Date of Degree

2025

Degree Name

Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)

Department

Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations (LEPF)

Director

Summers, Kelly

Co-Director

Puckett, Tiffany

Committee Members

Vanderschee, Carolyn

Keywords

alternative school, type I, type II, type III, reform

Abstract

ABSTRACT ALUMNI PERCEPTIONS OF SUCCESS AFTER ATTENDING A PROJECT BASED ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL Cheri Carter, Ed.D. Department o f Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations Northern Illinois University, 2025 Tiffany Puckett, Co Director Kelly Summers, Co Director This study used a mixed methods approach to answer the question of what alumni attending a project-based alternative school model employed by a northern Illinois school district perceived as benefits of attending a project-based high school after leaving the K-12 environment. Students of the classes of 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 of the Foundation High School campus were surveyed on what direction they pursued after leaving high school and how they perceive attending a Foundation campus affected their success in life after completing their K-12 education. This study found that many alumni who attended a Foundation school in the northern suburbs of Illinois could apply what they learned to college and careers after leaving high school. The collaborative soft skills that are a focus of Foundation schools served many of them well, no matter the environment they found themselves in after high school. Honest feedback on perceived shortcomings gives the campus direction to improve.

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.

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