American Samoa, a U.S. territory, has grappled with low reading scores similar to other mainland schools. As a result, different reading interventions were implemented over the years. The problem studied was that despite using Achieve 3000 as a reading intervention for students in the local high school in American Samoa, reading scores had…

Professional development (PD) is defined as ongoing learning opportunities available to educators and is known to be one of the most important tools in improving the effectiveness of teachers and teaching practices. Results from state and national reading assessments indicate that reading achievement among grade 4 and grade 8 students has…

The purpose of this study was to examine how the implementation of the Wilson's Language Training program, Fundations, influences the reading growth of first-grade graders. Reading proficiency at the school in this study was quite low at six percent. During the intervention, emphasis was placed on phonemic awareness. The Wilson's Fundations…

The problem that prompted this qualitative case study was a continuous below proficiency level performance of the kindergarten through second-grade students in a U.S. Southern state in reading, despite response to intervention (RTI) being implemented since 2011. The purpose of the study was to explore K-2 teachers' perceptions regarding the…

South Carolina implemented its Read to Succeed (RTS) policy in 2014 in accordance with federal requirements. The problem addressed in this study was that there are many students in South Carolina Title I schools still failing to achieve reading proficiency after 3 years of full implementation of RTS. The purpose of this qualitative study was to…

In 2013, a school district located in the northeastern region of the US implemented the Reading Street Common Core Program (RS), a highly structured and scripted reading program. The problem was that the program had an uneven effect on elementary level student reading achievement at Title 1 schools in the district. This qualitative case study…

Research indicates that Response to Intervention (RTI) increases student achievement and significantly improves student academic and behavioral outcomes. RTI has demonstrated significant student gains in the elementary setting and research tends to be more heavily centered at the elementary level; however, RTI is expanding to being applied in the…

Reading on grade level by the third grade is such an important skill for children to acquire for success in elementary school and beyond. National literacy rates show that only about one in three American students perform at or above grade level in English Language Arts. The ABCUSD has approximately 4,000 teachers in the system. It is unlikely…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover what teachers believe about the effectiveness of MTSS in meeting the needs of economically disadvantaged students of varying levels of academic abilities in reading. Effective implementation of MTSS improves students' reading success. Drawing on teachers' beliefs, this study focuses on what…

The benefit of e-books over printed books has been at the center of discussion in today's K-12 education world. It is essential to recognize that students of today are learning differently than students of the past. Schools are constantly developing their reading programs by accommodating technological advancements directed towards education in…

This study examined whether the intensive reading intervention affects annual reading level growth in middle school students to mitigate reading loss from the COVID19 school closures. Participants included struggling middle school readers (N = 101) from a rural district in east Texas. Student participant Measures of Academic Progress (MAP)…

This study used a phenomenological investigation to examine leaders' perceptions of the implementation and impact of reading intervention programs. This study aimed to gain new insight into implementation challenges and effectiveness of reading intervention in Title I schools and add to the literature about the impact of said interventions from…

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'…

The evolving educational landscape of our students' needs post-Covid has highlighted that student response to intervention must be of concern to all educators. Our student population has experienced an event that is like no other in our shared educational histories and our response to the aftermath of this event and how we assist students who are…

This dissertation consists of two chapters that examine the impact of educational and positive youth development programs on students' academic and behavioral outcomes. In the first chapter, I evaluate the effect of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, a school meal provision allowing schools meeting the eligibility requirements to…