As we look to the new year seeking to renew our commitments and continue听to grow, we look back on听2016 at the CU Boulder听School of Education. Here are 10 milestones from 2016.听
Passing the torch
After 15 years as dean, Lorrie Shepard stepped down from the deanship in July, and we welcomed Kathy Schultz as dean in August. Long before the official passing of the torch, the outgoing and incoming deans and leadership team worked closely together to ensure a smooth transition.听
To honor Shepard, Professor Emerita Margret Eisenhart penned a tribute to her leadership in the spring newsletter,听and faculty, students, staff, donors, and friends held a celebration in her name on May 12. . 听
After a competitive national search and with support from faculty, students, and staff, Dean Kathy Schultz was named incoming dean in February. Her first order of business was embarking on a listening tour with more than 100 faculty and staff to help inform her vision for our school and to听link听strategic partnerships between our school, local school districts, and community partners.听
>> To get to know Dean Kathy Schultz
Coming together as a community
This year was complex and troubling at times. Together, both deans released a joint statement听in the wake of听Orlando鈥檚 Pulse Nightclub tragedy in June. In November, we recommitted to our promise to help build a just and inclusive world. From presentations before city council to听an听event supporting听the LGBTQ community to artful and inclusive declarations posted in our halls, our faculty, staff, and students听mobilized as concerned citizens and teams of scholars.听
>> Read our promise to stand together听
New degree pathways
After approval听by the Board of Regents this summer, the School of Education will once again confer bachelor鈥檚 degrees 鈥� the Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and the Bachelor of Arts in Leadership and Community Engagement 鈥� for incoming freshmen fall 2017. In addition, the school is partnering with the Ethnic Studies Department to offer our first 4+1 BA/MA concurrent degree program.听
鈥淎s a school, we are strongly committed to the preparation of educational leaders鈥攊n the classroom and outside of schools鈥攚ho will work to provide educational opportunities for all children and youth,鈥� said Dean Schultz.听
>> Read about the new bachelors degrees听
>> Learn how the听4+1 adds up for students
Research matters
The National Center for Research in Policy and Practice (NCRPP) published a sweeping national report documenting school leaders鈥� generally positive attitudes toward the value of educational research with the vast majority of leaders indicating they use research 鈥榝requently鈥� or 鈥榓ll the time.鈥� The study was the largest survey yet of educational research use, representing 733 school and district leaders from 485 school districts and 45 states.
鈥淎s researchers ourselves, we are encouraged that leaders say they value and use research often,鈥� said Bill Penuel, professor of learning sciences and human development. 鈥淲hat is surprising is the variety of ways that leaders use research beyond selecting programs with evidence of success.鈥�
>> Find out how and where school leaders use education research
STEM streak
For eight straight years, alumni from our听School of Education have been selected for sought-after Knowles Science Teaching Foundation fellowships in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
Nationwide, these fellowships are awarded to only 35 of the most promising early career teachers. Fellows are exceptional teachers who demonstrate the potential to develop: the content knowledge needed for teaching,听exemplary teaching practices, and听the qualities of a teacher leader.
Celebrating students
In May, the School of Education鈥檚 2016 Commencement Ceremony celebrated a record 19 PhD graduates. Not to mention, we honored nearly 100 Master's degree candidates, more than 150 undergraduates like Pati Hernandez, and 32 education minors like Sayoni Nyakoon.
At the annual scholarship ceremony in October, we recognized 64 scholarship听and fellowship awardees and the generous donors who invest in the next generation听and听make our scholarship program possible. When our scholarship program began in 1993, we awarded just five scholarships totaling $2,500. Today, the program continues to build, and we awarded $338,215 in total to support our students.
>> Meet the scholarship recipients and donors
Spotlighting public scholarship
Several scholars from the centennial state helped plan the American Educational Research Association鈥檚 big centennial celebration at the 2016 AERA annual meeting, the largest gathering of scholars in the field of education research.
Annual Meeting Co-chairs Kevin Welner and Michelle Ren茅e Valladares built the meeting around the theme, Public Scholarship to Educate Diverse Democracies, with key support from CU Boulder PhD candidates Michael Harris and Kathryn Wiley. Engaged scholarship is designed to inform civic participation, decision-making, and action. With this in mind, the team organized 鈥淓d Talks,鈥� modeled after TED Talks, including a talk by Bill Penuel.
>> Learn more about the AERA 100-year Celebration
Parental choice and public education
In January, a panel of scholars from the School of Education and the CU Boulder Center for Values and Social Policy teamed up to tackle the legal and philosophical issues parents face as they make decisions related to听state testing opt outs, vaccinations, and school choice.
Michele Moses moderated a panel including Kristen Davidson, from the National Center for Research in Policy and Practice; Adam Hosein, CU Boulder assistant professor of philosophy; Kevin听Welner, director of the National Education Policy Center; and Terri Wilson, CU Boulder assistant professor of educational foundations.
PhD students Matthew Hastings and Wagma Mommandi moderated #EdChatCU social media questions and comments via .
Teaching together
This year, teacher candidates are experiencing a different model of student teaching called co-teaching. The School of Education and partner school districts are piloting the promising model, which has demonstrated encouraging results for both student teachers and student learning outcomes.
This novel research-proven approach involves two teachers 鈥� a teacher candidate and cooperating teacher 鈥� sharing the planning, organization, delivery, and assessment of instruction. While traditional student-teaching models often feature the cooperating teacher as the 鈥渓ead鈥� teacher working towards a period of time when the student teacher becomes the 鈥渟olo鈥� teacher, co-teaching supports teaching together from day one.听
Honoring听schools coast to coast
From an innovative rural school in Vermont to an international refugee-serving school in California, 20 inspiring schools were selected as the first national cohort of 鈥淪chools of Opportunity.鈥�
The National Education Policy Center sponsors the annual Schools of Opportunity project, which identifies and recognizes excellent public high schools that actively strive to close opportunity gaps 鈥� the differences in opportunities and resources that drive the well-known achievement gaps.