Since the reveal of the Black-White achievement gap in 1966, leaders and policymakers have attempted to close the gap to no avail. The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to examine the relationships between self-efficacy, grit, and academic achievement of Black and White students. For the first two research questions,I sought to determine whether there were relationships between self-efficacy, grit, and academic achievement as defined by the PSAT 10 Reading or Math results. Students were administered self-efficacy and grit surveys to establish their corresponding self-efficacy and grit levels. A Pearson correlation analysis was performed to determine the bivariate relationships between participants' self-efficacy and grit levels and their 2021 PSAT 10 Reading and Math results. Statistical significance was discovered; specifically, a positive correlation existed between Black students, grit, and their academic achievement on PSAT 10 Math. For the final two research questions, I solicited students' perspectives of self-efficacy and grit and how they perceived the two constructs were associated with their academic success. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted to better explain student perspectives from their Phase 1 survey responses, which produced themes associated with self-efficacy and grit. Students shared how they perceived these traits impacted their academic …

This study sought to explore the hiring process, including the creation of the teacher profile, of four suburban North Texas high schools implemented when hiring teachers for the first year of the campus' existence. An exploratory sequential mixed methods research design was applied, and three data collection tools were implemented: an electronic survey, interviews with campus administrators, and the analysis of campus hiring process artifacts. Survey data suggested that participating campus principals valued those domains and indictors on ASCD's Qualities of Effective Teachers and the Teacher Quality Index. Administrator interview data revealed that campus administrators who opened high school campuses in North Texas ISD and hired teachers for the inaugural year valued teachers aligned to the campus administrator's mission, vision, philosophy, and values. In addition, artifacts provided by the four interviewed administrators indicated the implementation of the campus administrator's mission, vision, philosophy, and values when developing the teacher profile and subsequent interview questions in collaboration with the campus leadership team involved in the hiring process. Recommended actions for campus administrators of new high school campuses, and recommendations for further research are also included.