There has been an increase in the mental health concerns of students of all ages over the past several years. Specifically, since COVID-19, the social and emotional needs of students at the elementary school level have become drastically more evident. This qualitative action research study aimed to understand teachers' implementation of Morning…

Elementary teachers continue to endure increased pressure as additional weights are pressed from state requirements and recommendations, local and national social burdens heighten, and confrontation with increased student needs persist; yet support structures devised for teachers to be able to enact transformational leaps lack. Questions guiding…

The current brief provides an overview of the 2021-2022 school year student-to-school psychologist ratio for every United States territory, using the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) counts of school psychologists. In addition to this, data are presented on the percentage change in student-to-school psychologist ratio from the…

Safety and security are of the utmost importance for public school districts. The COVID-19 pandemic made school district crisis management and communication personally relevant to families with school-aged children. The purpose of this study was to learn how school administrators described their communication with families during the COVID-19…

Purpose: Our purpose was to gather and evaluate accurate, up-to-date information on physical education (PE) policy implementation across multiple U.S. states and regions. Methods: A U.S. Physical Education and Physical Activity Policy questionnaire was developed and completed by 4,845 public-school PE teachers from 25 U.S. states. The U.S.…

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 purpose of this quantitative study was to gain an understanding of the impact trauma informed professional development has on Pennsylvania public school elementary teachers' perceptions of school climate. The extent to which trauma informed practices have influenced elementary teachers (K-6) perceptions of school climate is not known.…

Since the 1960's, the federal government has become increasingly more involved with the product of public education, tracking academic proficiency through the means of federally mandated high-stakes assessments (Ali & Favaro, 2007; Zumeta, 2011). Principal leadership is one of the most significant factors that can lead to academic proficiency,…

This mixed methods action research dissertation examines the effects of implementing growth mindset teaching practices in third grade math as a means to improve student math self-efficacy, math mindset and student achievement. Since the transition to the Pennsylvania Core Standards, students across the state including those in this district have…

This qualitative, phenomenological study explored the impact self-efficacy had upon 13 elementary public-school teachers and their abilities to deliver effective online instruction using instructional technology during the shift to remote teaching following the COVID-19 pandemic school closures within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The social…

Recent legislation through the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) has implications for school systems across the nation in creating and implementing a multi-tiered system of support. Pennsylvania has its own state legislation that also provides the language for schools to implement an MTSS framework that includes tiered support in academics through…

The COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about the possibility of increased staff attrition from the public school sector, as it did for other occupations during the Great Resignation that followed the pandemic's onset. Recruiting and retaining education staff were pressing challenges even before the pandemic began. Since March 2020, education staff…

Background: The Student Assistance Program (SAP) is mandated kindergarten to 12th grade in Pennsylvania schools to address barriers to student academic success. Following student referral, SAP teams use a systematic process to inform recommendations for school or community-based services. To evaluate program outcomes, a review of student SAP…

The central focus of this multilayered educational action research project was three-fold: (1) to provide opportunities for public school student leadership activities grounded in participatory and youth participatory action research; (2) to support a group of teacher-researchers in practicing and innovating in participatory action research…

The disruptions to schooling created by the COVID-19 pandemic prompted nationwide concern about negative impacts on academic proficiency, particularly for vulnerable student populations. Pennsylvania's 2021 statewide assessments offered the first opportunity since the pandemic began to assess how students across the Commonwealth were faring,…