Digital Commons Network^™

What Matters Most? Measuring Service Quality To Improve Schools, Shannon L. Hagerman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the recent years an observable trend has emerged in the field of education. Parents are empowered and encouraged to make school choice decisions for their children and have become consumers of the educational delivery system. They are inundated information regarding the “product” of the school - student achievement scores and overall performance rankings. Do parents value other things beyond academic performance rankings and student achievement ratings? How do parents perceive the importance of the quality of the delivery of educational services? In a competitive educational marketplace, attracting and retaining families is essential to a school’s ability to survive and …

Idaho Building Capacity: Developing A Statewide System Of Support For Districts And Schools In Need Of Improvement, Lisa L. Kinnaman

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, established by Congress as a re-authorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (EASA) requires that all states establish a statewide system of intensive and sustained support and improvement for local educational agencies and schools. This provision in the law was designed to insure that states are adequately supporting districts and schools in their efforts to help all students meet the State’s academic content standards and student academic achievement standards. This study will describe and analyze the design and establishment of a comprehensive statewide system of support in Idaho, the Idaho Building …

Configurations Of Site-Based Financial Leadership Practice Within School Contexts, Sylvia Tegano

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study employed an ethnographic perspective to generate a grounded theory that contributes to the understanding of financial leadership practice in four elementary school contexts: Non Title I School, Title I School, Empowerment School and Charter School. The literature, interviews, observations, document analysis, and review of relevant financial artifacts at each site were used to form an Innovation Configuration Map, which represented financial leadership practice.

Results showed that financial leadership practices are rooted in targeted resource tools, mindful internal accountability routines, and collaborative, inquiry based mindsets of school practitioners. Moreover, variations emerged such that financial leadership practices adapted to the …

An Examination Of Louisiana Educational School Improvement Legislation, Policy Decisions, Initiatives, And Fiscal Expenditure From 1997 To 2005, Belinda Marie Cambre

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study sought to identify major school improvement reform programs and initiatives in Louisiana during the period of 1997 to 2005. The criteria used to identify each program included: state funding that averaged at least $2 million per year in state funds; programs that affected teachers and students for school improvement purposes; and, programs that remained in place for at least two school years. The study ultimately yielded nine initiatives that met each of the above listed criteria. Some, but not all, were the result of the School and District Accountability Commission, which was established by Act 478, the 1997 …