03/12/2026
By Zakkiyya Witherspoon

The School of Education invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by David Jonathan Webster-Gardiner “Cultivating Connections On Campus: Increasing Administrator Ability To Engage Chronically Absent Black and Hispanic Students Utilizing Check & Connect."

Candidate: David Jonathan Webster-Gardiner
Degree: Doctoral- Ed.D. Leadership in Schooling
Defense Date: March 25, 2026
Time: 12:30 p.m.PM
Location: Via Zoom 
Thesis/Dissertation Title: Cultivating Connections On Campus: Increasing Administrator Ability To Engage Chronically Absent Black and Hispanic Students Utilizing Check & Connect

Dissertation Committee

  • Chair: Linda Riley, Ed.D., Visiting Professor, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Committee: Michelle Scribner, Ed.D., Professor, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Committee Member: Marjeta Bejdo, Ed.D., Course Support Specialist, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Abstract
Nationwide data consistently indicates correlations between student sense of belonging to school and their attendance rates. Teacher-student relationships are at the forefront of student engagement in academics and extracurriculars, however there are inequities in the depth of connections experienced by students in marginalized subgroups. Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and minority youth report lower connections to their schools, hold weaker teacher-student relationships, and are more likely to be chronically absent. This three-manuscript dissertation-in-practice employed improvement science to investigate whether participation in a four-week professional development series would increase administrators' perceived abilities in their own practices. Manuscript 1 provides a literature review revealing macro-, meso-, and micro-level causal factors of student sense of belonging. Local needs assessment was conducted to develop a theory of improvement. Manuscript 2 documents a Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle with a mixed-methods study and intervention combining both quantitative and qualitative data. Findings supported the Check & Connect program as a useful tool, but did not demonstrate quantifiable increases in participant self-evaluation measurements. Manuscript 3 delivers recommendations and an action plan for implementation from the findings. These next steps will provide an expansion of the Check & Connect Mentor Training model, elicit student and parent voice, and initiate training for all staff in the local context to increase equity literacy. With determined effort, addressing opportunity gaps and achieving educational equity is possible within the local context.

Keywords: sense of belonging, chronic absenteeism, improvement science, Check & Connect, mentoring