Seven Degrees of Dissertation

After successfully defending their action research dissertations, seven Cape district administrators are set to receive their doctoral degrees from Wilmington University May 22.

More than three years ago, Cape Assistant Superintendent Jenny Nauman was exploring options to obtain her doctoral degree. Traveling to the University of Delaware in Newark was impractical, so she turned to Wilmington University.

When a Wilmington University representative told her the college didn’t have a cohort in Sussex County, she asked what she could do to make access to the degree fair for southern Delaware residents. She was told if she could get five scholars to sign up for the program, it could be held in Georgetown.

Nauman had no problem recruiting fellow educators for the program, including herself, Lewes Elementary Principal Kim Corbidge, Beacon Middle Assistant Principal Kathleen Sheehan, Cape High Principal Nikki Miller, Mariner Middle Assistant Principal Emily Lehne, Sussex Consortium Assistant Principal Liz Cherico and Sussex Consortium Special Education Coordinator Trish Wilson.

Dissertations included “Increasing Collective Teacher Efficacy in a Middle School Setting” by Emily Lehne, “Closing the Achievement Gap of Black Students Through Educational Huddles” by Kim Corbidge, “Literacy Instruction to Show Growth in Students with Severe Disabilities” by Elizabeth Cherico, “Increasing the Compliance of individualized Education Programs” by Patricia Wilson, “The Importance of Ninth Grade: Targeting Ninth-Grade Students to Remain On Track for Graduation” by Nikki Miller, “Using Intervention Methods to Increase Middle School Mathematics State Testing Scores” by Kathleen Sheehan and “Improving the Achievement of African American Students through Collaboratively Building Academic Equity” by Jennifer Nauman