Gifted students' often go unchallenged in the classroom, and this lack of tailored instruction can lead to decreased motivation, which, in turn, influences underachievement, which is a significant concern since these children, theoretically, should be our highest achievers. This 4-week (i.e., eight instructional days) semi-randomized,…

Significant time and research have been invested into how elementary school staff can change the trajectory for early readers, with limited success in changing reading outcomes in grades 5K-2. While research exists, important issues need further study in order to provide guidance for district-level leaders of teaching and learning to ensure that…

Interventions are common tools used by school psychologists for the benefit of students and teachers. Tootling is an intervention that combines the idea of tattling and "tooting your own horn," and promotes peer-monitoring of prosocial behaviors instead of antisocial or disruptive behaviors (Skinner, Cashwell, & Skinner, 2000). This…

The study investigated school-to-family communication efforts to improve daily attendance among economically disadvantaged students at the R Elementary School (pseudonym). Research questions during this study included to what extent does a 6-week school-to-family communication initiative impact student attendance rates and what are the existing…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact, if any, the implementation of Personalized Learning (PL) would have on fourth-grade students in a rural public elementary school in the area of reading achievement, mastery, and progress. The study compared two cohorts of students. The control group received traditional learning reading…

Current elementary data from a large suburban district in the eastern part of the United States demonstrate that less than half of students in Grades 3 through 5 are demonstrating sufficient literacy achievement as measured by state assessments. This problem is of great concern since strong literacy achievement is fundamental to student success in…

An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) investigates how individuals make meaning of their social and personal environments. The primary questions that guide the exploration of the principals' perspectives for this study include "How do Title 1 elementary school principals describe their leadership experiences in relation to student…

The problem addressed is that elementary school teachers lack an effective and feasible intervention system to reduce chronic absenteeism, which can lead to low academic performance and other issues. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore elementary teachers' perceptions of how a multi-tiered system of support attendance…

Children with disabilities are a marginalized group and current literature indicates that their parents are less likely to participate in their education. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the agency and advocacy experiences of parents of elementary school children with disabilities in a school district in a central Florida…

This Qualitative study was conducted to examine the perceptions of K-5 parents who homeschooled their students with disabilities and how they perceived homeschooling to influence the student's social-emotional development. Participants involved in this study decided to homeschool their child with disabilities as they perceived their child's…

The purpose of this study was to explore the reading performance scores of elementary school students in one school district before and after school closures due to COVID-19. This nonexperimental, exploratory study of quantitative, archival data was designed to explore a single cohort (N = 2,006) of third- through fifth-grade students' i-Ready…

This quantitative research study of first-grade students in two rural school districts sought to understand the difference, if any, between teachers' professional development training in the science of reading and student achievement. The study also examined the statistical relationship between the science of reading professional development and…

In the United States, Muhammad (2020) explains how Black students who attend schools have a greater potential for success when they see themselves represented in the curriculum and when their cultural, gender, and racial identities are affirmed. This dissertation study examined the ways in which third grade Black girls and boys (n=8) see…

Educators need to provide students with opportunities to engage with digital texts to support their development in becoming digitally literate (Plowman et al., 2012). The purpose of this practitioner research inquiry was to explore how teachers can support readers in the meaning-making process during read alouds with picture e-books, which contain…

In today's era of high stakes testing, increased expectations for student achievement, and demands for schools to prepare students for life beyond public educations, schools are feeling the pressure to improve reading comprehension and proficiency levels for all learners. This includes students who come from economically challenged backgrounds and…