Date of Award

7-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

Sherrie Wisdom

Second Advisor

Roger "Mitch" Nasser Jr.

Third Advisor

Tammy Moore

Abstract

Mental health is one of the most polarizing topics of the 21st Century. Mental health affects those from all economic statuses, races, age ranges, and genders. Since mental health can affect the youth population, the researcher investigated two Saint Louis metropolitan school districts that were listed in provisional accreditation status with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MoDESE).

The purpose of this research was to identify relationships between the graduation rates, dropout rates, and enrollment rates of high school students and compare these data to the crime statistics obtained from the Saint Louis metropolitan juvenile courts. The researcher gathered secondary data from Normandy Schools Collaborative and Riverview Gardens school districts during the school years of 2020 through 2023 to use for this analysis. Additionally, data were collected from the City of St. Louis Family Court Report to the Community during the years of 2020 through 2021.

The researcher conducted a Chi-Square test for independence to seek relationships across years 2020 to 2023 to determine if relationships existed between graduation, enrollment, and dropout rates in comparison to juvenile crimes (felony, misdemeanor, and status) committed during those same years. The results of this study revealed that there was a significant hike in enrollment for Normandy Schools Collaborative and Riverview Gardens between the school years 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022. A significant hike existed in felony crimes between years 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022, a significant hike in misdemeanors was also noted between years 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022; then again between 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023. Notably, there was a significant drop in status referrals between 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022.

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