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Outperforming nontraditional urban school: a success case study

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Outperforming nontraditional urban school: a success case study

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Content Running head: OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 1
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL: A SUCCESS CASE STUDY

by
Cindy C. Guardado Ramirez

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2017

Copyright 2017 Cindy C. Guardado Ramirez

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 2
Dedication
“I refuse to be part of the self-prophecy of failure affiliated with my culture, where I am
supposed to become someone else’s failing statistic. I have decided to take charge of my success
and become a role model for all”
I still remember the conversation I had with my little brother when I had finally decided
to apply to the Ed.D program at University of Southern California after a winter of being laid off
by the district for which I was working. My little brother, who has been part of my inspiration to
succeed, gave me the money for the application and said, “just go for it dude.” It was him, who I
had looked out for since an early age, who gave me the push I needed to just “go for it”. It was
then when I decided to sit down and write my statement of purpose, one where I expressed my
refusal to become another negative statistic, when I decided to take charge and become the role
model I want to become. However, my inspiration did not come from within, it came from the
candid love my mother radiates from her loving heart. My mother, my heroine, instilled very
early on the value of self-worth, of independence, of giving everything I do my very best. It is
she whom I aspire to become like. She is resilient and strong, kind but fierce, loving but fearless.
It is she who inspired me to be the best I can be. My mother, the woman who traded her
professional life for a better tomorrow for my brothers and I.
Mi inspiración no vino de mi misma, mi inspiración vino del amor que irradia mi madre.
Mi madre, mi heroína, la mujer que me ha ensenado el valor de quererme a mí misma, el valor
de la independencia, el valor de siempre dar lo mejor de mí. Es como ella que yo quiero ser. La
que es fuerte pero tierna, amable pero feroz, amorosa, pero sin miedo a nada. Es ella la que me
ha inspirado. Ella, la mujer que dejo su profesión para un mejor mañana para mis hermanos y
yo.
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 3
My brother, Hector Guardado, thank you for always being the one I look up to, not
because you are perfect, but because I know I can always count on you. You have always looked
at me with kind eyes and supported my every grand idea. Thank you for being the older brother
who provides wisdom without talking, and one who never judges regardless of how challenging
life might seem. Edison and Hector, you have both been cheering for me and have sacrificed far
more than I will ever have the time to say thank you for. Thank you, Fredy, for being the fatherly
figure these last years. You have provided unlimited support to my family and I, and I am glad
you are part of us.
My support network is amazing and I am fortunate to know people who believe in me far
more than I believe in myself. This process was not easy and as I sit here to write this dedication,
I have flashes of all the moments that happened that built me up when other things had tore me
down. Anyone that has been down this road can and would assure you that life happens during
this process. Anyone who embarks on this journey develops an extra two or three layers of thick
skin. To my life friend, Jesse, whom even though we have parted ways, I am grateful because
you always supported my academic endeavors. You always cheered me on and never once
hesitated to support me. I have gained many great people in my life, people who have picked me
up after really bad meltdowns, people who have read my dissertation, offered to feed me, or just
kept me company. Thank you, Maribel, and Beverly, both of you have become invaluable to me
in ways I cannot begin to articulate. Beverly, you have picked me up when I have needed it the
most, and for that I will forever be grateful. You became a light in the room when I was walking
in the dark.

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 4
Acknowledgments
I could pretend that this section of this dissertation was easy to write, but I would only be
lying to myself. There have been so many people who have cheered me on, supported me, picked
me up when I thought I could no longer do it. People who called and checked in to make sure I
was eating, breathing, sleeping. People who, without a doubt, saw something in me when I was
blinded by the stresses presented in this journey we call life. It is, without a doubt, the reason
why this section is so difficult to write. I did not do this alone. I have amazingly supportive
family, friends who have become my family, and some of life’s greatest human beings have been
cheering on my court, showing me light in moments of darkness. My first acknowledgement is
for my thematic group: Nina Denson, Angela Fajardo, Imelda Philips, and Kenneth Miralles.
You have all become an extension of my family. Thank you for being there and for pushing me
to meet every deadline when I thought it was too much work to do. I would also like to thank Dr.
Manuel “Manny” Burciaga, you were the first person I met in this journey, and I will forever be
indebted to you for helping me out and for not questioning any of my choices.
The people involved in this process are far more than those mentioned above. I would
like to thank my lifelong friends for understanding that I could not always go out to dinner or just
meet up. I want to thank my colleagues for supporting me and carrying the load when I was too
exhausted to do more. I want to thank each and every single one of my students because
becoming their role model was one of my biggest drives through this program. Thank you to
everyone who believed in my ability to get through this program.
I would like to also thank Dr. Gothold and Dr. Ott for all of the guidance provided during
this process. Both of you provided me with academic and emotional support in moments of need.
Your understanding about the challenges in life make the human value of this program incredibly
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 5
invaluable. Thank you to the Rossier School of Education and USC for providing me the
opportunity to develop my skill set as a leader, for the lessons I learned, and for the inspiration to
become an active member in my community.

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 6
Table of Contents
Dedication 2
Acknowledgments 4
List of Figures 8
Abstract 9
Chapter One Overview of the Study 11
Background of the Problem 12
Statement of the Problem 14
Purpose of the Study 14
Research Questions 14
Significance of the Study 15
Summary of Methodology 16
Survey 16
Interviews 17
Limitations and Delimitations 17
Definition of Terms 18
Organization of the Study 21
Chapter Two: Literature Review 22
Statement of the Problem 23
Background 23
Historical Perspective 23
A Nation at Risk 24
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 27
Race to the Top 29
Urban Schools 30
Efforts to Address the Problem 32
Nontraditional Schools 33
The Success of Charters 34
Adequate Funding 35
Conceptual Framework 36
Chapter Three: Methodology 38
Research Questions 38
Design Summary 39
Participants and Setting 40
Study Design 42
Protocols 45
Data Collection Approach 47
Ethical Considerations 48
Chapter Four: Findings 49
Research Questions 50
Methodology 50
Background of Bay High School 51
Gaining Entry 52
First Visitation at the School 53
Findings for Research Question One 56
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 7
Summary of Findings for Research Question One 60
Findings for Research Question Two 61
Summary of Findings for Research Question Two 65
Findings for Research Question Three 66
Summary of Findings for Research Question Three 70
Emergent Themes 71
Conceptual Framework 72
Summary 73
Chapter Five: Discussion 73
Purpose, Significance, and Methodology 73
Conclusions 75
Implications 79
Recommendations for Further Study 80
Conclusion 81
References 82
Appendix A: Dissertation Study, Outperforming Non-Traditional Urban Schools 86
Appendix B: School Selection Criteria 89
Appendix C: School Staff Survey 90
Appendix D: Interview Protocol 93
Appendix E: Observation Protocol 98

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 8
List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual framework 37
Figure 2: Average mean for instructional practices 59
Figure 3: Overview of the four-frame model (Bolman & Deal, 208) 62
Figure 4: Response to sub-question two 64
Figure 5: Positive relationships with students 69
Figure 6: New conceptual framework 73

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 9
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine and analyze evidence of connection between an
outperforming nontraditional urban school and minority students’ high academic achievement.
The factors examined were instructional practices, leadership practices and school culture.
An outperforming nontraditional urban high school was selected based on four criteria: a
consecutive graduation rate above the California state average for the last three years, an A-G
completion rate above the California state average, a drop-out rate below California state average
and a consecutive passing rate for the school’s California High School Exit Exam above the
California state average for last three years.
This qualitative study examined organizational practices that narrow the achievement gap
at an outperforming nontraditional urban school. Identified in the study are the efforts to address
the achievement gap along with the impact the achievement gap had among diverse populations
and the solutions to these issues. The study analyzed high school completion rates, various test
scores, and A-G course completion to determine outperforming criteria. Data were collected via
surveys, staff interviews, document analysis, and classroom and campus observations. The data
were triangulated to identify organizational practices that narrow the achievement gap through
the lens of instructional practices, leadership practices, and school culture.
The results of the study addressed the following research questions: (1) what instructional
practices exist in outperforming nontraditional schools; (2) what leadership practices exist in
outperforming nontraditional urban schools that address the achievement gap; and (3) what is the
school culture in outperforming nontraditional urban schools. The study used qualitative methods
because the researcher needed to identify ways in which the information was interconnected and
the manners in which the three focal points interacted with one another. The study revealed that
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 10
outperforming nontraditional schools pay special attention to creating a culture that is student
centered, where every stakeholder takes into account how any instructional, cultural, and
leadership decision will impact the academic outcome of students. In addition, outperforming
nontraditional urban schools have sustainable and consistent systems of communication for all
stakeholders; a relevant and timely system for offering appropriate professional development for
their educators, and a culture that fully supports a career and college ready mentality, where
every stake holder has identified themselves as a long-life learner.

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 11
CHAPTER ONE OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
Aspirations to provide quality education to all students mean nothing when steps are not
taken to create change. Education starts with someone’s motivation to change, but motivation
alone does not equate into change that benefits all students. Educators seek to provide quality
education to all students, but their efforts have not sufficed in closing the achievement gap.
Neither have the efforts of a nation. The United States implemented several national initiatives
with the hope of ensuring quality education for every child (Menken, 2009). These initiatives do
not discriminate in terms of the type of schools they reach; both traditional and nontraditional
schools must abide to providing quality education to students. Regardless of efforts made by the
public sch ool system, there are nontraditional urban schools that have outperformed district
schools. Despite the efforts to narrow the achievement gap, pervasive racial and socioeconomic
disparities in student achievement (Lavin-Loucks, 2006) keep widening for the vast majority of
schools in the United States. Educators try to build bridges that can bring minorities closer to the
results of their White counterparts (Allen, 2008). School leaders now have to think of creative
solutions to try to address the gaps that traditional systems have often not filled.
Despite the failed efforts to address the gap in achievement for all students, minority
students still face wide gaps in the quality of the schools in their districts. The disparity of
achievement between Whites and their minority peers demonstrates that scores on state or
national achievement tests are lower for students of color (Anderson, Medrich, & Fowler, 2007;
Chenoweth, 2004; Lee, 2002; Lynch, 2006). However, the achievement gap is not only defined
by local and state assessments, but it is also measured in the comparison of high school dropout
rates, the relative number of students who enroll in college and honors level coursework, those
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 12
taking Advanced Placement exams, and those who are admitted to two-year, four-year, graduate
and professional colleges (Ferguson, 2004; Ladson-Billings, 2006; Lee, 2002; Noguera, 2008).
The aim of this study was to identify a nontraditional outperforming urban school and to
examine the routines and structures that made it outperforming using three frames of reference:
instructional, leadership, and cultural practices.
Background of the Problem
The responsibility of American educators is to address the needs of all students by
providing quality education. The challenge arises that a nation needs to provide quality education
to 50.4 million students who attend public elementary and secondary schools (NCES, 2016), a
pool of students that is diverse enough in terms of cultural, social, and academic backgrounds.
Closing the achievement gap forces educational innovators to deeply examine the current state of
the United States’ educational system and its historical track (Allen, 2008), as initiatives often
failed in addressing the needs of minority students. Looking back to the basics, the
Massachusetts Act of 1647 established public schooling to teach reading, writing, and religion.
The disparity in education dates back more than 400 years to when African Americans were left
out of the Massachusetts Act of 1647. Minorities continue to be underserved by the American
school system.
The measures to identify quality teachers, curriculum, and successful leadership practices
often do not reach every student in either urban or suburban schools. It is often a challenge for
urban districts to become competitive in the field of education and in retaining teachers when,
typically, the odds are against them. Urban schools suffer from a severe shortage of teachers
because they lack the professional development, culture, and administrative support to ensure
their satisfaction (Hunter-Quartz, 2003). Historically, the achievement gap has been the drive for
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 13
many educational leaders to put forth policies to address, and potentially close, the achievement
gap. One of the most recent educational policies that sought to address the achievement gap is
the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), whose aim was to use high-stakes testing to hold
educational entities accountable for student performance (Menken, 2009). In addition to the
effort presented by NCLB, another education reform created to address the deficit in the
American public school system by President Obama’s administration was Race to the Top,
which encouraged state-level policy that aligned with states creating objectives that prepared
students to be college ready, teachers to be held accountable according to their level of
effectiveness, and the creation of data systems that tracked student performance (Howell, 2015).
One of the challenges of providing quality education is ensuring that the quality reaches
all minorities. One of the first instances of educational equality for minorities took place after
World War II when educational changes increased access to higher education for minority
students. Despite the narrowing gap in the 1970s through the 1980s and reform measures such as
desegregation after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling, President Johnson’s
War on Poverty Initiative with the ESEA Title I program, and the NCLB, the achievement gap
still exists. It was the result of these reports that sparked pressure from the public for school
improvement and accountability. According to Darling-Hammond (2006), in an effort to
continue to address the gap in student achievement among historically underserved students,
President Bush’s administration revamped NCLB; its aim was to ensure student achievement
through high-stakes testing and through increased support of economically disadvantaged
children and English Language Learners (ELLs). NCLB was created after decades of fragmented
curricula, impersonal structures, segregated and unequal educational options and the nation’s
inability to respond effectively to the needs to students (Darling-Hammond, 2006). This study
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 14
aimed to identify practices proven to enhance learning in one urban nontraditional school by
taking a closer look at the routines and systems this school implemented that narrowed the
achievement gap among its students.
Statement of the Problem
Many urban schools do not meet students’ academic needs. Some nontraditional schools
meet their students’ academic needs through the implementation of instructional, leadership, and
cultural practices. More needs to be learned about what is done in these outperforming
nontraditional urban schools that helped close the achievement gap among all students,
especially historically underserved minority students.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to identify organizational practices that narrow the
achievement gap in outperforming nontraditional urban schools sustaining success with minority
students over time.
Research Questions
This study aimed to identify and gain an understanding of the role of instruction,
leadership, and culture at an outperforming nontraditional urban school. The three areas of focus
were decided upon based on researched key characteristics of this type of school. Instruments
were designed collect data on three variables: instruction, leadership, and culture. The thematic
group collaborated to develop tools to ensure the information collection processes were identical.
The following research questions were identified and investigated as means of illustrating traits
that pertain to an outperforming nontraditional urban school:
1. What instructional practices exist in outperforming nontraditional urban schools?
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 15
2. What leadership practices exist in outperforming nontraditional urban schools that
address the achievement gap?
3. What is the school culture in outperforming nontraditional urban schools?
Significance of the Study
This study is significant as it adds to the growing body of literature on narrowing the
achievement gap among students in nontraditional urban schools. This study aimed to identify
strategies for school leaders to use when designing instructional, leadership, and cultural
practices. In addition to answering the questions above and identifying best practices,
administrators and teachers may find the information obtained useful in supporting
outperforming practices that yield positive results for their minority students. Finally, the
implications and recommendations provided within this study provide ideas and insights
currently in practice that may be used as a springboard to create more outperforming
nontraditional urban schools
This case study was one of five thematic dissertations within a cohort group of doctoral
students at the University of Southern California. This thematic group focused specifically on the
elements that make a nontraditional urban school outperforming through the lenses of cultural
practices, instructional practices, and leadership practices, which were commons themes in the
reviewed literature. The group, as a whole, identified emerging themes from the literature, which
were compared and contrasted to the themes identified after the data collection. All data
collection instruments were created in collaboration with all thematic group members and all
instruments were used in all the case studies. However, each member studied one school and
wrote a separate dissertation. Each member used the surveys and observation protocol created as
a group to gather data. The utilization of the same tools helped yield results through the same
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 16
lenses, even though the sites differed based on each member’s approach to nontraditional
schools.
This case study aimed to identify instructional, leadership, and cultural practices at one
outperforming nontraditional urban school in southern California. Together with the cohort
group, this study examined factors that sustain success in narrowing the achievement gap in an
urban high school setting while other members of the group examined high school settings as
well. Together, these case studies contribute to a developing body of research linked to increased
levels of student achievement in urban high schools. School practitioners, both at the site and
district level, may discover these findings are applicable to their campuses or districts.
Summary of Methodology
Qualitative research methodology was selected for this study. The study includes a
survey, interviews, observations, and a review of documents. The methodology was as
follows: review of public documents such as the school’s Western Association of Schools and
Colleges (WASC) report, its single plan for student achievement, its charter petition, its local
control accountability plan, its professional development calendar, staff meeting/training
agendas, the master schedule, the mission/vision statement, classroom artifacts, lesson plans, and
assessment data. These provided the researcher background knowledge prior to entering the
school site.
Survey
A three-section survey (Appendix C) with specific questions relating to instructional
strategies, leadership skills, and school culture was the researcher’s focus. The survey took
approximately 20 minutes to complete.

