Volume 1 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal for K-12 Educational Leadership - Page 23

Journal for K-12 Educational Leadership 21 Journal for K-12 Educational Leadership 2017, VOL. 1, ISSUE 1 http://www.dbu.edu/doctoral/edd THE EFFECT OF ENGAGEMENT ON AT-RISK STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: A CORRELATIONAL INVESTIGATION Debbie Cano, Ed.D. Introduction The destiny of a nation rests upon the shoulders of its chil- dren. Educational entities bear the burden of reaching, teaching, and preparing students for a future which not only shapes individuals and families, but cultures and the global society. The dramatic rise of at-risk student populations in Texas and the United States is a collective challenge and of foremost importance. Students who are ill prepared to be - come productive members of society become burdens upon society. If schools do not authentically and meaningfully en- gage all learners, the result can contribute to the cumulative liability. Review of Literature Schools are not engaging for all students, and students who are at-risk are most negatively affected by this deficiency (Neild, Balfanz, & Herzog, 2007; Reyes, 1997). Student drop- out rates, State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) achievement scores, attendance rates, and disci - pline removal incidents provide measurable data demon- strating a continued and expanding crisis in at-risk student achievement, thus indicative of a major educational issue (Nichols, Glass, & Berliner, 2012; President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2000). According to Busteed (2013), the longer students re- main in school, the more disengaged they become. Research conducted by the Gallup organization found student en- gagement reaches a peak at fifth grade, and begins a steady decline through the middle school years (Busteed, 2013). Results from a 2012 Gallup Student Poll, which “surveyed nearly 500,000 students in grades five through 12 from more than 1,700 public schools in 37 states . . . found that nearly eight in 10 elementary students who participated in the poll are engaged with school” (Busteed, 2013, para. 3). In con - trast, the student engagement percentage drops to six out of 10 students during middle school, and to just four out of 10 in high school. Poverty The exponential growth of children in Texas living in pover - ty is a profound concern. “Texas ranks among the worst 15 states for child poverty” (Johnson, 2012, para. 8). Between 2004 and 2012, children living in poverty increased from one of every five children in the state of Texas, to one of every four in a brief eight years (Potter, 2012). In addition, Texas is the second largest state in terms of population and Texas’ growth exceeds that of all other states between 2000 and 2010. Sixty-five percent of the increase, or roughly 2.8 million people is attributed to the growth of the Hispanic population (Potter, 2012). The population of Texas is rapidly evolving and the poverty rate is on a parallel trajectory. Latino student poverty is a unique, multifaceted chal- lenge. According to Aber, Morris, and Raver (2012), “for Latino children, the complex factors of race, language, cul- ture, and immigration status mixes with poverty to create challenges… hopefully our society will address, in the com - ing years” (p. 2). Childhood poverty is more than a mere subsistence issue, in fact “poverty in childhood, and espe- cially deep poverty in early childhood, is associated with a very broad range of problems in physical-biological, cog- nitive, academic and social-emotional development” (p. 3).