2024 Doctoral Capstone Projects

School districts today are facing an increased need for mental health support for students. This mixed-methods study analyzed the perceptions of the school climate by both students and teachers in the fifth and sixth grades at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School, using two trauma-informed interventions: therapy dogs and mentoring. The purpose of this study was to determine if therapy dogs and mentoring could positively affect school climate, thereby providing resources for mental health support. Four research questions guided the study. The first two questions focused on the relationship between mentoring and therapy dog interventions and student perceptions of school climate while the third and fourth research questions focused on teacher perceptions of school climate when therapy dog and mentoring interventions were implemented in the classroom. Attendance, threat assessment, risk assessment, office discipline referral, and student survey data were collected to analyze student perceptions of school climate through qualitative and quantitative measures. A survey of teachers participating in the mentoring or therapy dog intervention was used to collect qualitative data on teacher perceptions of school climate. The research study analysis showed a positive relationship between student and teacher perceptions of school climate when the trauma-informed interventions of mentoring and therapy dog were implemented.

Currently, the Knoch School District lacks effective professional development opportunities for our staff and suffers from a high call-off rate on in-service days. This Capstone Research Project sets out to understand effective professional development strategies that can be implemented within the school district. This includes reviewing how the district currently provides professional development for teachers and determining which of these opportunities are effective. It sets out to answer four questions: 1) What topics does the staff believe are most important when it comes to receiving professional development? 2) What would make staff more likely to participate in professional development that is offered by the district? 3) What style of professional development opportunities do teachers believe impacted their classroom instruction? 4) How does the professional development meet the objectives of the district’s vision? Data collection tools that will be applied include surveys, feedback forms, and call-off rates on the professional development days. These tools will provide both qualitative and quantitative data for review. At least three different models of professional development will be implemented throughout the school year. After each of these, a feedback from will be completed by participants. Both the surveys and professional development feedback forms include Likert scale-type and multiple-choice questions and will allow for some open-ended responses. Moving forward, all of the data collected will be used to create a district-wide professional development plan.

National, state, and local research has emphasized the importance of student attendance and engagement and the impact of school culture within urban education. The Capstone project focused on identifying educational indicators' systemic and individual outcomes within two urban high school programs. The targeted focus areas included 9th and 10th grades for the key indicators of student attendance, school activities, and on-track career readiness. The School Improvement Staff Survey (Survey) was also offered to teachers in 9th and 10th grades to identify the relationship of staff working directly with students and the response to engaging students toward educational attainment. The purpose of the quantitative study was to investigate the relationships between educational indicators using the readily collected data sources and the results of the Survey. The analysis showed that the indicators of student engagement paired with the school climate Survey positively supported the student outcomes in the three educational indicators. The research reported results that, when coordinated, provide the foundation for sources of information to improve student engagement in the high school experience. The District’s focus on data-driven decision-making has the potential to show improved reporting and outcomes in student and staff engagement in the high school programs. Prioritizing this work within District-supported plans will further validate the measures paired with future interventions and support for students and staff in the high school programs, offering a promising outlook for the future.