Date of Award

12-1-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. John W. Hill

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the reading and math outcome equity of students, by, language, ethnicity, and gender conditions required to participate in the Grand Island Public Schools Attendance program based on third-grade through eighth grade excessive school absences in the 2010–2011 school year. The data presented in the study indicates that overall the Grand Island Public School Attendance program improved attendance of students who were involved in the attendance program. In the third-grade 77% of students involved in the attendance program improved their attendance. In the fourth-grade 83% of students involved in the attendance program improved their attendance. In the fifth-grade 87% of students involved in the attendance program improved their attendance. In the sixth-grade 84% of students involved in the attendance program improved their attendance. In the seventh-grade 74% of students involved in the attendance program improved their attendance. In the eighth-grade 67% of students involved in the attendance program improved their attendance. The attendance was improved by not only the official letter sent by the combination of Grand Island Public Schools and Hall County District Attorney’s office but also by the relationships and positive interactions of the Grand Island Public Schools social workers with students and families. The attendance inventory checklist designed to be solution focused acts to established positive relationships with students and their families leading to sustained positive improvement in attendance. However, study results seem to indicate that students in the seventh-grade and eighth-grade may need more specific academic intervention to support their continued attendance and graduation from high school. While the data shows students improved attendance while in the program a research design extended in time should be conducted to follow randomly selected students through their high school graduation to document attendance patterns and the effectiveness of recommended Welcome Center student and family program participation, direct social work support, and reading and math supports contributing differentially or in toto to sustained academic success and high school graduation for these students.

Comments

A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the University of Nebraska in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education. Copyright 2014 Kenneth E. DeFrank.

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