Historically, both special education and inclusive general education teachers report feeling unprepared to teach writing, specifically for students with high-incidence disabilities (HID) and those considered to be low-performing writers. Unfortunately, in the United States, these student populations are not making adequate gains in their written…

This qualitative case study explored the pivotal role of staff development teachers (SDTs) as instructional leaders and their impact on teacher professional growth within elementary schools. While ample research has illuminated the essential components of effective professional development, there remains a gap in understanding the intricate…

This qualitative case study explored the integration of Culturally Responsive Social Emotional Learning (CRSEL) competencies in an urban teacher residency program (TRP) with a focus on equity. The study utilized inductive, thematic analysis to identify emergent themes from surveys, interviews, observations, and program artifacts to understand…

The case study of two-non tenured special education teachers investigated the impact of a targeted teaching approach on disruption rates of EBD students. The Responsive Classroom Approach, specifically, provided teachers with ample skills to effectively address the challenges that arose in the classroom, beyond the scope of teaching a lesson. The…

This dissertation investigated the impact of two different coaching models on student achievement. The data collected was IREAD-3, Indiana's third-grade proficiency assessment tool, and Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) assessment data, a formative assessment measuring student growth over time. The study encompassed 13 elementary schools in…

Racial segregation continues to impact school systems across the United States. In addition to this racial segregation, explicit racist events within schools and at school events have been documented in this country in recent years. In response to these racist acts, zero-tolerance practices tend to be the automatic disciplinary action for the…

All students must graduate high school with the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to succeed in today's world. One of the most current educational reform efforts to meet this goal is the development and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which guides learners to achieve success in solving real-world problems…

Middle school is about the growth, potential, and change of adolescents. Students at the middle school age level, generally ages 10 to 14, struggle with the dynamics of making the transitions from recess and active learning in elementary school to multiple teachers, bigger workloads and campuses, and larger student populations (Alexander et al.,…

The University of Washington's Early Childhood Education (ECE) teacher well-being hybrid and online courses for both pre-service and in-service teachers uses stress coping strategies to foster resilience, self- value, and confidence in ECE teachers. The present study employed a mixed-method research approach to investigate three questions…

Educational achievement disparities continue to affect subgroups based on socioeconomic status, gender, race, and ethnicity. Despite efforts to close the achievement gap, the Black-White performance gap in reading, mathematics, and science scores remains virtually unchanged. The problem is that science educators in the United States receive…

Throughout the 2021-2022 school year, I implemented the strategies within this Educational Leadership Portfolio with the support of my SEL leadership team in my effort to improve adult understanding of social-emotional learning (SEL) in the elementary school setting. Research shows that not much attention has been given to SEL in pre-service and…

Often novice elementary teachers struggle during their first years due to the lack of professional development and support during their first years. A lack of alignment between what they learned in their teacher preparation program in college and the reality of what they do in the classroom also presents challenges to their success. The problem is…

Dyslexia impacts an estimated 5%-17% of children in the United States is the most prevalent disability in schools in the USA (D'Mello & Gabrieli, 2018; Johnston, 2019; Peltier et al., 2020). The problem addressed in this study was that general education teachers often feel unprepared to effectively support dyslexic learners in their classrooms…

Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) is an approach to teaching that emphasizes teaching within the culture of the student. Culturally relevant pedagogy is proposed to help African American students increase reading achievement, yet research shows it is sometimes unclear to teachers how to implement CRP in their classrooms. Understanding teachers'…

Racial injustice in U. S. society cannot be separated from that which happens in U.S. classrooms. Indeed, many battles between white supremacy and antiracism are waged in the public school arena---such as, the whitewashing of slavery in textbooks, and the Supreme Court decision to ban Mexican American Studies in Arizona. Thus, this dissertation…