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 17
Interviews
Key staff, faculty, and school personnel participants took part in one-time, approximately
60-minute-long interviews at locations convenient to them. These included questions regarding
instructional strategies, leadership skills, and school culture. Prior to the interview, all
participants were asked if they would agree to the interview being tape-recorded. For all
participants who agreed, the interview was taped. For participants who disagreed, the interview
was not taped and written or typed notes were used. All participants were still part of the
interviews even if they declined to be recorded. In place, written notes were taken. Transcription
of the interview, whether recorded or written, was the responsibility of the interviewer or
designees.
Limitations and Delimitations
Delimitations include the fact that one school was the subject of the study as well as the
small sample of educators interviewed. Limitations are also present in the time available to
conduct the study. The limitations all reduce the generalizability of the findings due to the fact
that the site was one urban high school. Also, the only significant ethnic minority subgroup at
this school was Hispanic/Latino. The subpopulations for African-American students were too
small to be significant. Additionally, the study did not allow comparing or contrasting the school
studied with other urban high schools of similar demographics and achievement.
Observations, surveys, and interviews were conducted over a limited period of time
equaling four months, not allowing the researcher to observe dynamics that may have occurred
during the second portion of the school year. Also, observations were subject to the researcher’s
interpretation and inherent bias. Lastly, the researcher was led to assume that all participants
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 18
were truthful and forthcoming in their answers, and the validity of the study was only as reliable
as the instruments used.
In terms of delimitations, the school site was purposefully selected based upon predetermined
criteria: (1) immigrant/minority students, ELLs, low socioeconomic status, at least 40% of the
school population receiving free or reduced-price lunch, and Title I status, (2) the school includes
significant minority subgroups of 100 or more students or 15% or more of the population, (3) the
selected school met or exceeded state averages for a period of 2 or 3 consecutive years or had
had progress towards an academic performance index (API) of 800 for 2 to 3 years.
The study was confined to one urban high school in Los Angeles County, California, and
although this study is one of nine case studies conducted by a doctoral cohort at the University of
Southern California, transferability of the findings for this study is limited. While surveys were
given to the entire staff, not all were returned, and, therefore, the sample may not represent the
opinions and views of the staff as a whole. In addition, interviews were conducted with a sample
of administrators and teachers and may not represent the views or opinions of the entire staff.
Definition of Terms
● A-G Requirements: At least 11 of the 15 required courses must be completed prior to the
senior year. History/Social Science: 2 years required, English:4 years required,
Mathematics: 3 years required, Laboratory Science: 2 years required, Language other
than English:2 years required, Visual and Performing Arts:1 year required, College-
Preparatory Electives: 1 year required.
● Academic Performance Index (API): A method of summarizing test results into one
number ranging from 200 to 1000, with 800 being the state-defined goal. The “API
score” is then used to rank schools among all others in the state of the same type
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 19
(elementary, middle, high) and, separately, among the 100 schools most similar in student
demographics, teacher qualifications, and other factors (EdSource, 2007).
● Achievement Gap: A consistent difference in scores on students’ achievement tests
between certain groups of children and children in other groups. There is a strong
association between poverty and students’ lack of academic success as measured by
achievement tests. And, while poverty is not unique to any ethnicity, it does exist in
disproportionate rates among African Americans and Hispanics, and among English
learners. The reasons behind the achievement gap are multifaceted. They do to some
degree stem from factors that children bring with them to school. However, other factors
that contribute to the gap stem from students’ school experiences (Edsource.org, 2009).
● California High School Exit Exam: A state exam that California public high school
students, beginning with the class of 2006, must pass in order to graduate. It is a pass-fail
exam divided into two sections: English language arts (reading and writing) and
mathematics. The test is taken by sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Once students pass a
section of the test, they do not take that section again (Edsource.org, 2009).
● Charter Schools: Charter schools are unique public schools allowed the freedom to be
more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement.
Because they are public schools, they are open to all children, do not charge tuition, and
do not have special entrance requirements (About Charter Schools, 2013)
● ESEA: The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) was originally
passed as part of the Lyndon B. Johnson administration’s War on Poverty campaign. The
original goal of the law, which remains today, was to improve educational equity for
students from lower-income families by providing federal funds to school districts
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 20
serving poor students. ESEA is the single largest source of federal spending on
elementary and secondary education (Education Post, 2016).
● LCFF: Local Control Funding Formula- Under the LCFF funding system, revenue limits
and most state categorical programs were eliminated. The LCFF creates funding targets
based on student characteristics and provides greater flexibility to use these funds to
improve student outcomes. For school districts and charter schools, the LCFF funding
targets consist of grade span-specific base grants plus supplemental and concentration
grants that are calculated based on student demographic factors. For county offices of
education (COEs), the LCFF funding targets consist of an amount for COE oversight
activities and instructional programs. (LCFF Funding, 2015 )
● Leadership: decision maker at school sites and at the district office.
● Professional Development: A district sponsored training program or in-service.
● Resources: Funding, physical or human capital dictated or distributed by the school
district.
● Self-efficacy: The belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of
action required to manage prospective situations (Bandura, 1997).
● STEM: Science, technology, engineering, and math (U.S. Department of Education)
● Urban: Built-up and populated area that includes a municipality and, generally, has
a population of 5000 or more.
● Vision/Mission: A district’s central goals as created by the board of education or
superintendent.

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Organization of the Study
This study is divided into five chapters. Chapter Two is a review of the literature and
related research. Also presented is a historical context of the United States government’s role in
providing means and educational policy to address reducing the achievement gap for children of
low socioeconomic status; and practices that have been shown to reduce the gap. Chapter Three
explains the research design, conceptual framework and model, descriptions of the sample
population, and a description of the process used for data collection and analysis of the data.
Chapter Four describes the findings of the study, including an analysis and interpretation of the
findings. Chapter Five includes a summary of the findings, conclusions, and recommendations
for future research.

