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Which School- And Community- Characteristics Lead To Charter School Success?, Susan Marino, Sarah Ranney

Dissertations

Charter schools have existed in the United States for thirty years, with mixed results. Research has largely focused on charter school failure and an analysis of what led to the demise. This study aimed to understand characteristics predicting charter school success, alongside those predicting failure. Specifically, it focused on a charter school’s first six years to understand how one successfully establishes a strong foundation, with the expectation that early success will lead to long-term success.

To understand characteristics predicting charter school success and failure, a review of existing data determined which charter schools were successful. Then, founding school leaders were …

The Professional Learning Community Model Of Continuous School Improvement And The Effect On Job Satisfaction, Professional Collaboration, And Implementation Of Best Practices, Danielle Sullivan Tormala

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a greater number of years of participation in the Professional Learning Communities Project positively impacts professional staff perceptions of job satisfaction, professional collaboration, and implementation of best practices as defined by the ¿Critical Issues for Team Consideration¿ (DuFour et al., 2006, pp. 100-101). A total of 223 participants completed the self-reporting survey out of a total 481 eligible teachers, school administrators and other staff members. Participants were divided into groups based on the number of years their respective schools had been involved in the PLC Project for a between-groups approach to …