This study examined the perceptions of three inner city principals on how poverty impacts the school experience and success for children attending high poverty schools in the Winnipeg School Division. This study focused on how three principals defined and understood poverty; how they created a vision for their school as well as exploring the sustainability of their work. The study examined and explored the frameworks and strategies that each principal worked from in an effort to address the impact of poverty on their schools. In doing this, the thesis attempts to tell the stories of three school principals who spent their entire careers working in the inner city district of the Winnipeg School Division. The schools examined in this study exist within a current reality in stark contrast to the one sought in the Mission and Vision for all students by Manitoba Education. The study found that there is a need for greater professional development for principals on the issue of complex poverty and how it impacts schooling. Although participants outlined a great deal of programming that is already in place to support children attending high poverty schools, all felt that much more can, and should, be done to improve conditions for children impacted by poverty. Findings suggest that policy and practice at the school, district, and provincial levels need to be examined and, where necessary, changed to address the needs of students and families impacted by poverty.

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Much research has been conducted on what can be done to retain teachers in education. This study is an examination of what keeps teachers in high-poverty middle schools. The purpose of the study was to examine why teachers choose to stay in high poverty schools. According to Ed. Gov.(1999) high poverty schools are defined as schools that have 75% to 100% of students on free or reduced lunch. Eight teachers were interviewed from 2 high poverty schools located in the southeastern region of the United States. These teachers had been employed by their school for at least 5 years. Data were gathered and analyzed to reveal why teachers stay in high poverty schools even though the work can be extremely difficult. This study showed that the teachers interviewed feel working in a high poverty school can be more difficulty due to issues such as behavior and lack of parental involvement. However, rewards such as student growth and the love they develop for the students are worth the extra labor they put into their jobs. The good they find in their jobs seemed to outweigh the bad.

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The purpose of this study was to identify teachers' perceptions of factors that lead to teachers applying to and staying in a high-poverty, low-performing elementary school. Duncombe (2017) noted that 16% of their teaching staff in high-poverty schools were within their first 2 years of teaching, in stark contrast to low-poverty schools having only 8% of their teachers in their first 2 years of teaching. By identifying teachers' perceptions of factors that lead to them applying to and staying in a high-poverty, lowperforming elementary school, principals and school division leaders would better understand the practices they could implement to address the teacher storage in these schools. The qualitative study included interviews with five teachers who have applied to and stayed in a high-poverty, low-performing elementary school in urban Virginia for a minimum of 3 years. Data collection included five semi-structured interviews with teachers in a school designated as a highpoverty, low-performing elementary school. After completing the interviews and the coding, the researcher looked at the emergent themes, identifying the different factors that play a role in their decisions to stay. The researcher explored teachers' perceptions of the teaching environment and why they chose to apply to and stay in an elementary school classified as high-poverty, low-performing. Analyzed data indicated that administrative support, positive school climate, and instructional coaches or instructional supports impacted teacher retention in a high-poverty, low-performing elementary school in urban Virginia. Teachers noted that having a supportive principal increased their self-efficacy and classroom autonomy, which increased job satisfaction and directly impacted their decision to stay. Teachers interviewed also reported a positive school climate and access to instructional coaches and instructional supports were effective in assisting them to overcome the challenges and / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to identify teachers' perceptions of factors that lead to teachers applying to and staying in a high-poverty, low-performing elementary school. Duncombe (2017) noted that 16% of the teaching staff in high-poverty schools were within their first 2 years of teaching, in stark contrast to low-poverty schools having only 8% of their teachers in their first 2 years of teaching. By identifying teachers' perceptions of factors that lead to them applying to and staying in a high-poverty, lowperforming elementary school, principals and school division leaders would better understand the practices they could implement to address the teacher storage in these schools. The qualitative study included interviews with five teachers who have applied to and stayed in a high-poverty, low-performing elementary school in urban Virginia for a minimum of 3 years. Data collection included five semi-structured interviews with teachers in a school designated as a highpoverty, low-performing elementary school. The researcher explored teachers' perceptions of the teaching environment and why they chose to apply to and stay in an elementary school classified as high-poverty, low-performing. Analyzed data indicated that administrative support, positive school climate, and instructional coaches or instructional supports impacted teacher retention in a high-poverty, low-performing elementary school in urban Virginia. Teachers noted that having a supportive principal increased their self-efficacy and classroom autonomy, which increased job satisfaction and directly impacted their decision to stay. Teachers interviewed also reported a positive school climate and access to instructional coaches and instructional supports were effective in assisting them in overcoming the challenges directly impacting their decision to apply to and stay employed in a high-poverty, low-performing elementary school in urban Virginia. The findings in this study could help administrators in high-poverty, low-performing elementary schools implement practices to impact teacher retention in high-poverty, low-performing elementary schools