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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that allow an outperforming
nontraditional urban school to narrow the achievement gap between socio- economically
disadvantaged students and their peers. The literature review also narrows the focus of the
national initiatives implemented to close the achievement gap by looking at how they have not
provided quality education for all students. Many urban schools demonstrated a deficit in the
practices through which they address the needs of students of various demographics (Ladson-
Billings, 2006). The specifics involved in closing the achievement gap are unclear; nevertheless,
there are nontraditional urban schools that demonstrated significant gains in student achievement
for students of various demographics. Efforts to address the achievement gap were researched,
and the impact of the achievement gap on special education students is discussed, solutions are
offered, and critiques are presented.
This literature review examines the historical deficits that the American public school
system has not addressed to equalize education for minority students. This review of literature
begins with an examination of the history of educational public policies and reform efforts that
affected the achievement gap but did not narrow it. Policies such as those presented in A Nation
at Risk (1983), the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and Race to the Top (2009) help address
how the achievement gap continues to widen for most students of color.
Student achievement in the United States is a topic of contention, as the problem is
prevalent, but the solutions are scarce and not always successful. The American public school
system has a historical disparity in academic performance that has become a natural phenomenon
(Noguera, 2009), which has not ameliorated the deficit in the American school system but,
rather, further singled out the disadvantage of students of color. The purpose of this study was to
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 23
identify practices that enhance learning in one urban nontraditional school by taking a closer
look at the achievement gap and educational deficits students in urban schools face.
Statement of the Problem
Many urban schools do not meet students’ academic needs. In an effort to close the
achievement gap between socio-economically disadvantaged students and their peers, there are
some outperforming nontraditional schools that meet their students’ academic needs through
instructional, leadership, and cultural practices. More needs to be learned about what is done in
these outperforming nontraditional urban schools to close the achievement gap for all students,
especially historically underserved minority students.
Background
The following section reviews the historical events that affected the disparity in education
for students of color. According to the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, the
American public school system had to change in order to minimize the inequalities of resources
for students of color (Cross, 2004). Historically, students of color and minorities continue to be
underserved because resource allocation in urban schools is not equal to that of schools in more
affluent neighborhoods.
Historical Perspective
The responsibility of American educators is to address the needs of students by providing
quality education. However, quality education is not a one-solution-fits-all. The current
American school system does not fully serve the needs of all students. While most American
citizens can take pride in the success set forth by historically accomplished colleges and schools,
the problem remains in our society’s educational foundation in that it does not fully serve all
students’ needs (National Commission of Excellence on Education, 1983) even as these students
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 24
continue to evolve in terms of the demands in the classroom. Consequently, the achievement gap
has been the drive for many educational leaders to put forth policies to address, and potentially
close, the achievement gap.
One of the most recent educational policies enacted to address the achievement gap is the
NCLB, which was aimed at using high-stakes testing to hold educational entities accountable for
student performance (Menken, 2009). In addition to the effort presented by NCLB, another
education reform created to address the deficit in the American public school system by
President Obama’s administration was Race to the Top (2009), which encouraged state-level
policy aligned with states creating objectives to prepare students to be college ready, teachers to
be held accountable according to their level of effectiveness, and to create data systems that track
student performance (Howell, 2015). However, efforts to address the widening of the
achievement gap cannot be solely attributed to the last couple of presidencies. Secretary of
Education T. H. Bell in 1981 created the Commission on Excellence in Education to examine the
quality of education in the United States. As a result of their findings and their clear
understanding of the deficits in the American system, the report A Nation at Risk was put forth in
1983 to address the disparities in the American public school system. Recommended in the
report was creating excellence in schools and the development of people both in a personal and
professional setting (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983).
A Nation at Risk
Historically, the importance of education to society seemed to, at times, lose magnitude
when other national crises arose. In 1981, the Commission on Excellence in Education sought to
understand the lack of emphasis in schooling by leading an 18-month study to analyze the
indicators of risk in the American school system, the elements that needed to be addressed, and
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 25
proposed solutions to move the nation past the breaking point (National Commission on
Excellence in Education, 1983). The study revealed that the American population was not
globally competent because they were not trained to become globally capable. According to the
report produced by the National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983), knowledge,
learning, information, and skilled intelligence were the new raw materials that needed to be
learned to improve the chances of the nation to continue as one of the major contributors of
international commerce. The educational system of the United States needed reform to benefit
the old and young alike, as well as the affluent and the poor, in order to help move a nation
towards success (Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). A sense of awareness arose
when the commission acknowledged that individuals must possess high levels of skill, literacy
and training in essential tasks to avoid being disenfranchised from not just from industries where
competent people were needed, but also from becoming useful people to their nation.
A Nation at Risk brought light to deficits in the American school system in the early
1980s as it identified areas of concern that needed immediate attention. One of the most
prevalent areas of need identified by the Commission on Excellence in Education was the lack of
higher-order thinking and the evident deficiency in the use of technology, which directly affect
fields in health care, medical science, construction, repair, education and the military success
(Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). In addition to the study revealing a higher need
to address skills that would make the nation more globally competitive, it also pointed out that
13% of all 17-year-olds could be considered illiterate, whereas, for minority youth, the rate was
as high as 40% (Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983), which translated to more than
23 million Americans being illiterate in the areas of reading, writing, and comprehension.
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 26
A Nation at Risk (Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) aimed to provide
excellent education to all students regardless of race, class, or economic status. The promise
made by A Nation at Risk was that
All, regardless of race or class or economic status, are entitled to a fair chance and to the
tools for developing their individual powers of mind and spirit to the utmost. This
promise means that all children by virtue of their own efforts, competently guided, can
hope to attain the mature and informed judgment needed to secure gainful employment,
and to manage their own lives, thereby serving not only their own interests but also the
progress of society itself. (Commission on Excellence in Education, Pg. 17, 1983)
Excellence goes beyond the purpose of eradicating a problem for the present at hand, but
is aimed at ensuring a better future for the individual and the nation. The achievement gap started
widening as a result of a nation that placed more value on the working force and its present,
rather than on thinking skills that served its future. In response to the concerns of excellence and
the quality of the schools, as well as to their stated importance in the nation’s declining economic
and intellectual competitiveness, President Reagan appointed a National Commission on
Excellence in Education (Webb, 2006). Its report, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for
Educational Reform (1983), in strong and stirring language described as a rising tide of
mediocrity in education and declared that it would have been seen as an act of war if any
unfriendly power had imposed our education system on us. As it stands, we allowed this to
happen to our educational program. We even wasted the advances in achievement made in the
time of the Sputnik challenge. Had we not implemented educational change, society would
continue to see an influx in functionally illiterate adults, students performing significantly below
grade level and a decrease in students attending postsecondary college or vocational programs. A
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 27
Nation at Risk (1983) served as a springboard for educational leaders to understand how schools
were operated and to identify the gaps that would prevent the nation from becoming globally
competent. The common theme in the initiatives from 50 years ago and those today is that there
is an evident gap in learning that needs to be addressed (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Karhanek,
2010).
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
In an effort to continue to address the gap in student achievement for historically
underserved students, President’s Bush’s administration revamped NCLB; its aim was to ensure
student achievement through high-stakes testing and through the support for economically
disadvantaged children and ELLs (Darling-Hammond, 2006). NCLB was created after decades
of fragmented curricula, impersonal structures, segregated and unequal educational options and
the nation’s inability to respond effectively to students’ needs (Darling-Hammond, 2006). The
American public school system caters to the greater good of students who have the ability to
excel in mainstream programs, who can test proficiently, and who can seek out the best
education choices for themselves. This model does not support students with language needs or
students with specific learning disabilities. Furthermore, this comprehensive American public
school system does not benefit students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
According to Darling-Hammond (2006), NCLB sought to improve education for
economically disadvantaged students by focusing on two areas: highly qualified teachers and,
adequate yearly progress (AYP). Historically, there has been a lack of highly qualified teachers
in schools with higher need. Universities that offer teacher credentialing programs offer fast-
track teacher programs which tend to produce teachers who are very articulate on the theoretical
part of teaching but lack the teacher skills or practice to become effective. Such compromises
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 28
transfer into the American classrooms because schools with high need resort to hiring
unqualified teachers to fill positions, thus prolonging and widening the achievement gap. NCLB
sought to extend teacher quality by proposing pre-college recruitment, hiring incentives, and
bonuses based on student performance (Darling-Hammond, 2006).
One of the solutions put forth by the NLCB is for new teachers to demonstrate their
abilities during their credentialing program, instead of after. The successful completion of
teaching internships ensures the successful transition of inexperienced teachers into schools with
high need. Furthermore, the initiative to close the achievement gap among all students, but
especially those from underserved communities, has been shaped around the school’s ability to
demonstrate 100% proficiency. AYP is measured through ambitious tests and high standards,
which penalizes the diversity of student groups who do not meet the standard definition of an
American student (Darling-Hammond, 2006). AYP calculations must accurately assess the
progress of students, including students with disabilities and ELLs. According to NCLB, schools
can be categorized as “in need of improvement” if they fail to meet proficiency scores for all
students, including subgroups (Darling-Hammond, 2006). In the desire to equalize education for
all, NCLB failed to acknowledge that high-poverty schools often need more resources to address
the needs of their underserved students.
NCLB could not close the achievement gap because it did not take into account the vast
majority of needs prevalent in American schools. As it is true that the NCLB attempted to close
the gap for students with disabilities, ELs, and economically disadvantaged schools, it failed to
provide the resources for schools that demonstrate a higher need to address those gaps. Instead of
providing tools and resources to help economically disadvantaged schools, NCLB penalizes their
diversity and need.
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 29

Race to the Top
“The race starts today” was the mantra President Barack Obama used to spark a
competitive interest to help schools create innovative conditions to improve districts’ educational
outcomes. Race to the Top was funded by the Obama administration with a $4.35 billion
initiative to help kick-start education reform (Boser, 2012). This education reform was part of
President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). ARRA was the
initiative to try to kick-start an economic recovery through strategic investment. Race to the Top
was a way to invest in the nation’s education system and spur efforts to reform schools (Boser,
2012). President Obama wanted Race to the Top to be the driver to close the achievement gap
and to ensure more students got into college by adopting more rigorous standards and
assessments, recruiting, evaluating, and retaining highly effective teachers and principals, turning
around low-performing schools, and building data systems that measure student success (Boser,
2012). The basic principle behind Race to the Top supported the basic principle behind NCLB,
which aimed to provide accountability for student performance (Menken, 2009). Race to the Top
aimed to promote change in a holistic manner by holding teachers and administrators
accountable. Teacher retention and evaluation were identified as key contributors to student
performance, especially for schools with a high population of low-income students (Boser,
2012).
Race to the Top set forth phases to promote competition among 40 states and the District
of Columbia (Boser, 2012). The winners of both phases started to quickly fund programs that
met the criteria they set forth to improve student performance, like training a team of teachers
and principals on the Common Core, a set of new and more rigorous nationally benchmarked
academic standards. Race to the Top was not completely successful as every state delayed some
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 30
part of its grant implementation, and some observers worried about a lack of capacity. Some
states will likely not accomplish all goals outlined in their grants, and states must do far more to
improve communications with stakeholders (Boser, 2012). Race to the Top was just one of the
initiatives to help revamp the nation’s educational system by helping schools and districts set
their own goals. However, the there is a much work that needs to be done to equalize the playing
field for all students, regardless of their background or socioeconomic status.
The achievement gap has been prevalent historically for minority students and students
of color. The aforementioned historical initiatives summarize the reform initiatives that did not
close the achievement gap for all students, but, rather, initiatives that sparked interest for some
stakeholders. As time progresses and reforms adapt, it is clear that students’ needs also evolve. In
an effort to make students more globally competent, reforms must look at the individual needs of
all stakeholders. In order to aid the achievement gap, much more research needs to be done in
order to address the problem and identify solutions.
Urban Schools
The portrait of urban schools and districts is painted with very different strokes. Students
of districts in high-poverty areas, along with minority students, tend to attend schools
characterized by high rates of poverty. Overall, 64% of students in central cities are minority,
thus qualifying their schools as urban (Jacob, 2013). Minority students in urban areas are more
prone to earn lower scores on standardized achievement exams than their suburban counterparts
(Jacob, 2013). One of the problems of urban districts is their contribution to the perpetuation of
the achievement gap. Urban schools tend to serve more minority students who lack proficiency
in English, urban school students also experience higher rates of mobility with limited access to
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 31
technology or quality education for their students, and urban schools are typically sites of
transitional employment for teachers (Jacob, 2013).
Students who attend urban schools are not the recipients of quality education, which
prolongs the widening of the achievement gap. Urban students receive services that are
competitively more disadvantaged than their peers in middle and upper households (Hudly,
2013). Typically, students in urban schools receive supports to successfully meet the A-G
requirements with little to no influence on college-going culture or emphasis on professional
careers. According to the American Psychological Association (2013), much importance is given
to careers in STEM. However, mathematics classes in high-poverty high schools are twice as
likely to be taught by a teacher with a credential in a topic other than mathematics as compared
to mathematics classes in low-poverty high schools. Similarly, for science classes at high-
poverty high schools, teachers are three times as likely to be credentialed in areas other than
science as compared to those who teach science at low-poverty high schools (Wirt et al., 2004).
Urban schools continue to widen the achievement gap for minority students because they
receive inadequate funding (Darling-Hammond, 2007). In high-income communities, more
money is invested in schools, and students have more choice classes that spike their interest in
professional careers. On the contrary, in “high-minority” schools, fewer dollars are allocated to
students, which can be coupled with fewer resources. The funding disparity is evident as the
wealthiest 10% of school districts in the United States spend nearly 10 times more than the
poorest 10%, and spending ratios of 3 to 1 are common within states (Educational Testing
Service [ETS], 1991). Educators in urban schools have no effect in the financial allocation given
to their sites. Teachers have to allow their creative intellects to become resourceful enough to the
point where they can poorly mimic the same instructional opportunities wealthier students have.
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 32
President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address reflected a failed attempt to close the
achievement gap for students enrolled in urban schools. President Obama provided evidence that
high-quality education begins early in school, but the funding provided to try to equalize
education did not match his message (Hudly, 2013).
It is imperative to address the challenges prevalent in urban schools to decrease the
achievement gap for socially and economically disadvantaged students. Socio-demographics are
not, in themselves, the sole challenges for urban schools, but they do attest to the prevalent
segregation and poverty of minority students (Ahram & Stembridge, 2011). These challenges
affect student achievement, thus extending their underperformance, leader capacity, limited
teacher retention, and low expectations for students from urban schools (Ahram & Stembridge,
2011).
Efforts to Address the Problem
Educators have historically implemented innovations to address the widening of the
achievement gap. This section outlines the solutions and innovations that have been nationally
attempted in the process of closing the achievement gap. Nontraditional schools and other types
of alternative education paths have been offered to low-income students to address their
historically underserved educational experience (Stetson, 2013). National initiatives like those
presented in A Nation at Risk, NCLB, and Race to the Top aimed to address the educational
deficit in the United States, where education is not equal to all students. New educational
platforms were created to provide learning opportunities for students in urban schools. New
accountability systems were also created to ensure funding is adequate for all schools in addition
to creating evaluation systems to address educators’ performance. Nontraditional schools allow
districts officials, site administrators and teachers to be attentive and listen to student needs
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 33
beyond academic expectations (Seaton & Dell’Angelo, 2007), thus taking steps to closing the
achievement gap.
Nontraditional Schools
American school systems perpetuate the achievement gap for low-income students, thus
allowing other educational platforms to take place. The launch of charter schools movement in
1991 galvanized various political parties in an effort to restructure public education, which was
one of the latest in a series of reforms in the 1980s (Wohlstetter, 2013). The basic concept behind
charter schools, as a nontraditional educational entity, is the decision-making that is
decentralized to school sites and school communities to make better decisions which directly
affect the outcome of the school program (Wohlstetter, 2013). The charter school movement
started in 1992 in Minnesota (Clark et al., 2015) with the initial movement to improve public
education in America (Finn, 2014).
The first charter school opened its doors in Minnesota in 1992. The number of states
permitting charter schools grew rapidly during the 1990s, as did the number of charter schools
and students enrolled. The growth in the number of charter schools and the number of students
they enrolled continued to increase in the 2000s, despite the fact that only four new states passed
authorizing legislation between 1999 and 2003 and none did so between 2004 and 2009. Charter
schools continued to grow since 2009, perhaps due, in part, to recent federal initiatives such as
Race to the Top Fund.
The charter school community emphasizes the active participation of parents and teachers
in planning educational policies (Finn, 2014). Charter schools, as a form of nontraditional
schools, became the current effort to reform public education in the United States (Clark et al.,
2015). These types of schools are publicly financed, yet they are free from many regulations that
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 34
include staffing, curriculum, and budget decisions (Clark et al., 2015). The idea of reforming
education led to the implementation of 6,400 charter schools serving about 2.5 million students
in 40 states and the District of Columbia. These numbers reflect rapid growth in the charter
school sector in recent years; for example, there were just 2,800 charter schools serving 0.7
million students as of 2003. These types of nontraditional institutions have a main goal of
decreasing the achievement gap for non-privileged students. Charter laws have an array of goals
that help them decrease the achievement gap because they constantly try to increase
opportunities for teachers, innovations for school and student performance, and increase school
autonomy and accountability (Wohlstetter, 2013).
The Success of Charters
Charter schools, as outperforming nontraditional schools, depend greatly on student
achievement, as does every other educational institution as mandated by NCLB (Wohlstetter,
2013). Another national initiative that emphasizes an increase in student achievement is Race to
the Top, which requires state accountability for student performance. Charter schools are not
exempt from this expectation, and, due to their ability to directly affect the decision-making
process at a site level, several nontraditional institutions proved successful. One outperforming
nontraditional urban school in California is Stockton Collegiate International Secondary, ranked
second in California. All students at this school participate in the International Baccalaureate
Program. The student body makeup is 47% male and 53% female, and the total minority
enrollment is 82%. Stockton Collegiate International Secondary has outperforming test scores, a
positive school culture, and leaders who are empowered and knowledgeable of research
methodology (U.S. News and World Report, 2015). In addition, University Preparatory
Academy Charter is another outperforming nontraditional urban school; it is ranked fourth in
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 35
California. Its students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement coursework and exams,
and all students do so. Charter schools have the autonomy to draft how their programs will
directly affect student performance. However, the one variation for their success their finances.
Adequate Funding
Educational institutions have lacked adequate funding for extended periods of time,
especially schools labeled urban. Urban communities tend to be the largest contributors to the
achievement gap between poor minority children and their more affluent classmates. Darling-
Hammond (2007) argued that the United States lags behind in quality of educational
opportunities for minority children. One national initiative to try to provide adequate funding for
urban schools is the LCFF:
The local control funding formula (LCFF) was enacted in 2013–14, and it replaced the
previous kindergarten through grade 12 (K–12) finance system which had been in
existence for roughly 40 years. For school districts and charter schools, the LCFF
establishes base, supplemental, and concentration grants in place of the myriad of
previously existing K–12 funding streams, including revenue limits, general purpose
block grants, and most of the 50-plus state categorical programs that existed at the
time. For county offices of education (COEs), the LCFF establishes separate funding
streams for oversight activities and instructional programs.
Original estimates provided by the Department of Finance (DOF) in 2013-14 indicated
there would be an additional state cost of approximately $18 billion, which included
$58 million for COEs. DOF estimated it would take eight years to fully phase in the
new funding formula for school districts and charter schools, and it would take two
years to fully phase in the new formula for COEs (CDE, 2015).
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 36
Historical disparity widened the achievement gap for students from low socioeconomic
backgrounds. This lack of funding has a direct impact on the high school completion rate.
Minority students graduate high school with only 13.6% higher than Blacks by 7.3% and Whites
by 5% (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). In addition, according to the California
Department of Education, the class of 2012-2013 showed a dropout rate of 21.6% for ELLs
students in comparison to all groups (CDE, 2014).
The literature presented in this chapter addressed national initiatives instituted to try to
increase students’ academic performance. These initiatives encompassed instructions, finances,
and accountability to promote a decrease in the achievement gap. Some nontraditional
institutions, charter schools, proved successful because of their autonomy in decision-making
and the involvement of stakeholders. However, there is more to be learned about nontraditional
outperforming urban schools.
Conceptual Framework
After examining the literature, there three focus areas were identified as possible factors
of a successful nontraditional school. Figure 1 represents the conceptual framework used in this
study. It is not certain whether the arrows are bidirectional, inwards, or outwards.
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 37

