Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A)

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Raj Singh

Abstract

To resolve the graduation gap among Black and Hispanic students in Central Florida, the development of equity-centered practices to improve high school graduation rates is essential. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of incorporating methods such as the self achievement theory, self-determination methodology, and equity educational policies in all eight of the Central Florida School District schools to improve the graduation rates of the Black and Hispanic students in the Central Florida School District as well as to develop recommendations for implementation and training across the district. All data gathered was secondary and gathered from the state and district levels during the 2015- 2019 school years. Individual data from each school were analyzed through accessing the district report cards, which gave a breakdown of how each school performed as a whole as well as the graduation percentages of each subgroup. These data were used to analyze the graduation rates for the three at-risk groups of economically disadvantaged, exceptional student education, and English as a second language learners. Results indicated that while some schools made tremendous gains in some categories, none of the eight schools met or exceeded the state goals in every category. That coupled with most students returning to in person learning from the 2021-2022 post the initial Covid-19 pandemic school years, this gap has only widened. Findings may be used by administrators for positive social change by consistently and equitably implementing the above mentioned policies and methods, thus reducing the gap among at-risk Black and Hispanic students compared to their cohort peers.

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