Joanne Pollara of Caldwell, N.J., Earns Doctorate in Educational Leadership at College of Saint Elizabeth

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Caldwell resident Dr. Joanne Pollara recently successfully defended her dissertation to receive her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at the College of Saint Elizabeth.

MORRISTOWN, NJ (04/10/2012)(readMedia)-- Joanne Pollara of Caldwell, N.J., has successfully defended her dissertation at the College of Saint Elizabeth (CSE), 2 Convent Road, Morristown, N.J., to earn her doctorate in educational leadership. Pollara's dissertation is entitled, "Peer Coaching: Teachers as Leaders, Teachers as Learners." She is currently principal at Pleasantdale School in West Orange, N.J.

"My experience in the Ed.D. program has been extremely positive," said Pollara. "I have deepened my understanding of servant leadership and am striving toward being a servant leader in my current position as elementary school principal. The professors have embodied the spirit of this kind of leadership in their teaching and took an interest in each student as an individual."

Pollara has an extensive background in education. She began her career as a fourth grade teacher at Holy Trinity School in Hackensack, N.J., served as a special education teacher in West Orange, N.J., and progressed to become a Learning Disabilities Teacher-Consultant (LDTC) on the child study team, and later supervisor of special education in West Orange, N.J.. She holds a B.A. in Special Education and Child Study from St. Joseph College in West Hartford, Conn., a Master of Arts in Communication Science and Disorders, and an LDTC certification from Montclair State University, and a supervisory certification from Kean University. She is the mother of two children, Angela, and Joshua.

The doctoral program at CSE, which is dedicated to preparing leaders who are committed to social justice and ethical practice, began in August 2007. "Integrated into all course work and learning activities are the central values and beliefs necessary for school leaders to function as morally purposeful stewards for their school communities," states Dr. John Crews, Ed.D., CSE educational leadership program chair. "This philosophy of servant leadership represents a major shift from the traditional paradigm of school leaders as managers of resources, which is so prevalent in today's practices."

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, N.J., the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in more than 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate, and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at www.cse.edu.