Figure 1. Conceptual framework

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 38
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
The goal of ensuring quality education for all children is challenged by the everyday
challenges of narrowing the achievement gap. Lee (2005) argued that the urban environment of
schools in the 21st century often challenges the mission of ensuring educational success for all
children. The intent of this study was to understand the factors that allow outperforming
nontraditional urban schools to narrow the achievement gap and meet the needs of minority
students. Specifically, the study investigated the links between instructional, leadership, and
cultural practices as tools to narrow the achievement gap at an outperforming nontraditional
urban school.
Research Questions
This study aimed to identify and gain an understanding of the role of school instruction,
school leadership and school culture at an outperforming nontraditional urban school. The three
areas of focus were decided upon based on research-based key characteristics of outperforming
nontraditional urban schools found through the literature review. The data collection instruments
were developed to collect data on three variables: instruction, leadership, and culture. The
thematic group collaborated to develop tools to ensure the information collection processes were
identical. Therefore, this study is one of five studies of the same kind that contributed to the pool
of knowledge as well as identified individual practices at each researcher’s school of choice. The
following research questions were identified and investigated as means of illustrating traits that
pertain to an outperforming nontraditional urban school:
1. What instructional practices exist in outperforming nontraditional urban schools?
2. What leadership practices exist in outperforming nontraditional urban schools that
address the achievement gap?
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 39
3. What is the school culture in outperforming nontraditional urban schools?
Design Summary
This is an in-depth description and analysis of one particular phenomenon: outperforming
nontraditional urban schools. The data and analysis were gathered and presented in the form of a
case study. The case study format reveals specific information about the phenomenon and what it
might represent (Merriam, 2009). As such, the researcher aimed to uncover the interaction of
significant factors to provide a holistic description and explanation (Merriam, 2009). In this
particular case study, the researcher analyzed and gathered data specific to the culture,
leadership, and instruction of the school where the study was performed.
This case study used a qualitative approach. Qualitative studies do not begin from a
predetermined starting point or proceed through a fixed sequence of steps (Maxwell, 2013).
Qualitative studies involve interconnection and interaction among the different design
components (Maxwell, 2013). This case study followed the criteria of a qualitative study, as
presented by Maxwell (2013) in Qualitative Research Design: goals, conceptual framework,
research questions, methods, and validity. According to Maxwell, these components are directly
and bidirectionally related, as research questions are the link between the halves of the model.
The variation and complexities of analyzing data that resulted from interviews, observations,
school meetings, and surveys allowed for the mixed-method approach. In addition to interactions
between the researcher and the school’s personnel, state reporting documents were used to
identify more information about the school. In order to conduct a valid study, Creswell’s (2008)
six steps for conducting a research study were used to design the data protocols:
1. Identifying a research problem
2. Reviewing the literature
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 40
3. Specifying a purpose for research
4. Collecting data
5. Analyzing and interpreting the data
6. Reporting and evaluating research
Triangulation ensured validation of the data. Triangulation is a mixed-methods approach
that facilitates validation of data through cross verification from literature, surveys, document
review, and interviews (Maxwell, 2013). Patton (2002) argued that triangulation assumes that no
individual method can adequately provide the answer to complex problems. This mixed-methods
approach has been used to maximize the strength of quantitative research in providing
descriptive information from a larger population coupled with the strength of qualitative research
in providing an in-depth exploration of the underlying meanings that participants give to the data
(Creswell, 2008).
Participants and Setting
The researcher selected an outperforming nontraditional urban school that met the
criteria. The participants in this study were teachers, site administrators, counselors and support
staff at the identified school. The participants in this study participated in observations,
interviews, and surveys that contributed to the three pre-identified factors that make the selected
high school an outperforming school. The high school selected for this study met the criteria of
an outperforming nontraditional urban school.
The use of different data collection instruments in a qualitative mixed-methods study
helped the researcher interpret the respondents’ experiences and make meaning of how they
constructed their views of their world (Merriam, 2009). The participants’ world is their natural
setting, which, for educators, is their classrooms, as opposed to the office for school
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 41
administrators. The interviews were conducted in person, which enabled the researcher to make
assertions that could not have been made through surveys or document reviews.
The criteria used to determine the selected school were based on four key elements
(LeCompte, Preissle, & Tesch, 1993). These criteria were based on the umbrella research theme
of the thematic dissertation group that the doctoral students belonged to. The basic requirements
for the selection of the school needed to be as follows: (1) California high school, (2)
outperforming, (3) nontraditional, and (4) urban.
Outperforming Elements
The school is above the state average on the following categories:
a. High school completion rate
b. Annual Performance Index
c. California State High School Exit Exam
d. Advance Placement courses: number of students taking the test and passing
e. A-G completion
Nontraditional Elements
The school meets one of the following criteria:
a. Charter
b. International Baccalaureate
c. Specialized programs such as Math, Science, Arts, etc.
d. Private School
e. Magnet

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 42
Urban Elements
The school meets the following criteria: (each element needs to be confirmed by U.S. News and
World Reports)

a. Setting: large suburb or large city
b. Serves over 50% minority students
c. Serves over 50% economically disadvantaged students
d. Significant presence of diverse learners
The criterion above was useful in the case study because the demographics pertain to
outperforming nontraditional urban schools in California.
The high school selected for this case study met the aforementioned criterion researched
by all doctoral students in the outperforming nontraditional urban schools thematic group. This
study used a pseudonym in lieu of the school’s name for privacy reasons. Bay High School is a
College Prep Charter High School that is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and
Colleges, honored as a California Distinguished school in 2007, and ranked the number one
Charter High School in California in 2013 by the USC Performance Dashboard. Bay High
School has a weighted 3-year average API score of 852, which is higher than the district average
API score of 750. Based on student performance on state exit exams and internationally available
exams on college-level coursework, proficiency in reading is at 81 percent and proficiency in
math is at 85 percent. Both of these proficiency scores are higher than the district averages of
reading at 40 percent and math at 46 percent. The student body makeup is 56 percent male and
44 percent female, and it is a Title 1 school with a total minority enrollment of 52.5 percent.
Fifty percent of the student body are a part of the Federal Free/Reduced lunch program. Bay
High school is located in Los Angeles County, near Los Angeles City and part of a unified
school district with over 200,000 students. The school serves 399 students representing over a
dozen different ethnicities. Students who attend Bay High School are either part of the city or
come from neighboring districts. This high school has a graduation rate of 96 percent. Fifty eight
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 43
percent of students who graduate from Bay High School will be the first in their families to
attend college.
Bay High School’s mission is to be a diverse community of active learners dedicated to
fusing the traditional academic subjects with real-world technical applications and problem
solving skills. Students are productive, self-directed learners, engaged in rigorous, relevant work.
Bay High School prepares students to be motivated, influential leaders committed to the
challenge of connecting their community to the larger society. Bay High School has expected
schoolwide learning results focused on collaboration, technology, communication, and
community.
Bay High School is a small learning community in which teachers incorporate technology
into the classroom. They are focused on teaching to individual learning styles. Students receive
a rigorous college–bound curriculum and must meet or exceed the A-G requirements for
entrance into the University of California as their high school graduation requirements. The
implementation of STEM studies (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), as well
as, humanities courses is strong to support student interest. Project Based Learning is also
implemented in the curriculum. Uniquely, each student must complete an internship during the
senior year. This is completed through relationships with business partners. Students benefit
from internships and gain valuable professional feedback working and learning on-site at
businesses, schools, nonprofit organizations and professional associations. Bay High School
offers advanced courses, honors classes, and elective courses.
Purposeful sampling was used to identify a high school that fit the criteria. Cases for
study (e.g., people, organizations, communities, cultures, events, critical incidents) are selected
because they offer useful manifestations of the phenomenon of interest (Patton, 2002).
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 44

Study Design
This study required access to the school of choice and to its constituents. The gatekeepers
of the school, those who provide information, were key stakeholders in ensuring information was
accessed (Creswell, 2013). Bogdan and Biklen (2003) recommended communicating one’s
research interests overtly and seeking the permission of one’s research subjects. Obtaining access
to the school chosen by the researcher was challenging because the researcher did not have any
formal relationships with the staff. To begin the process of gaining access to Bay High School,
the researcher contacted the principal via email. It was explained to the principal that the
researcher needed his approval to conduct a pilot study for a doctoral program at the University
of Southern California. In the email, the basic needs of the research were provided: access to the
site, permission to interview faculty and staff, and to observe the dynamics of all stakeholders.
After some back and forth communication with the principal and once the researcher was granted
access, the identified participants were e-mailed and communicated the same information already
communicated to the principal. The participants were informed that the case study was going to
help identify what makes their school an outperforming nontraditional urban school using the
three frames: instruction, leadership, and culture. Once their approval was obtained, interviews,
surveys, and observations were conducted using the data collection tools.
The selected participants were willing to help the researcher conduct the study. Prior to
proceeding with any of the surveys, interviews or observations, participants signed a consent
form. The interview component of the research process was used to supplement and extend
knowledge on how the outperforming nontraditional urban high school setting addresses
decreasing the achievement gap. Maxwell (2013) contended that interview questions provide
insight into the participants’ personal experience, which cannot otherwise be obtained. The
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 45
observations provided more understanding of the participants’ environment and unspoken
thoughts.
The survey and interview questions provided an accurate means to identify information
regarding how the stakeholders perceive to be the reason behind their success in instruction,
leadership, and culture. This case study used guided interviews (Patton, 2002) to interview the
teachers, administrators, counselors, and office personnel. Each of these participants provided
their perspective on the attributions of the school’s success. In order to maintain high validity,
from the teachers who indicated on the survey that they were interested in participating in an
interview, a mix of teachers were chosen who had at least three years of teaching experience and
those who had taught less than ten years to represent a cross section of the faculty (Maxwell,
2013).
This case study also reviewed documents that provided a detailed insight of the
accountability systems of the school. These documents offered a wealth of academic data as well
as programs and initiatives the school had in place. Interviews provided qualitative data because
the participants talked about their experiences. The questions used in the interviews were written
to lead the participant into identifying the successful practices of the school and their perception
of how those practices support its continuous success.
Protocols
For this pilot study, the researcher selected open-ended methods. Patton (2002)
maintained that, when limited time is available, an open-ended interview protocol helps ensure
the allotted time is used effectively. There exist three main types of open-ended, qualitative
interview protocols: the informal, conversational method; the interview guide method; and the
standardized, open-ended method (Patton, 2002). Through the interview questions, the researcher
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 46
did not have predetermined probes. The researcher listened to the responses to determine what
probes might be needed and where to insert them. Because the same questions were asked of
each participant in the same order, data analysis was easier.
This is an important consideration when conducting a pilot study within a very limited
time period. The interview protocol stated the research questions on the first page to facilitate
focus on collecting the data needed to answer those questions. The observation protocol also
included embedded elements to maintain focus.
The cover page also included identifying elements to help catalog the data and retrieve it
later, such as participant name, time of observation, and subject area. A section devoted to
summarizing the lesson provides an area in which to write a concise synopsis of the activities
that occurred to help place that observation in context as compared with others.
As a novice observer for research purposes, the researcher attempted to observe items
stressed by Merriam (2009) including the physical setting, staff activities, interactions, and
communication. On the additional pages of the observation data-recording instrument, ample
room was allowed for noting observed behaviors and interactions.

