of such students. Using thematic analysis of 21 mission statements in a South Atlantic metropolitan area, we found only two explicitly referenced financial support. We advocate for schools to promote a vision of educational equity in their mission statements, supported by policy, that ensures students experiencing housing insecurity and other intersecting identities and lived experiences are holistically included and supported.
Poster Objectives: 1. Identify common priorities of independent schools. 2. Think critically about how to make independent schools’ messaging more inclusive for students experiencing financial and housing insecurity.
Theme:
• Institutional strategies for supporting learner success
Audience:
• PK-12 teachers, staff, and administrators
Poster Presenters and Biographies: Lauren M. Strickland is a Ph. D. student in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware. Her scholarship focuses on education, health, and housing equity.
Caroline G. Cortright is a doctoral student in clinical psychology whose research examines mental health within marginalized populations. Using qualitative methods, she studies how social systems, stigma, and structural instability shape psychological well-being across diverse contexts, including homelessness, public education, and the legal system.
Rosa Mykyta-Chomsky is a fourth-year PhD student at the University of Delaware. Her research centers on social-emotional learning in the transition to kindergarten, and the role of culture in perceptions of social-emotional kindergarten readiness among educators and families.
Nick Sherod is currently an Upper School English Teacher at Durham Academy School, in Durham, North Carolina. He is in his fourth year as an Upper School Educator.
Roderick L. Carey, Ph. D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware. Drawing on critical theories, sociological frameworks, and qualitative methods, he researches how Black and Latinx youth perceive their mattering and how they conceptualize their postsecondary futures.
Amanda L. Pickett is a doctoral candidate in Education at the University of Delaware, specializing in Sociocultural and Community-based Approaches to Education and qualitative methods. Her research focuses on educational leadership and policy, equity, identity, and student experiences, with particular attention to first-generation and minoritized students.
Sofina Shekhar is a Ph. D. student in the Human Development and Family Sciences department at the University of Delaware. Her research centers on exploring adolescents’ experiences of mattering and critical consciousness development. She has experience with qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodology and currently engages in a school-university research partnership.
Brittany Zakszeski, Ph. D., is an assistant professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. Her research advances equity-centered school policy and practice to promote students’ well-being.