First Advisor
Chris Borgmeier
Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership: Special and Counselor Education
Language
English
Abstract
This Improvement Science Dissertation examined solutions to improving literacy outcomes for students in an elementary school that experienced a wildfire during the pandemic. School data revealed lagging reading growth among students displaced by the wildfire despite educational recovery efforts. A root cause analysis to understand students’ limited reading recovery led to more global concerns about school-wide literacy programming and the limited use of evidence- based approaches. School-wide data revealed that fewer than 30% of students in the school met literacy benchmarks since the wildfire. Though the fires disproportionally impacted low-income neighborhoods with higher representation of English Learners and students receiving special education, the data highlighted pre-existing concerns in both school-wide outcomes and disparities between groups. The theory of improvement focused on implementing a continuum of evidence-based literacy interventions across tiers. Initial change efforts were met with resistance in a district with a longstanding culture of promoting practices not aligned with the “science of reading.” Extended learning opportunities through summer school and implementation of evidence-based literacy interventions were change ideas tested through improvement cycles during a four-week summer school. The study tested three evidence-based reading interventions (Heggerty Bridge to Reading, Barton Reading System, and Institute of Multi-Sensory Education), with students making substantial gains in each. The improvement cycles helped close the gap for student achievement in early literacy skills, supported teacher experiences of success using evidence-based reading practices, and identified effective, feasible literacy interventions that could be scaled for implementation during the school year.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/43572
Recommended Citation
Lambert, Tiffanie Lousia, "Rising from the Ashes – Reading Impacts and the Effects of Recovery Educational Services Following a Major Natural Disaster" (2025). Educational Leadership Professional Doctorate Dissertations. 1.
https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/edu_ed_pd/1
Comments
A Dissertation in Practice submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership: Special and Counselor Education