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 47
Data Collection Approach
The researcher interviewed the three participants in this pilot study in their office or
school location. Since qualitative researchers attempt to study participants in their natural setting,
the school site seemed to be the most logical site for gathering these data (Merriam, 2009). It was
determined that, in their work setting, the staff could view their familiar environment as
questions were asked, all of which could add to the richness of the data recorded before
beginning each interview. The researcher took notes on a computer throughout the interview.
During the course of each interview, a deliberate attempt was made to provide non-verbal
reinforcement for participants through the use of nodding, leaning forward, and frequent eye
contact, as recommended by Bogdan and Biklen (2007).
Observational data were recorded using both a computer and the camera on a cell phone.
The camera was utilized to take videos of each office, including the position from which the
researcher would be observing. Observation data were converted from recording form to a
fillable portable document format to facilitate capturing data quickly on the researcher’s
computer. The form included areas in which to note the time, activities, and occasional observer
comments. During each observation, the researcher circulated throughout the facility three to
four times to be able to view the site more closely and from different perspectives. The goal was
to gain a better understanding of the activities occurring without moving about so frequently a
disruption was caused to the students’ learning (Merriam, 2009). The researcher worked
diligently on being objective in observation field notes rather than making assumptions, as
recommended by Bogdan and Biklen (2007).

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 48
Ethical Considerations
The study proposal was submitted to and approved by the Institutional Review Board at
the University of Southern California. There was written consent from the school district in
which Bay High School was located. These consent forms ensured all parties involved were
interviewed and questioned voluntarily. This included the teachers, site administrators, and
district administrators. The names of all respondents were changed and their identities were not
disclosed. All respondents were asked for permission to digitally record, and the recorder was
left out in plain sight. The transcribed interviews were stored in a secure place and were
scheduled to be destroyed in 2018.

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 49
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
Nontraditional schools, like charters, were created as part of the public education system
without the rules and regulations that govern and constrain district-run public schools
(Wohlstetter, Smith, & Farrell, 2013). The intention behind this type of nontraditional school
was to try to diversify the different types of providers of public education, to encourage and
incubate innovations with regard to educational programs, school governance, staffing, and
budgeting and to improve student achievement. In addition, charters were expected to broaden
public school choice and to serve as models for improving teaching and learning in district-run
public schools (Wohlstetter, Smith, & Farrell, 2013).
Charters have more freedom to plan and re-allocate their resources according to the
charter petition submitted to the state, thus allowing them to put more effort towards closing the
achievement gap for their students. Charters, as the focus of a nontraditional school, create
organizational practices that, at times, prove to move students closer towards the achievement
gap. The purpose of the study was to identify organizational practices that narrow the
achievement gap at an outperforming nontraditional urban schools sustaining success with
minority students over time.
The first three chapters of this dissertation addressed the identified problem and the
significance of the study, a review of the literature related to the problem, and the methodology
and design used to study the selected school site. This chapter discusses the findings from the
case study of Bay High School and will provide an in-depth analysis of the findings for each
research question as well as provide a discussion of the emerging themes.
The focus on instructional, leadership, and cultural practices brought light upon
understanding and identifying key practices that moved students towards mastery at Bay High
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 50
School. This chapter highlights findings that support the emerging themes from the literature,
observations, and surveys.
Research Questions
The research questions for this case study were determined by a five-member thematic
group in an effort to identify themes that contribute to the success of outperforming
nontraditional urban schools. The thematic dissertation team met and collaborated over the
course of a year to develop three research questions that would result in identifying leadership,
instructional, and cultural practices in outperforming nontraditional urban schools. Findings for
this case study were reported in order by the following research questions:
1. What instructional practices exist in outperforming nontraditional urban schools?
2. What leadership practices exist in outperforming nontraditional urban schools that
address the achievement gap?
3. What is the school culture in outperforming nontraditional urban schools?
Methodology
The research for this case study took place at Bay High School over a period of 2 months,
which included 5 days on site. In order to perform the observations, surveys, and interviews, the
researcher had to gain access to the school and its constituents. The data collection process
included a document review of the school’s WASC report, the school’s most recent School
Accountability Report Card (SARC), LAUSD’s Oversight Report visit of 2015-2016, Bay High
School’s Parent-Student Handbook, and their Faculty Handbook. For the purpose of this study,
all data were gathered solely in a qualitative manner. Therefore, the study followed three main
types of open-ended, qualitative interview protocols: the informal conversational method, the
interview guide method, and the standardized open-ended method (Patton, 2002). For this pilot
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 51
study, the researcher selected the open-ended method because it maintained that, when time is
limited, an open-ended interview protocol can help ensure the allotted time is used effectively.
According to Maxwell (2013), all of the components in the data collection process can aid the
researcher in answering the research questions effectively. The data collected were studied and
interpreted using Creswell’s (2009) six steps for data analysis and interpretation. In addition,
data were triangulated to ensure consistency, to highlight emerging themes and to ensure data
validity and reliability (Creswell, 2009).
Once the document review was complete, the school visit took place. The first step for
the researcher was to complete site observations and interviews. The researcher interviewed
seven staff members: two administrators and five teachers. Surveys were distributed to 11 faculty
members, a portion of the 14 total faculty members. In addition, the researcher visited the school
site for five consecutive days: two full days and three half days. During each visit, the researcher
gained deeper understanding of the school dynamics, culture, and climate. This chapter includes
the discussion of the results of the interviews, observations, and surveys under the lens of each of
the research questions guiding this case study. As a result of the data collected from the formal
and informal observations, the scheduled interviews, and the completed surveys, the researcher
obtained enough data for triangulation and validation of the case study findings.
Background of Bay High School
At the time of this study, Bay High School was a college preparatory charter high school
in the Los Angeles County. It was originally conceived as a model school for the 21st century in
partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school first opened its doors in
temporary quarters, at one of LAUSD’s public schools in 2002-2003. In July of 2008, it became
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 52
an independent charter school that housed 370 students in grades nine through twelve with 83
graduating seniors.
Bay High School’s mission was to provide a diverse community of active learners
dedicated to fusing the traditional academic subjects with real world, technical applications and
problem solving skills. It sought to prepare students to be motivated, influential leaders
committed to the challenge of connecting their community to the larger society. In addition to
their mission which aimed to provide educational opportunities connected to real world
applications, Bay High School also enhanced project based learning by ensuring its students
complete a Presentation of Learning (POL) each semester to exhibit academic mastery. At the
time of this study, the school enrolled 399 students: 133 females, 266 males, which equals 56%
male and 44% female.
In order to offer quality, college-based education, the school offered an array of core
courses that students were to complete before graduation: eight semesters of English, 8 semesters
of social studies, 8 semesters of mathematics, 8 semesters of science, 4 semesters of foreign
language, 2 semesters visuals and performing arts, 4 years of TPOLs, and 1 semester of
internship in addition to completing all state assessments.
Gaining Entry
As part of the beginning steps of collecting data, the researcher contacted a different site
that had met the criteria. The researcher was successful at contacting the principal of the first site
to schedule time to visit to discuss the guidelines of the visit. After several attempts to confirm
the schedule, neither the principal nor the office assistant returned any of the phone calls. The
researcher came across a newspaper article that exposed the reason for the lack of response,
which was linked back to the school facing legal problems with the Los Angeles Unified School
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 53
District on account of fiscal mismanagement and misappropriation of public funds. After losing
access to the initial site, the researcher identified another nontraditional outperforming urban
school that would fit the criteria according to the guidelines set forth in Chapter Three. After
investing time in researching schools within Los Angeles County, the researcher found Bay High
School fit the criteria, thus contacting the school’s principal via email introducing herself and the
purpose of the study. The researcher scheduled time for a visit on November 17, 2016, at 2:00pm
to formally introduce herself, the proposed case study, and to go over the expectations or
required data collection elements to carry out the study at Bay High School. After the initial
meeting, the school principal and the researcher agreed that the data collection week would take
place from November 28th to December 2nd, 2016. The principal allowed the researcher to start
the observation protocol at a professional development meeting on November 28th, 2016 at
8:00am.
First Visitation at the School
The researcher accessed the school on the morning of November 28, 2016, at 7:45am.
The school is one of seven in a co-location with LAUSD; however, the school is not under a
Prop 39 contract with LAUSD as it has its own building. As the researcher entered the building,
she was greeted by the office manager who was professionally dressed. The main office of the
school felt open and organized. The name of the school was displayed with pride and the vision
and the mission of the school was to the right of the entrance. The counter was clean and held
information that was pertinent to current and prospective families. There were business cards
visible for each of the school administrators. The researcher had to sign in and was greeted
kindly by the principal, who invited her to her office.
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 54
As she placed her belongings down and grabbed her computer, the principal directed the
researcher to the Oval Room, a room that has 20 comfortable chairs placed at a round table. In
the center of the table, there were four television screens which the faculty often use to display
from their computer devices. Around the room, the researcher noticed the school’s vision and
mission posted on the wall along with the trajectory of the school, in addition to the core values
of the school: collaboration, communication, community, and technology with a brief description
of each of the core values. The Oval Room also had pictures of students, which reflected the
school’s practice of including students in every decision-making process.
Once in the conference room, the researcher was asked to sit to the left of the principal,
who made a quick, but warm, introduction to everyone else in the room. In the room, there were
14 teachers, two counselors, and one assistant principal. The agenda was set and the meeting was
initiated by the principal. The principal went over the calendar for the upcoming two weeks and
ensured everyone knew of all the meetings and important events. After reviewing the calendar,
the teachers proceeded to discuss the week’s event, in which everyone seemed very invested.
The staff also took time to talk about students and their challenges with a solutions oriented
mindset. At the end of the 30-minute meeting, a couple of teachers stayed behind to ask
clarifying questions to the principal, counselor, and assistant principal. The researcher observed a
deep sense of collegiality due to the fact that the administrators and teachers were talking about
school related business with a sense of open discussion and compromise.
After the morning professional development session, the principal and the researcher
went back to the principal’s office where the researcher received the master schedule and the
map of the school. The principal extended the invitation to the researcher to visit any classroom
as needed for the duration of the week. The researcher scheduled an interview with the principal
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 55
as part of her purposeful data collection process and proceeded to visit the first classroom. The
researcher gathered her observation materials and electronic devices and proceeded to visit
classrooms. As the researcher stepped inside of the first classroom, neither the teacher or
students were bothered by the researcher’s presence. The classroom was named the “big room”
and was a multi-purpose room with a smart board and six rows of tables. The classroom space,
within the big room, accommodated 30 students. Each student had a tablet, a notebook, and a
writing utensil as they actively listened to the teacher. The teacher went over the structure of an
essay, explaining the basic concept and pausing to check for understanding. The researcher took
notes on what was observed. After 30 minutes, the researcher proceeded to visit another
classroom. The following classroom was loyal to the design of the school. The space was
conducive to learning, with big windows to allow for natural light, and the mission and vision
posted on the wall. All of the classrooms were equipped with smartboards, one-to-one
technology for students, textbooks, and student work displayed on the walls. All of the
classrooms visited by the researcher on the first day followed the same pattern.
The design of the school was an effort of the school principal and the engineers. The
school principal had a vision for the school, she wanted big windows, natural light, and a flow.
She envisioned a school where everyone felt included and where supervision was not needed
because students were always being observed. The principal stated to the researcher during the
initial interview that she wanted a school that did not feel like a traditional school, “we wanted it
very open, very simple, the idea was for the kids not get lost in the cracks.” The school was
clearly what the principal envisioned. The map of the school site demonstrated a layout that was
all encompassing, with all the classrooms included in the design, a flow that allowed for classes
to continue taking place even in the event the LAUSD site entering into lockdown mode. All of
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 56
the classrooms had big windows, a place where everyone was seen. The researcher ended the
first day at the site after having visited four classrooms and after being part of the professional
development meeting in the morning.
Findings for Research Question One
The first research question asked, “What instructional practices exist in outperforming
nontraditional urban schools?” Bay High School was recognized by WASC for its instructional
index. In 2000, it was honored as a California Distinguished High School and performed at the
highest level based on the USC School Performance Dashboard administered in 2013. The
researcher, in an effort to identify the types of instructional practices existing at Bay High
School, gathered data to identify them. The data were triangulated to ensure validity of findings.
The emerging themes from coding the observations, surveys, and interviews showed a strong
correlation between freedom of instructional curriculum and outperforming scores on state
testing. Bay High School faculty had the freedom to deliver instruction based on personalized
design as long as they followed the state standards and were approved by the principal. One of
the founding teachers, who had worked at Bay High School for seven years stated, “I love this
place! I love Common Core! I can teach what works for the students and what they love. It yields
good results too. We have 89% of students at grade level for the SBAC test.” The freedom in
designing and delivering instruction was evident through all of the surveys handed out to
teachers and during the interviews. An example of this was when the researcher interviewed a
new teacher at Bay High School about the instructional practices and the support given to her in
order to provide quality instruction, “How are teachers supported with the implementation of
instructional practices?” At first, she hesitated to remember and mumbled, “I don’t know.”
However, she thought about it for a second and said,
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 57
I am still new and learning. I really like that they support anything I want to teach or buy
anything I think I need to make learning happen. I used to work at another school, and we
didn’t have this much support and freedom in the classroom. Plus, it is great here because
students just know what is expected.
In addition to both of those responses, there were 11 instances during other interviews
where teachers alluded to the instructional freedom given to teachers. In addition, both
administrators spoke directly about their trust in the faculty as educators at Bay High School.
In addition to its approach to freedom in instructional design, Bay High School also
implemented a system of student accountability called POL, where students had the opportunity
to practice and present a standard they mastered during their academic year to a panel of three
staff members: two administrators and one teacher. According to the surveys and interviews, the
POLs were embedded and redefined since Bay High School first opened its doors in 2007 to the
first incoming class of 9th graders. From the interviews, the researcher concluded that students
spend almost the entire academic year, beginning in early fall, preparing for their POL
presentation. Students are scheduled for two presentation dates; fall is the practice POL, where
the faculty gives students constructive feedback on their initial presentation draft. During Spring,
students have to present their formal and final POL. Based on their performance, students are
reviewed and their mastery is assessed, thus giving them the “OK” to move on to the next grade
level. According to one of the interviews, the interviewee stated,
POLs are kind of a big deal here. Students spend the entire year preparing, some of which
we know will pass it successfully. Some others we have to push and push until they make
it through, and some others just don’t show up, but those students soon learn that that is
not how we do things around here because they are retained. And those students that are
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 58
retained typically don’t survive here at Bay High School, which is the reason why we
struggle so much in keeping certain demographics enrolled.
Under Research Question One the sub-question asked, “How do you provide systematic
support for students in their transition to this school and postsecondary schools?” The teaching
staff and administrators strongly believed that POLs were a great way to assess their present
instruction and assess their students’ background knowledge while giving the students the skills
of presenting to panels, thus increasing their opportunities to excel in public speaking and
gaining confidence about their skills. During an interview, the assistant principal recognized that
POLs are still a work in progress,
We have come a long way with our POLs. I love the idea of having these presentations,
they validate who we are and what we do at Bay High School. They have not always
been this great, but we are changing them to get better and better every year.
The survey results also exemplified that students were successfully provided with systematic
supports to help them transition in and out of high school successfully.
The graph below shows that the average mean for instructional practices supporting
student development ranked as a 4 on a scale of 0 to 4. Based on the survey, the interviews, and
the observations, it was evident that Bay High School valued student achievement, and the POLs
were solid proof of their outperforming instructional design.
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 59

