The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federal program that provides free and reduced priced lunch to millions of low-income children in urban schools. Empirical research shows mixed results on the physical and nutritional health of urban students participating in the program. However, a considerable limitation of this literature is that it…

This action research study explored the use of mentorship as an intervention to improve the attendance chronically absent ninth grade students at an urban high school. Chronic absenteeism is a phenomenon with multiple compounding negative impacts on students. Moreover, it is a complicated problem with multiple contributing factors and potential…

This quantitative comparison study was conducted to determine if there is a significant difference in multicultural and social justice competencies (MSJCC) between urban and rural school counselors in Pennsylvania. The purpose of the study was to discover how school counselors in different geographical areas assess their work within a…

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021 was a life altering phenomenon for educators across the United States. Schools and teachers had to transform their teaching practices practically overnight. Education in most schools across the country conducted distance learning in some capacity. A demographic group that was affected was economically…

This teaching case study aims at encouraging meaningful conversations about discipline. The case illustrates the increasing need for school leaders to adopt discipline approaches that foster support, equity, inclusion, and advocacy for cultural differences rather than punishment and the exclusion of marginalized students. This scenario takes place…

Struggle is a behavior that is often perceived in a negative light in education. Students respond to struggle by avoiding them. Likewise, educators respond by removing obstacles (e.g., heavily scaffolded instruction) or providing assistance prematurely. The ability and opportunity to engage in struggle, specifically productive struggle, is…

Black women and girls are frequently left out of narratives on sexual harassment/sexual violence due to pervasive racism and sexism. Schools contribute to this silence by continuing to overlook the exceptional needs and experiences of Black girls. Therefore, this qualitative study used an intersectional lens to examine Black girls' experiences…

Educators play a crucial role in student skill development; hence this dissertation explores incentive-driven public policies and understands the effect that educators have on students. The first chapter estimates relative contributions of the subjective (supervisor observations and student surveys) versus objective (value-added) evaluation…

Charter schools are public schools that operate free from some government regulations in return for a commitment to achieve a set of student outcomes specified in their charter. Nearly 8,000 public charter schools enrolled 3.7 million students in the U.S. in 2020-21. In major cities, charter schools receive less funding per pupil compared to…

School policies and interventions are implemented with the hope of increasing achievement, but that alone has not been found to support all students in accessing their potential (Savitz-Romer & Bouffard, 2013). The disparities that exist within the education systems provide unfair advantage to some students over others and this is seen across…

Teachers set the tone for their classrooms, but what teacher beliefs shape students' sense of belonging? We investigate how teachers' mindsets--or their beliefs about learning and school--relate to adolescents' individual and collective reports of classroom belonging. Our pre-registered analyses include a multilevel design of how 1,200 US middle…

Purpose: This study aimed to explore students' perspectives and experiences of social and emotional learning (SEL) during physical education high school classes. Method: Using a case study design, focus group and individual interviews were implemented with 42 students. Based on the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning's SEL…

The overall achievement levels of Somali students in Minnesota's urban schools are considerably lower than their peers. The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), 2023) reported that only 5% of all tested Black or African American students identified as English language learners met or exceeded the standards in science, 21.7% in reading, and…

The Gifted and Talented program in New York City is one of the largest and longest running programs for gifted students in the nation. Yet little is known about its effects on student outcomes. Using student-level administrative data of New York City public school students between the 2010--2011 and 2018-2019 academic years, we studied the effects…

During the 2020 pandemic, global governments imposed COVID-19 restrictions. Among the restrictions were K-12 school closures, which caused an abrupt change from in-person to virtual learning. These circumstances damaged students' mental health even after constraints were lifted. The problem was the socio-emotional learning (SEL) deficiency…