In this dissertation, the researcher examined the effective implementation of Tier I strategies at One Team Central School District within the broader framework of Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS), addressing the urgent issue of Tier 1 instructional quality, particularly targeted at economically…

The gap in academic achievement between traditionally underrepresented minority students and their White counterparts remains evident. Therefore, intervention is needed to prompt teachers to reflect and act on their professional development (PD) strategies. This qualitative case study aims to explore K-12 teachers' perceptions of strategies…

There has been a deliberate attempt to close the achievement gap by altering educational policies, yet the gap still exists. This phenomenology qualitative study sought teachers' opinions on whether STEM was seen as an effective intervention strategy for closing the achievement gap among African American students, and if so, why it wasn't used…

Because standardized tests in science are not given to PreK-3 students in Ohio, this report examined the longitudinal effects of learning from a teacher who had participated in the NURTURES professional development program. Specifically, it looked at the effects on students' mathematics and reading learning in grades 2-5 and science learning in…

The problem of practice being explored in this work was first identified at a suburban middle school in Massachusetts, where the assessment scores of students with learning disabilities were significantly lower than those of peers not on Individualized Education Plans. The collaboration between general education science teachers and special…

The response to intervention (RtI) framework assists schools in identifying students who struggle to close achievement gaps. The problem examined for this study was lack of fidelity in the application of RtI, possibly leading to an increase in special education referrals. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to gain a better…

US public schools often do not provide multilingual (ML) students with the support necessary to be successful in science education or deny ML students the opportunity to participate altogether. Recent science and English Learner Development (ELD) standards adoptions in California require teachers to change their practices, creating the potential…

The purpose of this article was to explore the differences in opportunity to learn between higher and lower achieving schools. Additionally, the teachers' perception of Opportunity to Learn (OTL) as it relates to students' achievement were investigated. Teachers were surveyed to investigate any difference in their perceptions of opportunity to…

Current literature highlights that parental involvement positively affects students' school achievement (Weihua, Williams & Wolters, 2012; Goodall & Montgomery, 2014). However, little research exists that outlines teacher and parent perspectives of parental involvement at the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten levels in urban,…

The problem under study was that administrators were challenged to support ELL teachers because current instructional strategies did not address the gap between the academic achievement of ELLs and non-ELLs. A basic qualitative design was used to investigate how administrators supported teachers' implementation of instructional strategies for this…

Despite the importance placed on reading in the classroom, an unacceptable number of students lack the literacy skills essential to succeed in today's knowledge-based economy, putting them at greater risk of persistent unemployment and other forms of economic hardship. The problem is that public charter elementary (K-4) school intervention…

This popular book addresses literacy leaders' eternal quest to prepare all students for the demands of the 21st century. This updated Sixth Edition will help prospective and current literacy professionals understand how to organize and supervise literacy programs within the context of current state and federal mandates. With a focus on providing…

"Disrupting Disruption" shows how three racially and ethnically diverse school districts--Union NJ, Union City OK, and Roanoke City VA--have defied the demographic odds, boosting overall graduation rates while shrinking or eliminating the opportunity gap. These districts resemble many others in their student population. What makes them…

This applied dissertation was designed to determine the effectiveness of the Middle School Teacher Training Intervention on the application of culturally relevant instruction and classroom management instructions by teachers in a Title I middle school in the southeastern United States. This school lacked culturally relevant instruction and…

The relationship between teacher quality and student achievement is often at the heart of educational debates about student success. In this study, we leverage data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to explore relationships between geography achievement in the 8th grade and various indicators of teacher quality. We found…