Figure 2. Average mean for instructional practices
Another key asset found to contribute to the instructional success of this outperforming
nontraditional school was instructional technology support. Results from observations, surveys,
and interviews determined that Bay High School successfully implemented classroom
technology that was “useful and relevant.” According to a founding teacher, “Technology here is
great. We don’t only know how to use it, but the programs we are given are great in terms of
supporting our instruction.” Through the observations, the researcher noted each classroom
equipped with relevant technology. Each classroom had a smartboard, which all teachers used at
the time of the observations. Students also had one-to-one devices, which were utilized during
instructional and non-instructional hours. During an interview, one staff member stated,
I love the technology here. I am new and I am still learning, but they have programs to
assist students with tutoring; ALEKs. All I have to do is assign it to the students and they
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 60
can make progress on their own. It makes teacher more meaning and relevant to the
students when they can access this resources on their own time.
The teacher also mentioned a computer monitoring software, DyKnow, that aids with
their classroom management; in addition, it ensures students maximize their time while working
independently. The researcher gathered that the faculty at Bay High School successfully
implemented technology in their classrooms because they implemented it during their instruction
in a variety of ways. Some teachers used the smart boards placed in their classrooms during
instruction as a platform to display information. Other teachers engaged students back and forth
with tasks that required their individual tablets as well as the smartboard. In one photography
class, the teacher started class with a whole-group discussion of a portrait and later dismissed the
group to work on their individual work of art.
Based on the interview with the principal, the researcher gathered that technology was
one of the main components to the success of their school. Students and parents, both current and
prospective, were attracted to the use of technology. The researcher observed Showcase Night, a
night where all students must display a grade level project of their choice. Based on the
observation during one of the professional development meetings, the entire school was invested
on the success of Showcase Night. Students are judged on their projects, mastery of skills, and
the Project Based Learning Guidelines, as Bay High School successfully implemented the
Project Based Learning curriculum.
Summary of Findings for Research Question One
College readiness was key to the instructional design of the program at Bay High School.
It was evident, based on the interviews and observations, that Bay High School had a strong
academic program, which can be verified by their outperforming test scores and ranking against
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 61
other high schools in the state. Teachers and administrators were all invested in students’
educational outcomes as was evident by the instructional design of their individual courses.
Throughout the interviews, all teachers spoke about their joy in teaching lessons that are
engaging and meaningful to students. Both teachers and administrators expressed their
confidence in each other as educational leaders.
As the researcher walked through the hallways of the school site, the products of
student’s hard work were evident because a lot of their projects were displayed either in the
hallways through pictures or inside of the classrooms. The instructional design on the academic
program allows teachers to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects where students see the real
life connection to what they are learning, which it also increases the joy of the task at hand.
Through interviews, teachers also mentioned that students have freedom to select from an array
of elective classes. These classes not only increases the students’ engagement but also replicate
the college model of students having to be in charge of their own schedule. In addition,
Showcase Night was proof of the educational value placed on the student’s’ effort and autonomy
to succeed academically. Teachers at Bay High School, in conjunction with, their Project Based
Learning, have made Bay High School an outperforming school.
Findings for Research Question Two
The second research question asked, “What leadership practices exist in outperforming
nontraditional urban schools that address the achievement gap?” According to Bolman and Deal
(2008), organizations, in terms of leadership strategies, can be categorized into four different
models: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic, as noted in the figure below. Even
though administrators have to be able to operate on all four frames according to the school
setting and the dynamics of the organization, there is always one that the leader will thrive in.
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 62
The researcher observed that both administrators operated on the symbolic and human resource
frames.

Figure 3. Overview of the four-frame model (Bolman & Deal, 208)
The researcher determined their leadership model based on the interviews, observations,
and surveys at the time of the case study. According to Bolman and Deal (2008), symbolic
leaders tend to cultivate culture, meaning, to inspire, and to create with the team. In addition,
human resource leaders tend to cultivate a sense of family, relationships, and empowerment of
people in their team. The descriptions of both traits were noted by the researcher. As for the
human resource leadership style, the principal strengthened her staff by creating relationships
with her stakeholders. In her office, she had pictures of students, pictures of teachers, thank you
cards, and recognitions that can attest to her ability to develop relationships. The researcher also
noticed both of the administrators’ human resource and symbolic frames during the professional
development meeting the researcher attended. The meeting was business-oriented, the agenda
was clear, and everyone was ready to go through the calendar and to plan Showcase Night.
However, the researcher noticed a familial relationship. Teachers and administrators were
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 63
speaking candidly about other students and new projects. They were speaking without turns and
as needed. The principal confident enough to make jokes during the meeting to which the rest of
the staff joined in. The meeting was productive, goal oriented, and relaxed.
One of the emerging themes found from the coding of the interviews, observations, and
surveys was Bay High School’s teacher voice and choice. Much like the faculty’s ability to have
freedom of curriculum, the teachers and staff at this site have voice and choice, which is one key
attribute to their success according to various interviews conducted by the researcher.
One founding teacher stated, “The administrators here take the time to listen to us. They
always have an open door.” The researcher was able to observe the truth behind the “open door”
policy that was referenced nine times in the seven interviews. As the researcher met with both
the principal and the assistant principal, and both mentioned that their key to success is
communication. In their respective interviews, both administrators mentioned they always talked
to everyone. During the observations, various instances were noted of the principal talking to
several stakeholders in either scheduled or unscheduled meetings. The principal’s human
resource frame was also noticed in the regard that she answers her own phone, such action might
seem irrelevant, but the researcher noticed the principal’s willingness to be accessible.
Figure 4 below illustrates the response to sub-question two for Research Question Two.
Teachers felt that the school leadership was “always” there to connect and communicate with
them about their needs as educators. The researcher also gathered from the interviews that the
staff felt fully supported because they knew they were treated like family. The researcher fully
understood that the “familial sense” of the faculty cannot be captured in a survey, but she
observed the dynamics among all of the stakeholders, and felt confident stating Bay High
School’s staff thrived and succeeded because they fully supported each other and because they
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 64
had high trust in their administrators. This was noted in the figure below, as data pertaining to
sub-question four showed that they all had total confidence in their leaders.

Figure 4. Response to sub-question two
The principal also gained credibility as a leader because she was the founding principal.
The staff benefited from having the same leadership since the school’s inception. The principal
at Bay High School had, at the time of this study, over 20 years of experience as an educator;
having held different titles, she was highly qualified to meet the needs and demands of an urban
charter school. In the interview, she stated,
This is my baby, I have been the principal since day one, and I have enjoyed every
second of it. I am confident that, after my retirement, they will continue to thrive without
me because everyone here is great, and [the assistant principal] who will become my
successor is well loved and respected by everyone here.
Per the interview, the principal stated she would retire at the end of 2016-2017 academic year.
To further elaborate on another practice that makes Bay High School outperforming,
constant check-ins and freedom to attend professional development was key to staff success and,
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 65
subsequently, their students. Interviews with the principal and assistant principal revealed
teachers were always talking about students. The assistant principal mentioned, “the teachers
here are always talking to each other about students. They talk in between classes, their breaks,
and during lunch time. It is like this is all we do. We just talk and talk all of the time.” The
researcher experienced their constant focus on students. During the observed Showcase Night
and professional development session, teachers and administrators were constantly talking about
students in specific; students struggling academically, small battles won with students, and their
families, among other topics. It was evident that the staff was committed to students’ success,
and, consequently, the leadership practices of constantly checking in and ensuring they felt
supported as educators was one key systematic practice at Bay High School. In addition,
professional development sessions occur twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, at 8:00 am
for two hours. The purpose of meeting on Mondays is to review the calendar for the week to
come and to address any concerns for the week. On Thursdays, the staff comes together, either as
departments or as grade level committees, to address any academic concerns regarding students.
Summary of Findings for Research Question Two
Bay High School’s leaders valued their students and staff. This systematic approach was
validated via surveys, observations and interviews. The valued their leaders’ willingness to
always check in with them and their regular professional development sessions. It was evident,
through the interviews, that all of the stakeholders valued communication and a sense of
relationship. The administrators exhibited qualities of leaders who can operate on all four frames
of leadership (Bolman & Deal, 2009), but their success in leadership practices can be attributed
to their focus on both the human resource and symbolic frames.
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 66
In addition, their students’ success can be traced to the staff feeling fully supported by
their leaders, as shown by the survey results. Almost 95% of the staff felt their administrators
were always supportive of their needs. Several instances were noted of staff members interacting
with one another in a very positive manner. Furthermore, the average longevity of staff at Bay
High School exceeds 7 years, which exemplifies that the staff has become a whole. Furthermore,
as the principal retires at the end of this current academic year, the assistant principal will be
promoted as the principal. The teachers were pleased and felt supported to know that an integral
part of their community will be promoted to a leadership role. Curry (2013) stated that leadership
works best when the team members are aware of their tasks and responsibilities as they can also
share the setbacks and successes because they are one together. This idea of teamwork was
evident in the type of relationships at Bay High School
Findings for Research Question Three
The third research question asked, “What is the school culture in outperforming
nontraditional urban schools?” According to Curry (2013), school culture can be defined as the
actions, attitudes, and achievement standards a leader desires for a team to strive for in obtaining
excellence within a community, and it is critical in ensuring an organization’s success. Bay High
School’s leadership successfully brought all stakeholders together to strive for excellence. The
school’s culture was passionate towards students’ achievement and supportive of all staff
members’ well-being and individualized professional development.
Bay High School had a positive school culture centered on student achievement.
Observations revealed all actions were aimed to ensure all students’ academic and socio-
emotional well-being. Bay High School had two full-time counselors: one college counselor and
one socio-emotional counselor. The principal stated that, as a school, it was crucial for them to
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 67
invest their funds towards counseling services because they served a community with prevalent
deficiencies. According to the assistant principal, the college counselor met with all of the
students once a year to review their academic progress. In addition, the college counselor sent 5-
week reports to parents to advise them of their student’s academic status. The socio-emotional
counselor worked with students who were either self-referred or referred by an educator. She met
with these students on a weekly basis to ensure they had the skills to efficiently navigate through
high school. In addition, interviews with two administrators and five teachers demonstrated that
the school invested time and effort in creating opportunities for student recognition and academic
success to increase their college-bound culture. The principal stated,
Our students visit colleges every year. We are highly invested in sending students to a
college trip up north every year because it is what we do. We want our students to go to
college. Our students do not pay for the college trip up north. We want everyone to know
they can attend college, and money is not going to deter us from sending out students.
There is a second trip to colleges on the East Coast that students have to pay for; the
experience is great for those that attend, but at least everyone goes to one. In addition, all
of our incoming freshmen attend one college during the summer before they start school.
We have a two- to three-day boot camp where students get their accounts and the basics
of the first semester at Bay High School. On the second day, we go to a college and just
hang out.
The principal firmly believed that exposure to colleges opened students’ minds to post-
high school education, especially because most students came from households where they
would be the first ones to earn a degree. In addition to their college-going mentality, Bay High
School staff built a positive student culture by offering their seniors internships through local
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 68
partnerships. The principal and the assistant principal built an extended curriculum with over 15
local businesses where students could learn entrepreneurial skills, build their resumes, and have
work experience prior to graduating high school. The businesses represented a wide variety of
occupational tracks, which include Merito Inc., Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley,
Providence Tarzana Medical Center, I.D. Me Promotions, Mid Valley Chamber of Commerce,
Mike’s Roofing Service Co., Inc., Neighborhood Legal Services, North Valley Chamber of
Commerce, Encino Elementary School, and Los Angeles Family Housing.
Prior to students obtaining an internship, the college counselor met with them to assess
their academic progress. Students had to meet criteria to qualify for an internship: satisfactory
academic standing, completion of three of four POLs, and have two letters of recommendation.
Embedding an internship program as part of the curriculum helps students understand the value
of a college education and helps them work towards their goal with some background experience
in mind. Students who were struggling academically were partnered with upper-grade
ambassadors. The purpose behind this buddy system was to help students find a role model
within the same school, someone they could relate to. Bay High School successfully
implemented support programs to become an outperforming school. According to the survey, all
staff respondents felt there were rituals and routines at this school that contributed to all students’
academic success. In addition, school staff made an effort to build positive relationships with all
students. As Figure 5 shows, all staff respondents had a meaningful relationship with a student
at. One veteran teacher mentioned,
During PD, we do this activity once a year where we print out the pictures of all of our
students. Each one of the teachers and staff is given a red dot to put on a picture of a
student whom we have developed a close relationship with. At the end of the exercise, we
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 69
are able to visually observe whether or not someone has been left out. To our surprise,
there is about 10 to 20 percent of our population that is left out. However, this exercise
helps us identify those students who might not have an adult they can trust, and we make
all possible efforts to ensure it changes before the end of the year. It is one of my favorite
exercises!”
Staff members’ ability to build relationships with students is intentional and focused.
They pride themselves in ensuring their students feel safe and supported.

