School of Education

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The American University School of Education is currently accepting graduate applications!

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Teacher shortages, lack of diversity, outdated policies, inequitable access - learn how to be a part of the evolution of the education system at the American University School of Education.

A Growing Community

Announcing SOE's New and Promoted Faculty and Staff


The American University School of Education is pleased to continue its expansion with these new and promoted faculty and staff into its antiracist community. Acting Co-Deans Drs. Corbin M. Campbell and Rodney Hopson fill the role of SOE Dean until August 1, 2024, when Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy returns from her sabattical.

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Stronger Start Documentary Series

LEARN ABOUT EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN DC

FROM AN INFORMATIVE DCTV DOCUMENTARY SERIES

Watch the insightful first episode of the documentary series, Stronger Start: Building Better Child Care, which details the challenges of (and solutions for) early childhood education in Washington, DC, highlights our Child Development Associate (CDA®) program, and features SOE Dean Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy.

Watch

School of Education Students in Senegal

Students Travel to Senegal to Study the Impact of Racism

Exploring Community and Decolonization in Africa

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Chloe Leeds sitting outside on AU's campus

Education ·

Learning to Teach, Teaching to Excite

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Community-Based Heritage Language Schools Conference

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School of Education Student Lily Serber

Lily Serber '24 Promotes Literacy in Rome While Studying Abroad

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Promo for July 10 2023 Event on SCOTUS Decisions

Watch our insightful webinar, "The SCOTUS Decisions," where counseling and higher ed professionals discuss the ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent rulings.

View It Here

How Book Bans Impact K-12 Students

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Faculty, Staff, Student, & Alumni Accomplishments

  • Dr. Eugene Pringle, Jr., Senior Professorial Lecturer, wrote this opinion piece in The Hechinger Report on why educators must be on the front line of social activism, emphasized during teacher training. [Sep 25, 2023]
  • Acting Co-Dean Corbin M. Campbell's research was cited in this The Chronicle of Higher Education article on the value of "good teaching." [Sep 20, 2023]
  • Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Antonio L. Ellis published an op-ed in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education about the role of the Black church in response to the recent Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action. [Sep 14, 2023]
  • Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Phelton Moss was featured in this (paid access only) piece in Financial Times about how students and college are reacting to the affirmative action ruling. [Sep 7, 2023]
  • Dr. Eugene Pringle, Jr., Senior Professorial Lecturer, delivered the keynote address at the Community Action Organization of Western New York's school year kickoff.  The address titled "The Race" provided inspiration and practical strategies for a successful year in efforts to build with intentionality, engage community and families, and engage in purposeful self-care. [Aug 25, 2023]
  • There is hope from the Biden-Harris administration to continue to build a diverse student body, says Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Phelton Moss in this Inside Higher Ed opinion. [Aug 21, 2023]
  • Professor Dr. Jennifer L. Steele was interviewed on CGTN America about how inflation is affecting families during back-to-school shopping season. [Aug 17, 2023]
  • Read or listen to this EdSurge podcast where Dean Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy offered her opinion on why the time has come to reset college legacy admissions practices. [Aug 1, 2023] 
  • Nearly 15% of children are special education students—a 46-year high. SOE Adjunct Professor Brandi Smith was highlighted in an Education Week article about the impact of a good individualized education program (IEP). [July 27, 2023]
  • Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Phelton Cortez Moss weighed in on solving the Black male teacher shortage in this piece by ABC News. [July 24, 2003]
  • Professor Dr. Jennifer L. Steele published an op-ed on teaching students to do what ChatGTP cannot in The Hill. [July 20, 2023]
  • Dean Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy took part in this panel you can watch on what the Affirmative Action decision by SCOTUS may mean in higher education. [July 13, 2023]
  • Adjunct Professor Dr. Cheyenne Batista ’22 was highlighted for her award-winning dissertation in the AU Alumni news. [July 6, 2023]
  • SOE’s Associate Dean Corbin Campbell was highlighted in this Chronicle of Higher Education article about her participation as lead researcher in a new advisory panel to define, support, and elevate college teaching. [July 6, 2023]
  • Professor and Director of the Child Development Program Dr. Vivian Vasquez was quoted in this Forbes article making the case for teaching social media literacy in schools. [June 19, 2023]
  • Lynne Brenner Ganek, SOE adjunct instructor and former elementary- and middle-school teacher, was interviewed about her work on "Reading Rainbow," the children's television show that became the third-longest running children's show in PBS history and won 26 Emmy Awards. [June 8, 2023]
  • Dr. Brian L. McGowan, Provost Associate Professor in the School of Education, was quoted in a U.S. News and World Report article about what commuter students need to know. [June 6, 2023]
  •  SOE Sr. Professorial Lecturer Dr. Phelton Moss was interviewed about the importance of engaging with Black boys, even if it's over their footwear. [June 2, 2023]
  • Dr. Ocheze Joseph, Director of Undergraduate Teacher Education, was quoted in this Ed Surge article on how teachers who take part in tutoring enter the field with greater experience. [May 30, 2023]
  • Dr. Amaarah DeCuir has been selected as an American Educational Research Association (AERA) Leadership for Social Justice Action Committee member. [May 17, 2023]
  • Dean Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy and SOE Child Development Associate (CDA) program Assistant Director Gabrielle Harris are featured in the five-part DCTV documentary series, Stronger Start: Building Better Child Care. Watch all five episodes here. [May 17, 2023]
  • SOE Sr. Professorial Lecturer Dr. Phelton Moss delivered the keynote address, "Building Racially Just Schools: Addressing Salient Issues Facing Students Who Have Been Racially Minoritized,” at the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN) Institute. [May 17, 2023]
  • Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Gregory. C. Hutchings, Jr., joined the Black Agenda Radio's podcast episode, "School Safety for Black Students," to discuss a recent study reflecting that law enforcement has a more significant presence in Black and Latino schools than in white schools. [May 17, 2023]
  • This summer, SOE Sr. Professorial Lecturer Dr. Phelton Moss will launch a new podcast, All Means All, discussing education policy issues with a focus on underserved groups. Stay tuned to our social media platforms for more details. [May 17, 2023]
  • Urban Teachers program faculty member Dr. Deepa Srikantaiah co-wrote a Holistic Education Review article, "Plurality, Equity and Meaning Making with Indigenous Knowledges," about how indigenous knowledges differ from Western scientific concepts, and their importance in education. [May 17, 2023]
  • SOE Sr. Professorial Lecturer Dr. Phelton Moss became a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Education Innovation Education Fellow and penned an op-ed, "Book Bans: An Act of Policy Violence Promoting Anti-Blackness," for The Crisis. [May 17, 2023]
  • Assistant Professor Dr. Emily Peterson was awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award and $1.3M grant to examine the role of curiosity in students' learning about scientific phenomena. [April 15, 2023]
  • Associate Dean Dr. Corbin Campbell penned a USA Today op-ed, "Should You Use College Rankings to Pick a Good School?" Campbell's new book, Great College Teaching: Where It Happens and How to Foster It Everywhere, will be released next week. View the video of her recent book talk here. [April 15, 2023]
  • Associate Professor Dr. Elizabeth A. Worden released a book, Citizen Education in a Divided Society: Lessons from Curricula and Practice in Northern Ireland, about teaching citizenship after the Northern Ireland conflict. [Apr 15, 2023]

