School of Education

School of Education

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Raise Your Hand for Equity in Education

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Teacher shortages, lack of diversity, outdated policies, inequitable access - learn how to be a part of the evolution of the education system at the American University School of Education.

SOE Award and Faculty Presentations

Dr. Cheyenne Batista '22 (pictured with Dr. Amaarah DeCuir, chair of her dissertation committe to her right) will be awarded the prestigious AERA Division A 2023 Award for Outstanding Dissertation, and many SOE faculty will present at the Annual Meeting taking place in Chicago April 13-16. It is open to the public, and is the largest gathering of scholars in the field of education research.

Read more about SOE's presence at AERA 2023.

Research Award: Black Student STEM Experience

The collaborative received an $8.8 million, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to examine undergraduate Black students’ postsecondary STEM experiences. The award is part of the highly competitive NSF Education and Human Resources Racial Equity initiative, which seeks to support bold, ground-breaking, and potentially transformative projects addressing systemic racism in STEM.

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Open House: MA: International Training & Education | Training Design & Facilitation Certificate

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Summer Institute on Education, Equity, and Justice 2023 Conference Image for the theme Eradicating the Stigma: Prioritizing Mental Health in PreK-12 Education

Educators: Register Now

Theme: Eradicating the Stigma: Prioritizing Mental Health in PreK-12 Education

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Historic Highlander Research and Education Center

ITEP Course Travels to Tennessee

Reimagining Nonformal Education Via a Social Justice Lens

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Faculty, Staff, Student, & Alumni Accomplishments

  • SOE Dean Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy and Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, President Emerita of Spelman and Bennett Colleges, co-authored a call to action for higher education faculty and staff in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. [March 17, 2023]
  • Dr. Cheyenne Batista (EdD ’22) was awarded the prestigious American Education Research Association (AERA) Division A 2023 Award for Outstanding Dissertation for her dissertation, “‘I Am Not Scary. I Am Strong. There’s a Difference.’ Disrupting Misogynoir and Transforming Interpersonal Conflict for Black Women Education Leaders: A Multiple Case Study.” [March 17, 2023]
  • In March, the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference included SOE ITEP faculty Dr. Elizabeth A. Worden, Dr. Michael Gibbons, Dr. Jisun Jeong, and program alum Adam Medadi (MA '22) as members of its planning committee and as presenters and participants. [March 17, 2023]
  • In a video interview on Faculti - an academic streaming platform covering the latest research, analysis and educational support resources - Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr.Altheria Caldera offers her insights on classroom management in urban schools.  [March 17, 2023]
  • Instructional Coach for Urban Teachers in Dallas and SOE Adjunct Instructor Calago Hipps shares his reflections on Black History Month and his inspiration to become an educator. [March 17, 2023]
  • Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Amaarah DeCuir co-authored the newly released book, Islamic-Based Educational Leadership, Administration and Management. [February 15, 2023]

  • School counseling professionals, led by Dean Cheryl Holcomb-McCoypenned a letter in The Chronicle of Higher Education about the recent Advanced Placement (AP) African American studies course debate. Read the letter here. [February 15, 2023]

  • Assistant Professor Dr. Robert Shand wrote a National Education Policy Center (NEPC) review, The System-Level Effects of Denver’s Portfolio District Strategy: Technical Report. He was also was quoted in two articles highlighting timely topics: policies allowing school choice and community schools. [February 15, 2023]

  • Dr. Altheria Caldera, Senior Professorial Lecturer, wrote an op-ed for The Hechinger Report, "Growing Up in the South, I Had No Chance to Learn About My Own Heritage and Culture." [February 15, 2023]

  • In this 60-second video, Associate Dean Dr. Corbin M. Campbell describes her research on student-centered teaching and equitable student outcomes. [January 18, 2023]

  • Associate Professor Dr. Elizabeth Anderson Worden published the book Citizenship Education in a Divided Society: Lessons from Curricula and Practice in Northern Irelandbased on her ethnographic research in Northern Ireland. The e-book is available with hard copies out in late January. [January 18, 2023]

  • Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Sherita Flake was a lead conference speaker at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in Baltimore, MD. Title: “The Black STEM Teacher Pipeline: Critical Reflection and Liberatory Action.” [December 1, 2022]

  • Associate Professor Dr. Jennifer Steele began serving as an Associate Editor of the American Educational Research Journal (AERJ). With a 5-year Impact Factor of 6.246, AERJ is a flagship journal of the American Educational Research Association, publishing articles that advance the empirical, theoretical, and methodological understanding of education and learning. [November 20, 2022]

  • Dr. Sarah Irvine Belson, Executive Director of the Institute for Innovation in Education, was awarded $127,000 from the Benedict Silverman Foundation for the initial implementation of a tutoring program utilizing Reading Rescue and Reading Ready. Dr. Belson and her team have secured funding from the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), which covers a large portion of the research budget. [November 17, 2022]
  • Assistant Professor Dr. Emily Grossnickle Peterson was identified by Educational Psychology Review as one of the most productive early career scholars in an analysis of publishing trends in educational psychology journals. The study, "Individual and Institutional Productivity in Educational Psychology Journals from 2015-2021,” ranked the articles scholars published in the top five educational psychology journals. [November 17, 2022]
  • Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Sherita Flake was a lead conference presenter at the Annual Conference of the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics, where she presented, “The Black STEM Teacher Pipeline: Investigating the Problems, Policies, and Practices that Disrupt the Pipeline.” 

