A Profile of Selected Conservatorships in Failing Mississippi School Districts
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The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Dissertations Spring 5-2018 A Profile of Selected Conservatorships in Failing Mississippi School Districts Josh Jones University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Jones, Josh, "A Profile of Selected Conservatorships in Failing Mississippi School Districts" (2018). Dissertations. 1511. https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1511 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A PROFILE OF SELECTED CONSERVATORSHIPS IN FAILING MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL DISTRICTS by Joshua Jones A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School, the College of Education and Psychology and the Department of Educational Research and Administration at The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved by: Dr. James Fox, Committee Chair Dr. Stanley Benigno Dr. Lilian Hill Dr. David Lee Dr. Kyna Shelley ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ Dr. James Fox Dr. Lilian Hill Dr. Karen S. Coats Committee Chair Department Chair Dean of the Graduate School May 2018 COPYRIGHT BY Joshua Jones 2018 Published by the Graduate School ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine factors associated with the success of conservatorships as a method for school district improvement by analyzing school accountability ratings, results from an adaptive leadership instrument, and action plans of conservators. A sequential exploratory design was used to examine the action plans implemented by conservators to increase academic achievement in five failing school districts. The quantitative data from this study consisted of accountability ratings from districts under the control of a conservator within the 2012 – 2016 time period and data from the adaptive leadership questionnaire. This questionnaire was sent to administrators in the districts mentioned previously to rate the adaptive leadership behaviors of their assigned conservator. These data were then used to inform the qualitative portion of the study by helping the researcher determine which conservators should participate in the interviews. The historical accountability data revealed that only two of the districts reached and maintained a successful accountability rating. High adaptive leadership scores were not necessarily linked to a higher accountability rating. The lowest adaptive leadership conservator achieved a successful rating, while the highest adaptive leadership score did not meet that rating. Conservator interviews were conducted to determine what took place in each of the districts during the conservatorship. The interviews determined that some of the issues these districts are facing included: ineffective leadership, poor attendance, lack of standards-based teaching, and problems with data analysis. The action plans implemented by each conservator varied based on the issues they noticed after gaining control. Plans were set up to address issues with poor facilities, financial and personnel issues, and instructional concerns. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The months spent on this dissertation have been some of the most rewarding, but also most difficult times in my academic journey. None of this would have been possible without the help of the professors who led me to this point and my committee members who guided me through. I would personally like to thank each of my committee members, Dr. James Fox, Dr. Chuck Benigno, Dr. Lilian Hill, Dr. David Lee, and Dr. Kyna Shelley. Dr. Fox was incredibly patient and helpful throughout the process. I am thankful that he agreed to serve as my chair. Dr. Benigno was a constant source of encouragement for me throughout this process. Dr. Hill taught me so much in a short time about qualitative research; her help early in the process made the interview process run smoothly. Dr. Lee has given me more practical advice about education than any other professor and I am glad that I have had the opportunity to be in many classes with him. Finally, Dr. Shelley, who I feel certain would be able to retire if she had a dollar for each question I asked. She has always pushed me to create the best products and is my data guru. They truly are my dream team and I am proud to have had a chance to work with them throughout this endeavor. iii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this dissertation to several people who have made a tremendous impact on my life. First, I would like to thank Vallerie Lacey for pushing me professionally and academically. Without her, I would not be in the field of education and would have never considered attending USM. She was my first and best mentor. My grandfather, Ralph Jones, always encouraged my academic pursuits as a child. As I passed each milestone, I thought of him. Reflecting on the lessons he taught me over the years, is still my best cure for discouragement. To my daughter, Ellery, I want you to know that nothing worth having is easy. Be willing to work each day to achieve lofty goals. I have sacrificed a lot over the past few years to hopefully provide better for you each day. Dream big, Rimshot. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................... viii CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 History of School Improvement...................................................................................... 2 School District Improvement in Mississippi .................................................................. 5 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................... 7 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................ 9 Definition of Terms....................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER II - REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ............................................... 16 Historical Background of School District Improvement in the United States .............. 16 CHAPTER III - METHODOLOGY ................................................................................. 55 Action Plan Interviews .............................................................................................. 59 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 62 CHAPTER IV – RESEARCH FINDINGS....................................................................... 63 Phases of Research ........................................................................................................ 64 Phase 1: Historical Data Review ............................................................................... 64 v Conservator A. ...................................................................................................... 67 Conservator B. ...................................................................................................... 68 Conservator D2. .................................................................................................... 70 Summary of Findings .................................................................................................... 81 CHAPTER V – DISCUSSION ......................................................................................... 84 Summary of Study ........................................................................................................ 84 Analysis of Research Question Two ......................................................................... 86 Discussion and Implications ......................................................................................... 90 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................. 95 Limitations .................................................................................................................... 97 Recommendations for Future Research ........................................................................ 99 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 100 APPENDIX A - Adaptive Leadership Questionnaire ..................................................... 102 APPENDIX B - Conservator Interview Questions ......................................................... 105 APPENDIX C – Research Permission Letter ................................................................. 107 APPENDIX D – Administrator Request Letter .............................................................