Three students were picked to be the focus students for this ethnography. The criteria used to pick the three focus students are: focus student one has to be an English language learner, focus student two student has to have an IEP or a 504 plan, and focus student three has to have had a significant life experience. Included in the ethnography are student works, analysis of assessments, and interviews with students and families. I used scholarly resources to support data, such as How to be an Effective Teacher by Harry K. Wong (2009). I discuss the effectiveness of my action plan by discussing the results of the students progression, or the need to amend the action plan. The purpose of ethnography is to get to know the student as a whole, and not through assessments. I describe students’ interests, likes and dislikes, and family life. In addition to getting to know the students, there is an in depth look at the educator, and her motivations.

The focus of this study was on identifying the challenges faced by teachers and school personnel at a middle school in educating the whole low socioeconomic status (SES) child academically, socially and emotionally to enhance positive educational outcomes. The unmet academic, social, and emotional needs of the low SES student in the middle school in this case study are having a negative impact on proficiency for these students on the state standardized assessments. Kolb's experiential learning theory and Rogers and Maslow's humanistic theory provided a psychological framework for the study. The qualitative case study included staff interviews and a review of documents. Purposeful sampling included 11 subjects; 6 teachers, 2 counselors, 2 administrators, and the nurse from 1 selected middle school, who had experiences working with low SES students in reading language arts classes in grades 6 through 8. Data from interviews and document review were coded and analyzed for common themes. Results included 4 major themes; student focused instruction, challenges for instructing low SES students, supports needed for effective instruction, and discipline challenges. Findings supported construction of a professional development program project for school personnel that incorporated these themes with emphasis on improving educational outcomes for low SES students by addressing individual social, emotional and academic needs. This study might contribute to positive social change by providing school personnel with the ability to identify and collaboratively address the individual needs of the whole low SES student to enhance their learning and contributions to society.

Since 2001, the San Colombano Project has provided the College-Bound Tutoring program for disenfranchised prospective first-generation college students in a southwestern community of the United States. However, an evaluation of the program had never been conducted. The purpose of the study was to conduct a qualitative, responsive program evaluation in a naturalistic setting using a case-study approach with a constructivist lens to create a narrative portrait of the program. Guided by critical race theory, Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, and Wlodkowski's motivational theory, the study explored the effectiveness of the program. Interviews were conducted and archival data were examined to understand the effectiveness of the program. Interview participants included 5 leaders, 4 alumni/staff members, and 2 adult volunteer tutors. Typological, inductive, and content analyses were applied to the contextualized data. The findings arising from data analyses were based on these themes: (a) authentic hope, (b) social and emotional learning, (c) organizational leadership, and (d) creation of a college completion culture. To promote social change, a program evaluation was provided to San Colombano Project based on these findings. Social change may be achieved through implementation of the program evaluation on behalf of these disenfranchised students by (a) embedding promising practices; (b) extending learning and growth opportunities; (c) leveraging data to improve, sustain, and embed processes; and (d) applying recommendations for enhancing an organizational learning culture.