The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) (WHO, 2021) disrupted the global health systems and became an unprecedented situation for all industries, including food service when declared a global pandemic in March 2020 (WHO, 2021). Count On Me NC was a training program developed by Safe…

This dissertation is a longitudinal descriptive study of the dynamics of community and discipleship and their relationship to technology adoption among Southern Baptist Hispanic pastors in North Carolina. The perusal of the unique forces of these dynamics and their correlational tensions set the stage for understanding the perceptions and use of…

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated school buildings to close in March of 2020 across the United States. From that time forward, many students remained in virtual learning environments, unable to step onto campus. The remote environments were isolating and struggled to support the academic or social and emotional needs of many students. The…

Background: Communities consist of interconnected sub-systems, such as schools, healthcare organizations, and businesses, each fulfilling specific functions that contribute to the overall well-being of the community. Effective community responses to crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, require collaboration across these sectors. However,…

Supervision plays a pivotal role in the training and development of novice school counselors. This research project aimed to gain a holistic understanding of novice school counselors entering the profession during the pandemic to highlight their experiences with supervision and its' influence on their identity and competency development. Using an…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine coping strategies for teachers in elementary schools who taught during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers experienced mental, physical, and spiritual challenges throughout the pandemic, and this study shared how teachers coped. Through this study, 48 teachers serving in three different elementary…

Leaders must be prepared to communicate during times of crisis in a manner that ensures trust and enables the community college to continue its mission. Community colleges underwent tremendous turmoil during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is considered a landscape crisis. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover the crisis…

The purpose of this study was to explore the unique lived experiences of four middle school science teachers from North Carolina and South Carolina during and following the transition from in-person to online instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four predominant themes were identified from individual, semi-structured interviews of the…

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, private schools in the United States have reported unusually high numbers of applications from public school parents. School administrators have been required to manage the redesign of the school environment to ensure the safety of students without compromising student learning. Yet, it was unknown how…

Small rural schools often struggle to facilitate true professional learning communities (PLCs) when there is one teacher per grade level in the building. The district selected for this study contained four elementary schools with one teacher per grade level and a combined middle and high school to collect perception data. Utilizing a concurrent…

The realities of the community colleges along any coastal region involve the constant threat of a hurricane crisis. One of these realities is that colleges near the coast in North Carolina will face another hurricane; it's just a matter of when and how severely. In turn, this means that community colleges need to be prepared and especially for the…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the United States were closed for a significant period of time. During this closure, schools moved to a remote format and teachers tried to educate students to the best of their abilities. School principals had to be the glue that held the school together. This study was designed to examine principal…

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe effective constructivism teaching strategies and approaches for reducing the achievement gap between minority and non-minority students in a middle school gifted program at Stoneybrook Middle School in the Downey-Raine School System through an examination of the lived…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant financial impact on land-grant historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, which have historically faced underfunding by their respective state governments. This study examined the issue of low engagement rates and alumni giving among former…

Virtual schools have gained popularity by providing students with the flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere. The appeal of virtual education lies in its capacity to enhance student choices and improve the efficiency of public education (Molnar et al., 2019). Online learning, with its adaptable and personalized approach, proves more effective than…