This dissertation explores the perceptions of elementary families in Washington, DC Public Schools and their perceived engagement with their elementary schools over the course of five years from 2018-2022 using an established family engagement quantitative survey tool called Panorama. This data will be analyzed for trends between both Title I and…

Elementary music teachers are required to attend long-term, campus-wide professional development outside their content area. The purpose of this interpretive qualitative study was to better understand how elementary music teachers in a North Texas and a South-Central Colorado school district who have had five or more years of teaching experience…

This case demonstrates how school administrators' development of intersectional competence can disrupt racial inequity in special education. Intersectional competence refers to educators' preparedness to recognize how schooling is implicated in multiple, intersecting systems of oppression, collaborate with relevant stakeholders who themselves…

Career-connected learning is an educational strategy that combines high-quality academic instruction, skill-based learning, and real-world experiences to prepare students with the knowledge and skills that they need to pursue their career goals. Career-connected learning can be delivered in a variety of ways, including in core content classes,…

The federal McKinney-Vento Act broadly defines homelessness in an effort to provide protections and supports for students living in a variety of unstable housing situations. This ensures school stability and continued enrollment at a time when a student's nighttime residence may be constantly changing. In Washington, the number of children and…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of kindergarten through second grade early career teachers (ECTs) as it pertains to behavior management in elementary Title I schools and the supports they perceive they need to effectively manage disruptive behaviors of their students. This study was accomplished by a) holding a…

While children's rights are often framed in a global context, ultimately they are upheld, defended, and realized at the local community level. Despite the United States being the only country that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child in the U.S. has the right to a public education as recognized in state…

With the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, as part of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), it prioritized schools to include families as collaborative partners in schools' improvement efforts. Minimal family voice existed at two elementary schools. Thus, this mixed-methods action…

This study investigates the impact of in-person professional development (PD) with ongoing emailed practice-based feedback (EPF) on teacher correct implementation of a multicomponent shared reading intervention for students with extensive support needs (ESN) embedded within general education (GE) instruction within three multiple baseline across…

In this article, we explore how educational leadership, administration, and special education students can effectively use Coordinated Early Intervening Services (34 CFR §300.226) funding. These funds, available under IDEA Part B, aim to address racial disproportionalities in educational opportunities. Through a case study, we examine how a school…

Newsela contracted with LearnPlatform by Instructure (LearnPlatform), a third-party edtech research company, to examine the relationship between Newsela ELA usage and outcomes for students. LearnPlatform designed the study to satisfy Level II requirements (Moderate Evidence) according to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The study included…

Although Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1975, barriers remain to successful inclusive classroom models, including the special education legal literacy of general education teachers. Responsibility for educating students with disabilities has shifted from special education teachers to general education…

Misbehavior in the classroom and school can have an opposing effect on the teaching and learning process. According to Anderson-Saunders (2016), an effective disciplinary system cohesively ensures practices of preventive disciplinary measures by first providing students a secure and encouraging atmosphere in which they have the chance to flourish…

Educators often lack the proper tools and time to teach each child to read fluently, which requires distinct and interrelated word recognition and language comprehension processes. The lack of reading proficiency strongly correlates to academic struggles throughout elementary school and beyond, creating academic performance gaps between readers…

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) should include a summary of the student's current skills and needs as well as annual goals that support their progress in the general education curriculum; however, IEPs for students with complex support needs may be missing required information. We investigated IEP goals and Present Levels of Academic…