Dr. Karen Anna Scarth

Signature Pathway

Extracurricular programs are essential components of public schools. Although these programs are traditionally associated with secondary schools, many elementary schools now run extracurricular programs for their students. Research has shown participation in extracurricular opportunities is correlated with academic achievement (Cooper et al., 1999; Keenan, 2010; Marsh, 1992; Meier et al., 2017). In addition, participation in extracurricular programs helps students to find their passions and interests and is correlated to an increase in social capital for the student and the school (Bradley & Conway, 2016; Bailey & Penhune, 2013; Gilman et al., 2004; Keenan, 2010). Research has also shown there is an opportunity gap in participation in these programs when comparing poor students to middle- and upper-class students (Bennett et al., 2012; Snellman et al., 2015). This study identified strategies school leaders use while working toward decreasing the opportunity gap for historically marginalized groups of students when it comes to participation in extracurricular programs. Using a theoretical lens of social justice leadership and conducting interviews with elementary school leaders, this study examined barriers to participation, strategies leaders use to overcome these barriers, and leaders’ perceived benefits of participation for their students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand how leadership at the elementary school level supports social justice by increasing access to these important programs for all students.

Karen Scarth grew up in Florida, earning her B.S. in psychology from the University of Florida. The child of four teachers, she then pursued a career in education and moved to New York City. After completing her Masters in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from New York University, Karen taught fourth and fifth grade in Brooklyn for 9 years. After attending CUNY Baruch and receiving her School Administration certificate, she moved to Rockland County, New York in 2010 to become an administrator. Karen moved into the role of Assistant Principal and literacy coach in 2010, and then moved into her current role as the Principal of Cottage Lane Elementary School in Blauvelt, NY in 2013. In her role as the school building leader, Karen works to collaborate with the larger school community, and is passionate about running a school where students have voice in their school experience and their learning. A continued area of professional interest is advocating for equitable access to engaging school programs, including the types of extracurricular programs explored in this research study.

Dr. Robyn Andrea Schlesinger

Signature Pathway

This mixed methods case study focused on ethics education at a liberal arts college in the northeastern United States whose stated mission is, in part, the education of ethical citizens. The study attempted to determine (a) faculty, staff, and administrators’ opinions on how they believe ethics education is best delivered to the college’s undergraduates; and (b) demographic factors that correlated with perceptions about ethics education. The investigation used survey data and supplemented quantitative results with qualitative research in a modified sequential explanatory model. The process included interviews with faculty, staff, and administrators including key members of the college’s leadership team. The quantitative findings included respondents’ beliefs that: a) they were providing ethics education to the college’s undergraduates; b) ethics courses supported the college’s mission to educate ethical citizens; c) certain pedagogies were better suited to support ethics education in the given context; and, d) beliefs about ethics education were correlated with the respondents’ gender identities. A multidimensional construct using factor analysis was synthesized that supported teaching of ethics at the subject institution which was associated with gender identity. Qualitative findings resonated with several of the study’s quantitative findings, including beliefs that interviewees were providing ethics education, that ethics courses supported the college’s mission, and that certain pedagogies were better suited to support ethics education. Beliefs about pedagogies were again connected with the interviewees’ gender identities.

Robyn Schlesinger is an attorney who works extensively with the LGBTQI+ community, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education. Robyn also consults with businesses, schools, and organizations to create inclusive workplaces and environments. Robyn’s career in nonprofit/higher education development and law includes senior management roles with the University of California, Berkeley, the Zoological Society of San Diego, Singapore Management University, Westchester Community College, and Western Connecticut State University. She is currently a director with The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center in White Plains, serves on Westchester County’s LGBTQ Advisory Board and its Police Reform Task Force. Robyn graduated from Harvard College and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.