professional development and actionable steps school sites and districts can take to better their practice in regard to English Language Development.