Browsing by Subject "Elementary schools--Texas"
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Item Assessment of indoor air quality in Texas elementary schools(2008-12) Sanders, Mark Daniel, 1973-; Siegel, Jeffrey A.Poor indoor air quality in schools is associated with diminished learning, health risks to students and staff, and economic costs. This dissertation reports findings from the Texas Elementary School Indoor Air Study (TESIAS). The objective of this investigation is to establish a baseline for indoor environmental parameters. The investigation selected 30 elementary schools from 2 school districts. One school district was located along the Texas/Mexico border in a hot-humid climate region. The other school district was located in central Texas in a mixed-humid climate region. Phase I of the study was a questionnaire completed by 1336 teachers and other school staff. Phase II of the study collected both qualitative and quantitative data in 120 classrooms including continuous monitoring of comfort parameters (carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, temperature, and relative humidity). Phase III collected more in-depth quantitative data, including fungi and bacteria concentrations, in 12 classrooms. This dissertation investigates potential differences in the study data between school districts and between portable and traditional classrooms. The two major findings of this study concern water leakage from roofs and inadequate ventilation. Roof leaks were the highest reported source of water incursion and correlated with health symptoms. Free-standing small footprint classrooms had fewer roof and wall leaks than traditional classrooms. The simple low pitch roof design and sufficient overhangs typically found on the small footprint buildings studied likely result in less reported roof leaks. The measured carbon dioxide concentrations (both average and peak values) were well in excess of the recommended maximums and fewer than 15% of the classrooms met the recommended maximum concentrations. Relatively higher CO2 concentrations and relative humidity in the border school district were attributed to a greater frequency of blocked outdoor air intakes. Further investigation of novel HVAC systems, such as low velocity displacement ventilation, is needed. Ultimately, this study enables the development of best practices for school design for improved indoor air quality.Item Site-based decision-making: the preceptions of parents, teachers, and administrators in an elementary school in Texas(2003) Donnelly, Deborah Jean; Ovando, Martha N., 1954-While researchers studied site-based decision-making (SBDM) in depth in the 1990’s, mostly from the perspective of its effects on student achievement (Hopkins, Munumer, 1999; Bauer & Bogotch, 1997, Bell, 1996)), a dearth of the studies were quantitative in nature, often comparing student groups’ performance on a pretest and post test (Leithwood & Menzies, 1998). Results indicate that SBDM does not significantly affect student achievement (Schuttloffel, (2000; Dempster, 1999; Wohlstetter, 1993; White, 1989); however, few research studies focus on stakeholders’ beliefs about SBDM (Reyes, Scribner & Scribner, 1999; Hoetger, 1998; Griffin, 1995; Ovando, 1994; Wagstaff & Reyes, 1993). In this narrative case study, the researcher discerns successful, unsuccessful, and missing SBDM implementation strategies through stakeholders’ stories about their experiences on an elementary school SBDM committee in a central Texas district. The literature review includes the historical context of early reforms, a description of localized control, and anticipated SBDM outcomes. The researcher explains theoretical frames and conflicting research findings including the benefits and pitfalls. Two research questions frame the study: (1) What are the experiences of stakeholders involved with SBDM that illustrate the workable, unworkable, and needed implementation strategies? (2) What themes emerge from stakeholders’ stories that can further inform policy makers and educational leaders about SBDM implementation strategies that are workable and needed? The study represents each stake holder-group’s narrative; teachers, parents, and administrators. The district was selected based on its extensive SBDM experience and recognized district performance rating. The school was selected based on its three-year improved performance and Dr. Horn’s five-year tenure. The data included the review: (1) of minutes from SBDM meetings, (2) field notes from observations of SBDM meetings, (3) of transcripts from individual interviews with SBDM members and non-members, and (4) a focus group interview with the campus SBDM committee. Through the emergent themes from their stories, the stakeholders’ perceptions expand the extant knowledge about and contribute to the practice of SBDM. Policy makers and educational leaders gain information to further inform the implementation of SBDM.Item Social promotion and retention policies in Texas elementary schools(2007) Rodriguez, Anissa Jean, 1978-; Reyes, Pedro, 1954-The Student Success Initiative (SSI) established, in 1999, various promotional gates for students to pass the state-mandated high-stakes assessment test known as the Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills (TAKS), administered in the areas of reading for third graders and of reading and math for fifth graders. Largely perceived as antisocial promotion legislation, outcomes of the SSI implementation did not seem to coincide with their original intentions. To ascertain the veracity of this claim, interviews were scheduled with a variety of local level stakeholders serving as decision-making participants in a structure known as the grade placement committee. Grade placement committee members address student promotion and retention decisions when students do not meet the passing standards for the TAKS tests. Because the SSI is still recent in its implementation, to date there is not a wide body of research examining the stakeholder perceptions of the SSI and of their role in the decision-making process for student retention and promotion. To this end, several interviews were conducted with teachers, with parents, and with campus or district-level administrators. The interviews served to gauge the stakeholder perceptions regarding their role in the grade placement committee itself as decision-makers and also their perceptions or their experiences regarding how often or likely students are to be promoted or to be retained in the context of the grade placement committee meetings. The participants also spoke about their views regarding the effectiveness of the SSI and the outcomes of its implementation. The research participants spoke to their personal experiences with student retention and promotion. The stakeholders' views range from the perception that the SSI puts students at risk of failure, actually causing students to be promoted more often to the opinion that the SSI does hold both the teacher and the parents more accountable for student success. Several broad themes emerged from the data. The themes of perceived power, underlying or unwritten agendas and a call for change due to dissatisfaction with the current system were evident upon the examination of the data.