This dissertation contributes to the educational literature by providing new research on the achievement gap in the Southwest. For this study, a sequential mixed-methods approach was employed. The quantitative research assessed which factors influenced academic achievement among a 2012 high school graduating class (N=2,238) through analyses using correlation, ANOVA and HLM. Additionally, qualitative themes from 15 in-depth ethnographic teacher interviews and 116 teacher surveys from low income schools were triangulated with the quantitative findings to describe the multiple, interconnected factors that affected student achievement from the teacher's viewpoint. The low income schools in this study were defined as `hardship schools' because they had a high percentage of free and reduced lunch participants, a high minority population, low academic achievement, and frequent turnover in the administrative staff. The findings indicated that a statistically significant academic gap existed between high and low income schools. However, the longitudinal student standardized scores from elementary (5th grade) to high school (10th grade) revealed that the gap did not widen over time between high and low income students. Although students from low income schools lacked social capital and other resources available to their wealthier peers, they were still able to make equivalent academic growth, albeit at a lower performance level. It was argued that a pivotal reason that the gap did not widen was due to a dedicated teacher cadre that chose to work in low income middle schools. These teachers expressed a high level of self efficacy and cultural competency and identified with the students and the surrounding community. Their sense of identification came from one of three sources: similar ethnic background, including Latino culture and language; similar socio-economic upbringing, including poverty and the hardships associated with being an economic underclass; and/or cultural competency, where curiosity and love of diversity is emphasized. This identification helped teachers level the playing field by relating to students and making learning relevant to their environment.

Teachers represent a large percentage of the workforce in the United States, yet there is a high demand for teachers every year due to a large number of teachers exiting the profession (Ingersoll, 2001). Staying beyond the first five years is a feat nearly half of the teachers in the United States do not accomplish which leads to problems within the school community (Ingersoll, 2002; Ingersoll, 2004). Through an exploration of the positive stories of teachers' experiences this study identifies some of the common themes found within those stories that led teachers to greater happiness in their profession. While this study provides important information regarding specific experiences of teacher happiness, it is also a closer look at a lesser-known but powerful tool of Narrative Inquiry, story cycles.

This capstone project was part of a team project completed by two school principals in Hillsborough County, Florida. The project began because of our passion for meeting the needs of our students in urban high poverty schools being supported by varying district turnaround initiatives. We looked at our district’s previous and current attempts to increase student success in high poverty schools. We questioned the ways in which supports and resources were provided, and we explored ways through which success in high poverty schools might be increased by redefining the supports and resources provided. Our appreciative exploration of the topic was guided by the question, what successful examples of services and supports have contributed to an increase in success for students in high poverty schools? More specifically, I was interested in school-based health centers (SBHC), their benefits, and their impact on student academic outcomes. I looked for literature using the following keywords: wrap around services, school based health centers, health and student achievement. School-Based Health Centers improve access to healthcare, which can help to identify and address health risk behaviors and contribute to more stable attendance at school. More instructional seat time can contribute to improved academic outcomes. The preventative role played by SBHCs can reduce barriers to learning, such as treating undiagnosed mental and physical illnesses. School-Based Health Centers provide wraparound services so that issues impacting students such as obesity or asthma can be addressed on a school’s campus where key mental health, medical and school professionals can collaborate to meet the needs of students.

The intent of this study was to explore the perceptions of Black middle and upper class preservice teachers as they relate to teaching and learning in high poverty urban schools. Participants included 11 senior early childhood education preservice teachers at a historically Black college in the southeast region of the United States. The study was conducted using qualitative inquiry. Background questionnaires, individual interviews, and a group interview served as the data sources. While there is an extensive body of knowledge focused on the increasing number of White preservice teachers who lack experience with students in diverse communities, there are limited studies pertaining to the perceptions of Black middle and upper class preservice teachers who may lack experience with students in high poverty urban schools. In the Black community, color and social class have been inexorably linked for generations. Social class is conceivably one of the most significant sources of inequality in schools and was one of the first factors, after intelligence, researched by scholars as a source of difference in achievement. The study answered the following questions: (1) What are the perceptions of Black middle and upper class preservice teachers regarding teaching and learning in high poverty urban schools? (2) To what extent do Black middle and upper class preservice teachers believe they can be successful teachers in high poverty urban schools? The data demonstrated that Black middle and upper class preservice teachers (a) prefer to teach in communities similar to their own school experiences; (b) believe students from high poverty urban schools can achieve at the same level as students in middle and upper class schools, but are uncertain of the value their informal knowledge brings to the classroom; (c) recognize effective teaching strategies and best practices in classroom instruction; and (d) have mixed feelings regarding their ability to connect with students and parents in high poverty urban schools. Implications from the study include expanding the scope of field experiences for Black middle and upper class preservice teachers in high poverty urban schools and recognizing Black middle and upper class preservice teachers in teacher education research.

Changing patterns of immigration have caused schools in the U.S., which previously encountered few to no English Language Learners (ELLs), to see classrooms filled with many ELLs (Massey & Capoferro, 2008; Walker et al., 2004). Existing research on teaching ELLs focused heavily on the work of pre-service or early years educators’ teaching in secondary or post-secondary settings (de Courcy, 2011; Flynt, 2018; Rahman et al., 2018). This study uncovered the teacher lore of four veteran teachers of ELLs employed at a Title I, urban elementary school in the Rocky Mountain region. Data collection and analysis utilized techniques of narrative research, with a priori coding based in Bandura’s (1989) theory of reciprocal determinism (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Kim, 2016). The stories shared by these experienced educators revealed nine categories of teacher lore about the reality of teaching ELLs. Based on the lore revealed, this study concludes that 1) teachers need the freedom to exercise their professional judgment when teaching ELLs, and 2) the amount of resources available directly influence what any teacher can accomplish. The findings of this study apply to other teachers of ELLs, professionals interested in designing teacher-led, context based professional development, and policy makers interested in improving academic outcomes for ELLs (Marlowe, 2006).