Figure 5. Positive relationships with students
According to Curry (2013), a school leader who fails to implement a school culture fails
to lead, as the lack of culture brings in chaos, mistrust, and disconnect. This was not the case for
the leadership at Bay High School. Administrators created and maintained a positive, goal-
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 70
driven, student-centered culture where teachers were fully supported to continue to develop
professionally. According to the principal, teachers had professional freedom to design their
curriculum in addition to the opportunity to attend as much professional development as desired.
The principal explained she believed teachers should continue to expand their occupational
growth and learning. Research Question Three aimed to gauge how the culture works at an
outperforming school. According to the responses gathered for sub-question 5, all staff surveyed
felt supported in developing themselves as educators. One interviewee mentioned having given
the opportunity to attend any professional development desired as long as it would have an
impact on their teaching and their philosophy. Furthermore, staff members were provided with
intense but significant professional development during their off-site summer retreat. During this
retreat, the staff worked on learning how to communicate effectively, analyze data, and revisited
their vision and mission to ensure they aligned with everyone.
Summary of Findings for Research Question Three
Culture was key to Bay High School’s success. School leadership and faculty were
determined to help their students succeed by creating opportunities for them to be exposed to
college by organizing field trips and by hiring two counselors to assist with both their academic
and socio-emotional needs. Interviews and surveys validated that staff members felt fully
supported to develop their professional practice. Bay High School’s culture was positive and
supportive of all stakeholders, as evidenced by their pride in the school and the average number
of years the faculty had been employed.

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 71
Emergent Themes
● Student Agency- A student-centered mindset is consistent among all stakeholders.
Students were considered in decision-making processes and initiatives are designed
around the needs of students.
● Transforming Communication- Administration upheld an “open door” policy allowing
for comfortable communication between teachers and administrative staff. Their
communication systems are conducive to change utilized responsibly by all stakeholders.
● High Interest Culture- School culture was consistent and initiated from day one when
students walked through the door.
● Continual Improvement Mindset for Educators- The frequency of professional
development sessions caused a strong bond between teachers and administration and built
trust and communication. Professional development included a focus on culture building,
which was imperative to the development of positive relationships within the school.
Professional development took place twice a week, allowing administration, teachers, and
staff to communicate and collaborate.
● College-Centered Mentality- Students were exposed to colleges, and the focus of the
school was to ensure students were college-bound by graduation.
● Administrative Support- School leaders were devoted to providing a platform for their
staff to thrive in their own practice. They provided teachers with professional
development and constant conversations to ensure their personal and emotional well-
being.

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 72
Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework below illustrates the researcher’s new understanding of the
components of Bay High School as an outperforming school with their systematic practices.
Initially and based on research, the thematic group identified that leadership, instruction, and
culture could bi-directionally affect the performance of a school. If those three lenses were
successful, then the school would become an outperforming school. Through the case study and
triangulation of all data, the researcher redefined the initial conceptual framework, thus making it
specific to the site of study.
Consequently, the findings are as follow:
● The lenses remained the same: leadership, instruction, and culture. However, they have
been redefined to show the specificity of the new findings.
● The leadership practices were found to be self-adopted, thus being dependent on the site
leadership and what they deemed work for their specific staff and students. Even though
the team has a cohesive understanding of collaboration, leadership is still top down at
Bay High School.
● The college mentality piece is embedded in their culture thus impacting their belief in
students. Every decision they make affects the students and the teaching staff.
● Freedom on instructional design is fully dependent on the faculty.
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 73

Figure 6. New conceptual framework
All lenses are bidirectional because the lenses cannot function independently. Continuous
improvement is the overarching guiding principle for the lenses to affect outperforming
organizational practices at this nontraditional urban school. Bay High School’s leadership
ensured that the culture of the school supported their college-going mentality and the belief in
students. Faculty were free to design instructional practices that also supported the belief in
students and their goal to send everyone to college.
Summary
The purpose of this study was to identify systematic practices of an outperforming
nontraditional urban school through the lenses of instruction, leadership, and culture. This
chapter presents results obtained through observations, interviews, and a staff survey using the
three research questions formulated by the five-member thematic group:
1. What instructional practices exist in outperforming nontraditional urban schools?
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 74
2. What leadership practices exist in outperforming nontraditional urban schools that
address the achievement gap?
3. What is the school culture in outperforming nontraditional urban schools?
Data triangulation led to the identification of six emerging themes: student-centered
mentality, open and constant communication, culture, strong professional development, college-
centered mentality, and administrative support. The themes were used to adapt the conceptual
framework in Chapter Three. Changes made to the conceptual framework were based on the
understanding of how Bay High School operated and what staff members valued. The school
was an outperforming nontraditional urban school because constituents not only adopted
practices since the school’s inception in 2007, but all continued to refine their systems. Leaders
focused on students’ success and their college-going mentality. They built a support system to
ensure students’ academic and socio-emotional support, in addition to giving staff full
confidence with their teaching practices and autonomy in the classroom. The observations,
interviews, and surveys validated the success of systematic practices at Bay High School.

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 75
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION
This case study was divided into five chapters. Chapter One provides an overview of the
study. It provides an introductory summary of the gaps in the quality of the current educational
system. Chapter Two presents the current literature on this topic and further explains the
historical deficits, efforts made to address these deficits, and the current state of the achievement
gap. In addition, it provides background on nontraditional schools as an effort to address the gaps
in achievement. Chapter Three describes the methodology of this qualitative case study and
defines the research questions and design, case study demographics, instrument tools, data
collection process, the conceptual model, and the validity and reliability of the methodology.
Chapter Four presents the findings for each research question and discusses themes emerging
from the data collection. Chapter Five provides a summary of this case study and discusses
implications and recommendations for further research.
Purpose, Significance, and Methodology
The purpose of the study was to identify organizational practices that narrow the
achievement gap in outperforming nontraditional urban schools sustaining success with minority
students over time. The five-member thematic group created the following research questions to
understand the organization practices under the lenses of leadership, instruction, and culture:
1. What instructional practices exist in outperforming nontraditional urban schools?
2. What leadership practices exist in outperforming nontraditional urban schools that
address the achievement gap?
3. What is the school culture in outperforming nontraditional urban schools?
Charter schools, as nontraditional entities, are publicly funded schools exempt from
certain state or local rules and regulations (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). The
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 76
purpose behind the creation of charter schools was to provide a platform for schools to try
innovative practices that would, in turn narrow, if not close, the achievement gap. This case
study presents one outperforming nontraditional urban high school in order to identify systematic
practices that aided the school to become outperforming.
This case study is one of five under the same thematic umbrella of outperforming
nontraditional schools. It sought to identify practices at the selected site that could be replicated
in other schools to improve students’ academic outcome. Observations and analysis were limited
to the sampling site and its demographics. The lenses of leadership, instruction, and culture were
selected by the thematic group as a result of the literature review. The findings are to be taken
with consideration of the limitations of the study as the site met the criteria of a small
organization. The study identified organizational practices that are key to successful culture
building, individualized instructional design, and self-adopted leadership practices that were
proven to work for Bay High School.
The study used qualitative, descriptive research methods to identify key practices used in
this outperforming nontraditional urban school. The case study focused on an urban high school
setting. Data collection was guided by the three research questions, and the data were compiled
through document review, survey, interviews, and observations. The process of triangulation
assisted in interpreting data and checking for validity (Maxwell, 2013). The researcher cross-
referenced all data to validate the findings, thus providing understanding of the practices that
aided the school in becoming an outperforming nontraditional school.

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 77
Conclusions
Through data triangulation, six themes emerged. The themes were a student-centered
mentality, open and constant communication, culture, strong professional development, college-
centered mentality, and administrative support.
The first theme was a student-centered mentality. This mindset was consistent among all
stakeholders. Students are considered in the decision-making processes and initiatives are
designed around students’ needs. Bay High School focuses on student-centered initiatives and
utilizes systematic practices for student recognition. Supporting a student-centered mentality,
school leaders, staff and faculty encourage and provide students the opportunity to take trips to
different colleges. In addition, it embedded socio-emotional support as part of a systematic
approach to ensuring all students have access to their academic program. Teachers and
administrators speak the same language when it comes to ensuring every student’s success. Their
mission is to provide a community of active learners dedicated to shaping students into
motivated, influential leaders who are committed to the challenge of helping the community as a
whole. Bay High School has been able to accomplish this by modeling a proper community for
students to mimic outside of their system.
The second theme was open and constant communication. The staff at Bay High School
truly values the open and constant communication provided by administrative staff. One of the
systematic practices in ensuring constant and open communication is weekly professional
development meetings on Mondays and Thursdays. Ensuring these two touch points built the
leadership team’s credibility and ensured accountability for all stakeholders. Interviews and
surveys showed this is a key practice. Both the faculty and the students rely on this open and
constant communication. The number of times this concept was mentioned made it relevant
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 78
enough for it to be noted as a theme. Furthermore, communication and collaboration is one of the
key values at Bay High School, which can be found posted in every classroom, in open spaces,
and in the documents reviewed.
The third theme was culture. School culture is consistent and is initiated from day one
when students walk through the door. School culture was widely praised among teachers in
interviews and the survey. It was a recurring topic when they were asked about the success of the
school. School culture was not only prevalent in the interviews, but is also apparent through
student work displayed in the hallways, positive student interactions, and fostered relationships
with staff and students. The school culture is supported by all staff members, teachers, and
administrators. This culture brings forth the college-going mindset and good behavior practices
within the school. The open design of the school also supports the school culture, allowing
students to be seen, eliminating the need for excess supervision. This encourages trust and
respect between students and staff.
The fourth theme is strong professional development. Bay High School leaders created a
systematic approach to providing professional development for staff. They provide a constant
touch point by providing professional development twice a week. On Mondays, there is a whole-
group approach to understand the upcoming events, which ensures accountability of all
stakeholders. On Thursdays, teachers collaborate on academic topics. Teachers, during this time,
tend to collaborate either by department or by grade level, thus allowing them to collaborate on
specific areas of concern.
The fifth theme is a college-centered mentality. Students are exposed to colleges, and the
focus of the school is to ensure students are college-bound by graduation. Fifty eight percent of
students who graduate from Bay High School will be the first in their families to attend college.
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 79
The school offers internship programs that allow students to earn college credit before their high
school graduation. The internships are offered in a wide variety of occupational fields, exposing
students to the opportunity to discover passions, leading them to further pursue their education.
The sixth theme is administrative support to staff. The leadership team effectively
provided administrative support to teachers through constant visits to classrooms, an open door
policy, and constant check-ins, as mentioned above. Supported by interview and survey findings,
the administrative team was held in high regard. They are deemed supportive by teachers and
staff for their constant efforts to ensure the fulfillment of administrative expectations.
Administrators are visible to staff, uphold approachability, and maintain a respectful and positive
relationship. This is noted as a key to the success of the school’s practices. The administrative
support to staff is an overarching theme that can be connected as influence to the five other
identified themes. The support of administration encompasses many successful practices,
including the previously discussed professional development, consistent school culture, student-
centered mindset, and constant communication.
Implications
Bay High School created a model that would be ideal for educators to replicate. This case
study offers an understanding of practices that can aid a school leader to create a strong school
culture that can eventually affect the educational outcome for students in any community. Bay
High School staff fostered a college-going culture embedded in their day-to-day practice.
Students, from very early on, are exposed to a familiar scene, where each one will eventually
develop a meaningful relationship with an adult, a mentor, someone who can inculcate them with
the idea of going to college as an option for their adult life. In addition, Bay High School’s
administrators fostered a culture where staff feel confident in their skills as leaders. Their type of
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 80
leadership emphasized the human resource and symbolic leadership frames (Bolman & Deal,
2009), which reflects on the types of interactions they engage in. They provided staff with voice
and choice on the types of events, programs, instructional design offered, which helped establish
a cohesive and functional group. As a result of their systematic approaches to leadership, culture,
and instruction, student learning has been positively impacted and the achievement gap has
narrowed, thus ensuring that 96% of their students graduate on time. Through internships, these
students can also graduate with relevant work experience and skills to help them thrive in the
21st century.
Recommendations for Further Study
Research regarding outperforming nontraditional urban schools is minimal. The research
that exists currently is focused on the traditional success of public schools, thus leaving behind
any current efforts by charter schools, or nontraditional schools, to try to close the achievement
gap. As a result, educators are not fully aware of systematic practices that can help minimize the
achievement gap for minority students in urban areas. The educational needs of the current
student population continues to evolve as the demands of the 21st century continue evolve.
Therefore, there is further need to continue the research on practices that make nontraditional
schools outperforming. Despite this case study being one of five under the same thematic
umbrella, more research needs to be done regarding strategies that contribute to some
outperforming schools in their mission to close the achievement gap for the students they serve.
Results lead to three recommendations for further research in the area of outperforming
nontraditional urban schools. First, more research is needed regarding the correlation between
school culture and student success. School culture was a prominent factor in the success of Bay
High School. It was a prominent theme in the interview discussions and survey data. The
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 81
positive school culture allows students to be confident, comfortable and safe in the school
environment. When students’ basic needs are met, they can focus on their education. Positive
school culture changes the environment, giving students the opportunity to take charge of their
educational pathway.
Second, further study needs to be done regarding key and research-based instructional
studies that help close the achievement gap. Bay High School provided freedom to their faculty
in the design on their instructional program, thus providing little insight into key strategies that
can help student close the academic gap.
Third, research surrounding key professional development practices that could be
replicated at other schools would be beneficial. Professional development is a practice that is
constantly evolving at many schools. Research to determine which practices are influencing
success at outperforming schools would allow for replication at underperforming schools.
Conclusion
Educators constantly try to identify resources to help narrow the achievement gap, but
resources are usually linked to programs that promise a different outcome without truly
understanding the problem at hand. Through this case study, the researcher learned the problem
is not necessarily lack of resources, but, rather, lack of proper systematic practices that can be
constantly refined to meet the needs of the school. Bay High School is a great example of a
school able to help students narrow the achievement gap through efforts to build culture and a
college-going mentality. Its faculty are empowered to teach students how they see fit; teaching to
the individual and not to the test. Bay High School is a testament to leadership practices that
work and where the leader is not the sole decision maker, but more of the platform which
empowers staff to own, thrive, and fail as one.
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 82
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Appendix A
Dissertation Study, Outperforming Non-Traditional Urban Schools
Research Design

