School of Education

Education

• Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Supervision - K-12 Educational Administration, University of Mississippi
• M.S.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Administration, Arkansas State University
• B.A. in Public Policy and English - Education Policy, University of Mississippi
  
  

Academic interests

• Critical Education Policy in the New South
• Teacher and Leader Diversity (impact on student learning/achievement)
• Teacher Leadership (impact on teacher recruitment and retention)
• College Access and Persistence (students of color and students with disabilities)
• School/ District Turnaround (rural school turnaround efforts/ leader dispositions)
• Teacher and Leader Evaluation Systems (effective, non-bias measures of teacher
  effectiveness)
• Science of Reading (Closing reading gaps utilizing the science of reading)
• School & District Performance & Accountability
  
  

Recent publications

• Moss, P. (Ed). (2025). Anti–Racist Practices in K–12 Schools and Systems: Voices from Justice–Seeking Leaders. Routledge Publishing.

• Moss, P. (2025). Lead or leave? Reimagining leadership opportunities to retain teachers of color. The Urban Review.

• Moss, P. C. (2025). Advancing equity through literacy policy: A leadership analysis of Mississippi’s progress and challenges implementing the Literacy-Based Promotion Act. Educational Planning.

• White, A. L., Skiba, R., & Moss, P. C. (2026). Historicizing disadvantage: What does controlling for poverty really mean? The Urban Review.

• Moss, P., Castro, A., Herelle, T., Booker, T., & Cole, K. (2026). Democracy Interrogators: Black Educators’ Pedagogy During the Civil Rights Movement for Increased Democratic Participation. The Teacher Educator, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2026.2650173

• Moss, P., Pringle, E., & Watson, K. (Eds.) (2026). Ending Violence in PreK-16 Schools. Information Age Publishing. (Release Fall 2026)

• Moss, P. (2025, February 11). Trump’s executive order on ending radical indoctrination in K-12 schools: a legal and educational misstep. Diverse in Education.  https://www.diverseeducation.com/opinion/article/15737014/trumps-executive-order-on-ending-radical-indoctrination-in-k12-schools-a-legal-and-educational-misstep

• Moss, P. (2025, February 13). Timeless lesson from civil rights teachers. ASCD Blog. https://ascd.org/blogs/timeless-lessons-from-civil-rights-teachers

• Moss, P. (2025, July 02). How we lost our way on education and how Congress can help us get back. The Hill. https://thehill.com/opinion/education/5379775-public-education-faces-funding-cuts/

• Ellis, A., & Moss, P., (2024). Past, present, and future: black male faculty mental health crisis at predominantly white institutions. New Directions for Student Services Journal Special Issue. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ss.20514

• Moss, P. (2024). Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around: A principal’s fight against traditional educator pathways to staff an underperforming school in the rural South. Journal of Educational Impact, 1(1), 35-46. https://journal.eduimpact.net/index.php/jei/article/view/4

• Rogers, J. & Moss, P. (June 2024). The right-to-read discussion guide. (Discussion Guide). The Right to Read Film: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/661ff09dacee5b5650791fc0/t/6683ff77e4882b17a006061d/1719926732189/THE+RIGHT+TO+READ-NACCP-DISCUSSION-GUIDE.pdf

• Ellison, M., Naff, D., Moss, P., Lenhardt, J., Meadowes, M., Staylor, J., Wright, L., Parker, L., Bristow, A., Pacer, K., Hope, S., Garofalo, S., Perera, S., Youngquest, G., Hale, R., & Merritte, S. (2024). Career and Technical Education: Historical Insights, Current Impacts, and Policy Implications. Richmond, VA: Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium.

• Moss, P. (2024, August 6). A teacher in the White House: What Harris-Walz could mean for education. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/opinion-a-teacher-in-the-white-house-what-harris-walz-could-mean-for-education/2024/08

• Moss, P. (2024, October 17). Harris champions a vital mission: More Black male teachers in our schools. The Hill. https://thehill.com/opinion/4937691-harris-plan-black-male-teachers/
  
  

Bio

Dr. Phelton C. Moss is a nationally recognized scholar at the intersection of educational policy and leadership, focused on building the leadership capacity of school leaders to build just school systems, especially in rural and under-resourced communities. He currently serves as a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in the Educational Leadership Department at Virginia Commonwealth University.

A longtime leader in educational leadership, policy, and research with deep roots in schools and systems, Dr. Moss led the design and launch of the nation’s first state-run teacher residency program with a $4.5 million grant from the Kellogg Foundation and has led several externally funded research projects. Most recently, he launched the Rural Schools Leadership Project with project funding from the Gates Foundation.

He has authored many peer-reviewed articles in academic journals and book chapters in multiple books and edited volumes, reflecting the broad impact of his work on research and practice aimed at building the capacity of educational leaders in underserved schools, under-resourced communities, and rural education.

Beyond his scholarship, Dr. Moss is an elected school board member in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where he serves as Chair of the Policy and Governance Committee.

Curriculum Vitae