Abstract:
After years of costly school improvement efforts, including Georgia’s most recent $400 million Georgia Race to The Top Grant, the state’s high schools have failed to significantly improve school-wide student achievement. The purpose of this study was to analyze a high performing Georgia Title I high school principal who has participated in school improvement efforts at his assigned school where school-wide student achievement has improved significantly under his leadership. The purpose of the study included efforts to determine the lived experiences of the identified principal, what barriers the principal faced, and what strategies the principal used to deal with the complexities of improving school-wide student achievement.
Purposeful sampling methods were used to choose a principal of a Georgia Title I high school. The chosen principal led his school to improvements in student achievement, including a 20% increase in graduation rate and an 18-point increase in the Georgia CCRPI score.
The study’s findings determined numerous methods the principal used to increase student achievement at the Title I high school. Teacher participants and the principal discussed how the culture established at the school played a vital role in the school’s turn around. The principal was touted for his clear communication style and for supporting those around him. The principal encouraged his teachers to innovate instructional practices and also initiated an alternative center to directly help students who were short on credits to accelerate their learning, which directly affected the graduation rate at the school.