Dr. Heba Abdo has a varied background in education, including United States Department of Education grant administration, educational research, university teaching, and school and district leadership.

She received her B.A., M.Ed., and Ed.D. degrees from Rutgers University. Her course of study in the Rutgers Ed.D. Program in Teacher Leadership strongly focused on empowering teachers to actively participate in their own classrooms and in school-wide governance. Because she knows that great teachers impact individual students and their entire communities in a multitude of ways, she believes that her role is to increase teacher agency and professionalism. She utilizes structures like professional learning communities (PLCs), reflective conversations, and sustained professional learning opportunities to do so.

Heba’s doctoral dissertation examined the process and outcomes associated with using teacher evaluation as a formative tool to help teachers understand and reflect upon their own practice. She has had the honor of sharing this and other work at many conferences and has earned three research awards. Her research interests include mathematics instruction, formative teacher assessment, teacher self-reflection, instructional coaching, and teacher leadership.  

Heba lives on the New Jersey shore. Naturally, she enjoys spending time at the beach, especially hiking, kayaking, and viewing dolphins on Sandy Hook. She also loves volunteering for local causes with her children.