With a large disparity in the rate of suspension incidents received between African American and White students, it is evident why there still exists a gap in academic achievement. Too often we rely heavily on out of school suspensions as a consequence for student misbehavior. This approach leads to students falling behind academically and feeling less connected to their learning environment. My study takes a close look into establishing district policy to help each middle school offer a balanced approach to addressing student discipline in order to improve behavior and increase the amount of instructional time that African American middle school students receive.
","abstract_html":"<p>With a large disparity in the rate of suspension incidents received between African American and White students, it is evident why there still exists a gap in academic achievement. Too often we rely heavily on out of school suspensions as a consequence for student misbehavior. This approach leads to students falling behind academically and feeling less connected to their learning environment. My study takes a close look into establishing district policy to help each middle school offer a balanced approach to addressing student discipline in order to improve behavior and increase the amount of instructional time that African American middle school students receive.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Craun, Derrik"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D. Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Carol A. Burg","James L. Schott","Joan Q. Minnis"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:25Z","subjects":["Achievement Gap","African American Discipline Data","Restorative Justice","Community Enrichment","Positive Behavior Support","Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/94","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Carol A. Burg","James L. Schott","Joan Q. Minnis"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Craun, Derrik"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-03-02T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Achievement Gap","African American Discipline Data","Restorative Justice","Community Enrichment","Positive Behavior Support","Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/94"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["With a large disparity in the rate of suspension incidents received between African American and White students, it is evident why there still exists a gap in academic achievement. Too often we rely heavily on out of school suspensions as a consequence for student misbehavior. This approach leads to students falling behind academically and feeling less connected to their learning environment. My study takes a close look into establishing district policy to help each middle school offer a balanced approach to addressing student discipline in order to improve behavior and increase the amount of instructional time that African American middle school students receive.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Balanced Approach: Advocating for Middle School Improvement that Levels the Playing Field"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Carol A. Burg","James L. Schott","Joan Q. Minnis"],"dc:creator":["Craun, Derrik"],"dc:date.available":["2015-03-02T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["With a large disparity in the rate of suspension incidents received between African American and White students, it is evident why there still exists a gap in academic achievement. Too often we rely heavily on out of school suspensions as a consequence for student misbehavior. This approach leads to students falling behind academically and feeling less connected to their learning environment. My study takes a close look into establishing district policy to help each middle school offer a balanced approach to addressing student discipline in order to improve behavior and increase the amount of instructional time that African American middle school students receive.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/94"],"dc:subject":["Achievement Gap","African American Discipline Data","Restorative Justice","Community Enrichment","Positive Behavior Support","Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"],"dc:title":["A Balanced Approach: Advocating for Middle School Improvement that Levels the Playing Field"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:25Z"}