VIEW ADDITIONAL FACULTY AND STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • The Carnegie Project on Education Doctorate (CPED) recognized Dr. Francesca Smith ’23 EdD as the 2023 CPED Dissertation in Practice Award winner for her dissertation, "Asset-Based Biliteracy: Recentering Emergent Bilingual Students in Dual Language English Reading Instruction." [Sep 11, 2023]
  • Dr. Amanda Tatum ’22 was featured in the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) journal Impacting Education talking about the exploration of teachers' well-being through compassion, the focus of her dissertation. [Aug. 7, 2023]
  • Dr. Cheyenne Batista ’22 was highlighted for her award-winning dissertation in the AU Alumni news. [July 6, 2023]
  • Dr. Gary Deshun Hamilton EdD ’23 gave a rousing graduate student speech, "The Bold Promise of Tomorrow" at SOE's Spring 2023 Commencement Ceremony. [May 17, 2023]
  • Education Policy and Leadership (EPL) MEd program student Bailey Haines will serve as President of SOE's Graduate Student Council, alongside fellow EPL students Angeliki Paper-Kosiori (Vice President), Kissiah Valle (Dir. of Finance), Derrick Brown (Dir. of Communications), and others. [May 17, 2023]
  • AU education alum Florence Elizabeth Carmichael Adams will turn 100 this August. Read her grandson Jason Campbell's fascinating Washington Post op-ed, "My Grandma Has Always Made the Hardest Things Seem Simple — Even Living to 100." [May 17, 2023]
  • SOE secondary education majors Alli Sattler and Nathaniel Smith presented research projects virtually in conjunction with AU's Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning (CTRL) Student Partners program. Sattler presented "Increasing Inclusivity in STEM Classrooms" and Smith presented "Varying Means of Participation to Support All Learners." [May 17, 2023]
  • Emily Warshaw, a student in the Master of Arts in Special Education program, was quoted in an article about her taking part in the Future of Work Institute that took place in April. [May 17, 2023]
  • Amanda Muniz as the AU Recipient of the Maryland Association of Teacher Educators - Distinguished Teacher Candidate Award for 22-23. [May 17, 2023]
  • EdD 2022 alum Dr. Cheyenne Batista was awarded the 2023 Division A Outstanding Dissertation Award at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting in Chicago. [April 15, 2023]
  • Shareen Fernanders (EdD '23), Gary Hamilton (EdD, '23), and SOE faculty contributed chapters to the book, Critical Literacy and Its Impact on Black Boys’ Reading Readiness. [April 15, 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]
  • 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