This strategic research project was designed to provide a plan to solve the problem of decreased achievement of gifted elementary school students in a rural Georgia county. The organization was evaluated using a SWOT analysis to determine internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. Factors were further analyzed using an internal factor evaluation and an external factor evaluation, which found the central problem causing decreased achievement was inequality in instructional time between the studied organization and other schools in the district. Lost instructional time was the result of issues in student transportation, specifically a nationwide shortage of bus drivers, which made hiring and retaining an adequate number of drivers nearly impossible. Four possible solutions were examined, including (a) implementing an Extended Learning Time (ELT) model, (b) lengthening the school year, (c) repurposing social studies instructional time, and (d) implementing a flipped classroom model. Using a quantitative strategic plan matrix, two possible solutions to modify the bell schedule and implement ELT were evaluated: (a) hiring and retaining new bus drivers and (b) utilizing secondary school bus routes. The second solution was determined to be more attractive to the factors produced in the SWOT analysis. A strategic action plan was then created to implement a modified bell schedule and utilize secondary bus routes in the upcoming school year. Two recommendations for future research include determining how ELT initiatives affect school climate and why an ELT model increases student engagement.
| Date of Award | Oct 1 2023 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Jason Abreu (Supervisor) |
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