RQ 1: What instructional practices exist in outperforming non-traditional urban schools?
Individuals to interview
● Teachers
● Instructional coaches
● Administrators
● Counselors
● Others (home office personnel)
Individuals to survey
● Teachers
● Administrators
● Others (home office)
● Department meetings
● Individual observations of instructional coaches
Locations of observation
● Classrooms, professional development meetings
● Department meetings
● Individual observations of instructional coaches
Documents to review
● Charter Petition (lists instructional practices)
● WASC document, learning systems
● PD agendas/units
● SARCs, LCAP plans
● ELD Master Plan
● Textbook matrixes
● Williams Compliance
● Course Outline/Syllabi
● Other: Union Contract (If applicable)

RQ 2: What leadership practices exist in outperforming non-traditional urban school?
Individuals to interview
● School site administrators
● Counselors
● Department chairs.
● Others (home office personnel, deans)

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 87
Individuals to survey
● Teachers
● Administrators
● Support Staff (librarians, office personnel, teacher aides)
Locations of observation
● Conference room where Administrators leads the meetings
● Teacher events
● Leadership committees
● School wide events
Documents to review.
● School budget
● Master schedule
● Master plan
● Other: Union Contract (If applicable)

RQ 3: What is the school culture in outperforming non-traditional urban schools?
Individuals to interview
● Teachers
● Teacher leaders
● Administrators
● Others (office personnel, deans)
Individuals to survey
● Teachers
● Administrators
● Counselors
● School site council
● Librarian
Locations of observation
● Classrooms
● Lunch room
● Cafeteria
● Extra-Curricular activity events
● -Assemblies, pep-rallies, and school site council meetings
Other school personnel:
● Office staff
● Instructional aids
Documents to review
● The school’s educational philosophy, vision, and mission
● Principal’s message to the school and student body
● School’s motto, banners and other visuals
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 88
● School rules
● Student orientation packet
● School activities calendar
● Mission statement
● Discipline procedures
● Graduation retention
● Student handbook
● Uniform expectations

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 89
Appendix B
School Selection Criteria
Criteria for Case Study School Selection
1. California high school
2. Outperforming
3. Non-traditional
4. Urban
Outperforming Elements
The school is above the state average on the following categories:
a. High school completion rate
b. Annual Performance Index
c. California State High School Exit Exam
d. Advance Placement courses: number of students taking the test and passing
e. A-G completion
Non-traditional Elements
The school meets one of the following criteria:
a. Charter
b. International Baccalaureate
c. Specialized programs such as Math, Science, Arts, etc.
d. Private School
e. Magnet
Urban Elements
The school meets the following criteria: (each element needs to be confirmed by U.S. News and
World Reports)
a. Setting: large suburb or large city
b. Serves over 50% minority students
c. Serves over 64% economically disadvantaged students
d. Significant presence of diverse learners

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 90
Appendix C
School Staff Survey
Administrator, Teacher, Staff, Other: ____________________________
Years of experience: 0-5_____ 6-15 _____ 15+ _____

Questions

1
Never

2
Sometimes
3
Most of
the Time

4
Always
Instructional Practice

1. Classroom learning goals
and objectives are
communicated to
students.

2. Teachers provide
student’s the opportunity
to collaborate with one
another on classroom
assignments.

3. Teachers provide
students the opportunity
to self-reflect on their
academic work.

4. Professional
development
opportunities at your
school are aligned with
content standards.

5. Do you collaborate with
colleagues to improve
learning strategies or
develop curriculum?

6. Teachers provide an
array of opportunities for
students to demonstrate
content mastery
(presentations, project
based learning,
community programs,
etc.)?

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 91
7. Are you involved in data
analysis of student work?

Questions

1
Never

2
Sometimes
3
Most of
the Time

4
Always
School Leadership Practices

1. Administrator often visit
classrooms and provide
teachers with meaningful
feedback.

2. How often does your
supervisor connect with
you and provides you
with meaningful
feedback?

3. Do you have
opportunities to
participate in decision-
making that impact
student achievement?

4. Do you trust that the
school leadership acts in
the best interest of
student academic
development?

5. Are you provided with
professional
opportunities to perform
your assigned
responsibilities
successfully?

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 92

Questions

1
Never

2
Sometimes
3
Most of
the Time

4
Always
School Culture

1. There is a sense of unity
and respect in the
school?

2. Students are recognized
for academic
accomplishments.

3. The school fosters
positive work
relationships among
staff members.

4. The teacher-student
relationships at the
school are positive.

5. Staff members are
recognized for their hard
work.

6. The rituals and routines
at this school foster
student academic
success.

7. The school inform
parents on their child’s
academic growth?

8. The school provides
students with after
school support that help
them with homework
and class assignments.

Please note any additional comments

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 93
Appendix D
Interview Protocol
I. Introduction
Thank you for agreeing to participate in my study. I appreciate the time you have set aside to
answer my questions. The interview should take about an hour.

Before we get started, I want to provide you with an overview of my study and answer any
questions you might have about participating. I am currently a doctoral student at USC and I will
be conducting interviews, surveys, and observations for my research. I have structured my line of
inquiry around organizational practices that narrow the achievement gap in outperforming non-
traditional urban schools.

Thank you for volunteering to participate in this study. I want to assure you that I am strictly
wearing the hat of researcher. This means is that the nature of my questions and observations are
not evaluative. I will not be making any judgments on how you are performing as an educator.
None of the data I collect will be shared with other teachers, administrators, or the district.

I am happy to provide you with a copy of the findings if you are interested. Do you have any
questions about the study before we get started? If you don’t have any further questions, I would
like to have your permission to begin the interview.

II. Setting the Stage
1. I am hoping we could start with you telling me a little bit about this year’s students that
you are serving here at the school.
2. Tell me about any specialized training you received to work with the students that you
serve.
3. What are some of the challenges and concerns the students bring to you?
4. How often do you meet with parents/guardians to speak on behalf of students’ academic
growth?
5. What are some of the instructional challenges that students encounter in the school?

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 94
III. Heart of the Interview (Interview Questions RQ1, RQ2, and RQ3)

Interview Questions
RQ1: What instructional practices exist in outperforming non-traditional urban
schools?
1. What instructional accountability practices exist in the school (student test scores, grade
distribution, mastery of standards)?

2. Are there any academic barriers that students experience when they come to this school?

3. Do you have the opportunity to collaborate with teachers to address students’ academic
needs? If so, how often?

4. How does the school identify the academic needs of students?

5. How do you provide systematic support for students in their transition to this school and
post secondary school?

7. How are teachers supported with the implementation of Depth of Knowledge (DOK)
strategies?

8. How often do teachers meet with administrators to review instructional strategies and
quarterly goals?

9. What programs does the school offer that help support new teachers with classroom
management and teaching strategies?

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 95
RQ2: What leadership practices exist in outperforming non-traditional urban schools
that address the achievement gap?
1. Does your school have a school leadership team? If so, how are they selected?

2. How do teacher leaders provide feedback on school curriculum?

3. What types of professional development opportunities are offered to prepare teachers for
leadership roles?

4. Does the school have an instructional committee? If so, how long are the members in their
role?

5. How does the school leadership address the academic needs of all students (ELs, Special
Ed, foster?

6. What innovative programs has the leadership developed in the school that sets it apart
from neighboring high schools?

7. How do school leaders empower parents to be proactive in their children’s education?

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 96
RQ 3: What is the school culture in outperforming non-traditional urban schools?
1. How often does the staff come together to revisit the vision and mission of the school?

2. How is the school’s vision and mission incorporated within classrooms?

3. What practices does the school have to recognize the staff?

4. What methods of communication are being used to distribute information to the faculty,
staff, parents?

5. How often does the school inform parents on child’s academic development?

6. How does the school celebrate academic excellence?

7. What tools does the school offer to help with student’s social challenges?

8. What activities or programs does the school offer so students can develop positive
self-identity?

9. How does the school develop a college and career culture?

10. How do community partnerships impact student engagement?

11. Is there an active parent organization on campus? If so, who leads their efforts?

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 97

12. How does the school motivate students to strive to higher academic goals?

13. How does the school and staff address student setbacks? (For example when students
demonstrate frustration, failure, or feel the need to give up on school).

IV. Closing Question (Anything else to add)
I am wondering if there is anything that you would add to our conversation today that I might not
have covered?

V. Closing (thank you and follow-up option):
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me today! I really appreciate your time and
willingness to share. Everything that you have shared is really helpful for my study. If I find
myself with a follow-up question, I am wondering if I might be able to contact you, and if so, if
email is ok? Again, thank you for participating in my study.

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 98
Appendix E
Observation Protocol
Name of Observer Date Time

Location Study

Brief Summary of Observation

People/Participants
Who are the
participants taking
place in
observation/event?
How many
participated?

OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 99
What are the roles
of those being
observed? How do
you know?

What was each of
the specific
participants doing?
● Group
interaction
● Individual
actions
● Passive
participants
● Active
participants

Purpose of Events/Observation
Why is the event
taking place? How
does the event
taking place affect
leadership
practices, school
culture, and/or
instructional
practices?

Sequence of Events
Beginning
OUTPERFORMING NONTRADITIONAL URBAN SCHOOL 100
Middle
End

Pictures

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine and analyze evidence of connection between an outperforming nontraditional urban school and minority students’ high academic achievement. The factors examined were instructional practices, leadership practices and school culture. ❧ An outperforming nontraditional urban high school was selected based on four criteria: a consecutive graduation rate above the California state average for the last three years, an A-G completion rate above the California state average, a drop-out rate below California state average and a consecutive passing rate for the school’s California High School Exit Exam above the California state average for last three years. ❧ This qualitative study examined organizational practices that narrow the achievement gap at an outperforming nontraditional urban school. Identified in the study are the efforts to address the achievement gap along with the impact the achievement gap had among diverse populations and the solutions to these issues. The study analyzed high school completion rates, various test scores, and A-G course completion to determine outperforming criteria. Data were collected via surveys, staff interviews, document analysis, and classroom and campus observations. The data were triangulated to identify organizational practices that narrow the achievement gap through the lens of instructional practices, leadership practices, and school culture. ❧ The results of the study addressed the following research questions: (1) what instructional practices exist in outperforming nontraditional schools

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Asset Metadata

Creator Guardado Ramirez, Cindy Carolina (author)

Core Title Outperforming nontraditional urban school: a success case study

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 05/14/2017

Defense Date 05/12/2017

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag charters,high achieving,nontraditional,OAI-PMH Harvest,outperforming,successful,Urban,urban high school

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Gothold, Stuart (committee chair)

Creator Email ccguarda@usc.edu,GUARDADOCINDY@GMAIL.COM

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-375256

Unique identifier UC11258142

Identifier etd-GuardadoRa-5334.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-375256 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-GuardadoRa-5334.pdf

Dmrecord 375256

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Guardado Ramirez, Cindy Carolina

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA