Sr. Elizabeth Seton Dalessio of West Long Branch, N.J., Earns Doctorate in Educational Leadership at College

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Sr. Dalessio successfully defended her dissertation for her Ed.D. at the College of Saint Elizabeth.

MORRISTOWN, NJ (05/08/2012)(readMedia)-- Sr. Elizabeth Seton Dalessio of West Long Branch, 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. Sr. Dallesio's dissertation is entitled, "The Effects of Online Education on the At-Risk Student in an Alternative School Setting." Sr. Dalessio, a member of the Religious Teachers Filippini with a Motherhouse in Morristown, N.J., is assistant superintendent of schools for the Monmouth Ocean Educational Services Commission. She resides at Saint Jerome Convent in West Long Branch.

"The doctoral program at the College of Saint Elizabeth challenges us to learn and cultivate relationships that prepare us to affect change in the future of education," says Sr. Dalessio. "Through my doctoral experience I learned many valuable lessons about servant leadership. Of these lessons, the most important message is collaboration...the relationships that develop as part of the program build a community of learners."

Sr. Dalessio has more than 35 years of experience in education, serving both the non-public and public sectors. Her positions have included teacher, principal, supervisor, and director. For the past 18 years in the public school system, she has focused on teaching and administrating to the at-risk population, adults in need of education, and those in the juvenile justice system. She is a strong proponent of online education and in 2002 co-founded the New Jersey Virtual Charter School. In the past 10 years, the school has provided online education to more than 15,000 students in middle and high schools. In 2007, under Sr. Dalessio's leadership and in conjunction with the state and county Department of Law and Public Safety, online programs for both the juvenile and adult justice systems began. In less than four years, over 100 students at the Monmouth County Correction Institution have received their GED.

Sr. Dalessio has a Bachelor of Arts in Education from College of Saint Elizabeth, 1973, and a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Georgian Court University in Lakewood, N.J.

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, New Jersey, 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.