This project-based thesis aimed to facilitate the creation of a collaborative culture quilt that celebrates the diverse cultural backgrounds, heritage, and traditions of students and teachers. The curriculum focused on various artists from different cultures, expanding students' understanding of art and culture both inside and outside the…

This phenomenological study examined how eighth grade students in a privileged suburban community and school district understood their civic identities and saw their roles and responsibilities as citizens. Through analyzing artifacts the student participants generated in their eighth grade civics social studies class and conducting semi-structured…

The purpose of this article is to extend the literature around reflective practices in PDS. In this article, the authors discuss their experiences, as novice Professors in Residence (PIRs) engaging in Professional Development School (PDS) work, using dialogic e-journaling as a collaborative space to process and reflect on professional practice…

Through the theoretical lens of care, this qualitative case study explored special education teachers' perceptions of how they exhibit care and key factors that support or threaten their enactment of care. Interview and lesson plan data sources were collected from six middle and high school special education teachers in a high performing New…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to assess the effect of implementing the restorative practices framework (RPF) on chronic absenteeism and the overall culture at a diverse, suburban middle school in New Jersey from 2017 through 2020. Chronic absenteeism and its impact on students' achievement, success, and sense of belonging are visible…

This study examined the impact of instructional conversations about peer observations on the collaboration and perceptions of teachers at a western New Jersey middle school. This study's impetus comes from previous work of the same impact on an elementary school in Pennsylvania. The study focused on these conversations' reflective nature, and the…

Roaring Falls Unified School District (a pseudonym), an urban New Jersey district near NYC, was challenged by K-8 Multilingual Language Learners (MLLs) who lagged significantly behind general education students in English Language Arts (ELA). The District had roughly 12,000 students, of whom 93.0% were Hispanic, 26.2% were MLLs, and 32.0% were…

Because it is not clear that teachers will volunteer for good professional development if it is made available, this study used surveys--including social network analysis--and interviews to examine why teachers did and did not participate in one school's high-quality study group. While all teachers were motivated by intrinsic incentives, two…

This correlational, explanatory, longitudinal study sought to determine the combination of community and family-level demographic variables found in the 2010 U.S. Census data that most accurately predicted a New Jersey school district's percentage of students scoring proficient or above on the 2010, 2011, and 2012 NJ ASK 7 in Language Arts and…

Despite the intuitive appeal of purpose as a subject of inquiry and its associations with positive life outcomes, empirical research on adolescent purpose is limited. This exploratory study examined several dimensions of purpose--classification, engagement, and commitment--based on essay and survey responses from a sample of 124 low-SES and…

This executive position paper proposes recommendations for improving F. W. Holbein Middle School using the New Jersey Department of Education's research-based turnaround principles as a framework for school improvement. With input from staff, the author identified the turnaround principles found to be most relevant in improving the school. In…

A structured framework and attributes indicative for educators to work together collaboratively in learning communities are best practices in teaching. Principals in New Jersey face a state mandate to facilitate professional development using the school-based learning-communities process which is examined in this study. The focus of the research…

This study investigates the benefits of no-stakes educational testing during students' summer vacation as a strategy to mitigate summer learning loss. Fifty-one students in Grades 3-8 from the Every Child Valued (ECV) and Lawrence Community Center (LCC) summer programs in Lawrenceville, NJ, took short, online assessments throughout the summer,…

The programs of the Rutgers' Center for Family Involvement in Schools create a partnership for learning between families and schools that promotes and enhances academic success. They also create a powerful school climate that demonstrates respect, trust, and belonging. In addition to teacher-training programs, the center conducts summer leadership…

This study addressed the gap in practice of instructional literacy, as evidenced by below-proficient literacy status by subgroups of regular education students in Grades 3-5 in an affluent suburban New Jersey public school district. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory investigation, approached from an interpretive constructivist…