  • Professor Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss presented at the United We Stand summit to combat hate-fueled violence at the White House. Read a Q&A with her, and watch the recording. [September 21, 2022]

  • Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Andre Perry, a Senior Fellow at Brookings, published the Valuing Black Assets Initiative (VBAI), which seeks to mobilize a new generation of leaders to invest in the assets critical to wealth creation and economic growth in Black communities. The work indexes assets and opportunities Black people have in critical quality of life areas – health, housing, business, employment, and education. [September 19, 2022]
  • Drs. Samantha Cohen and William N. Thomas IV presented "Supporting Educational Leaders in Creating an Equity-centered Culture of Continuous Improvement" at the University Council for Educational Administration's (UCEA) UCEA22 conference. [November 17-20, 2022] 

VIEW ADDITIONAL FACULTY AND STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • Dr. Cheyenne Batista (EdD ’22) was awarded the prestigious American Education Research Association (AERA) Division A 2023 Award for Outstanding Dissertation for her dissertation, “‘I Am Not Scary. I Am Strong. There’s a Difference.’ Disrupting Misogynoir and Transforming Interpersonal Conflict for Black Women Education Leaders: A Multiple Case Study.” [March 17, 2023]
  • Lynne Brenner Ganek, SOE Advisory Board member and adjunct faculty member, presented to the Producing Multi-Platform Content class at Canisius College. Students explored and produced an episode of an original podcast series, a video trailer for the podcast series, and related social media content. [March 17, 2023]
  • Students Francesca Smith (EdD '23) and Madelyn Smith (MEd '25) presented at the March 2023 Council for Exceptional Children Convention and Expo. Francesca presented the poster, "Leveraging Biliteracy for Equitable Outcomes in Dual Language English Reading Instruction." Madelyn presented the paper, "Supporting Literacy Identity through Culturally Responsive Practices in Reading Intervention.” [March 17, 2023]
  • In March, the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference included SOE ITEP program alum Adam Medadi (MA '22) and faculty Dr. Elizabeth A. Worden, Dr. Michael Gibbons, Dr. Jisun Jeong, and as members of its planning committee and as presenters and participants. [March 17, 2023]
  • Listen to Apple's Science of Reading podcast, "Celebrating Many Meanings: Language Comprehension and Bidialectal Students," featuring Jasmine Rogers (EdD '23). [February 15, 2023]

  • SOE Advisory Board member Tiffany Williams (MA, SPA '07) became the President and CEO of Martha’s Table, a DC-based nonprofit organization focused on developing strong children, strong families and strong communities. [February 15, 2023]

  • Dr. Shayna Cook (EdD '22/MEd '14) was recently appointed to Assistant State Superintendent for the Maryland State Department of Education's Division of Early Childhood. [February 15, 2023]

  • Dr. Afie Mirshah-Nayar (MAT-ESOL), Principal of Paint Branch High School (MCPS), is a finalist for the Mark Mann award, annually presented to exceptional Montgomery County Public Schools administrators. [February 15, 2023]

  • Taylor Myers (MEd '22) attended a Future of Work event sponsored by Deloitte and was interviewed about his experience. [January 18, 2023]

  • Our Future Teacher Tutors program, a partnership with DC Public Schools that seeks to boost below-grade-level readers, was featured in a headline article by The 74 Million. Quoting student Isabel Chae and SOE faculty and staff, it highlights that amid labor shortages, hiring from teacher prep programs like ours could add half a million new tutor candidates nationally. [January 18, 2023]

  • Ann Friedman MAT '98 received the President's Circle Lead Changemaker Award, recognizing her as both a role model and a powerful example of an AU Changemaker for her impactful work in the arena of literacy. She is the founder and CEO of Planet Word, a language arts museum where words and literacy come to life. Read a story about her amazing career and an American University Magazine article about how important words are to her. [November 17, 2022]

  • Dr. Cheyenne E. Batista ’22 won the '2022 CPED Dissertation in Practice of the Year' award. Read more. [September 26, 2022]
  • Students with Education Minor Win DHS Award. AU students and alum created tools to prevent targeted violence. Read more. [July 1, 2022]

SUBMIT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT HERE