Month: July 2016


Amanda Slavin CEO CatalystCreativ

From Student Teacher to CEO: Meet Alum Amanda Slavin ’08 (ED), ’09 MA

July 28, 2016

Neag School alum Amanda Slavin ’08 (ED), ’09 MA has taken the skills she learned in the Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s program and is now applying them in a career in marketing as CEO and founder of Las Vegas-based startup Catalyst Creativ. This month, Teach.com — an educational web resource for information on becoming a great teacher in any state across the country — features Slavin in its “8 Questions” series, which showcases teachers who have transitioned their classroom skills into new and exciting careers in, and beyond, the field of education.


Brookside Program Aims to Close the ‘Excellence Gap’

July 27, 2016

A summer program at Brookside Elementary School in Norwalk, Conn. — called Supporting and Promoting Advanced Readiness in Kids, or SPARK — is a statewide project out of the University of Connecticut to include more underserved populations in academically talented tracks. The idea is that by giving students a jump-start through summer programming, they will be more likely to follow advanced programs later on in their academic career.


Teacher Prep Program Recruiting Students of Color With Help of AACTE Network

July 26, 2016

Like other programs, our teacher preparation program at the University of Connecticut Neag School of Education has long struggled to recruit as many students of color as we’d like. That’s why we joined AACTE’s networked improvement community (NIC) in 2014 to collaborate with other institutions on strategies to bring more Black and Latino men into our programs. Already, we have nearly doubled the percentage of students of color in our program, going from roughly 12% of students to 20% of our entering cohort this fall.



10 Questions With Josué Lopez, Dean’s Doctoral Scholar

July 25, 2016

In this new series, the Neag School will be catching up with students, alumni, faculty, and others throughout the year to give you a glimpse into their Neag School experience and their current career, research, or community activities. Recent Neag School alum Josué Lopez ’15 MA will be returning this fall as a Ph.D. student and as part of the second cohort of Dean’s Doctoral Scholars at the Neag School.


DDS Robert Cotto; Dean's Doctoral Scholar

10 Questions With Robert Cotto, Dean’s Doctoral Scholar

July 25, 2016

In this new series, the Neag School will be catching up with students, alumni, faculty, and others throughout the year to give you a glimpse into their Neag School experience and their current career, research, or community activities. Incoming Ph.D. student Robert Cotto Jr. will join the Neag School this fall as part of the second cohort of Dean’s Doctoral Scholars.


10 Questions With Xin Xu, Dean’s Doctoral Scholar

July 25, 2016

In this new series, the Neag School will be catching up with students, alumni, faculty, and others throughout the year to give you a glimpse into their Neag School experience and their current career, research, or community activities. Incoming Ph.D. student Xin Xu will join the Neag School this fall as part of the second cohort of Dean’s Doctoral Scholars.


DDS; Dean's Doctoral Scholar; Neag School of Education at UConn; Ph.D. Student Dakota Cintron

10 Questions With Dakota Cintron, Dean’s Doctoral Scholar

July 25, 2016

In this new series, the Neag School will be catching up with students, alumni, faculty, and others throughout the year to give you a glimpse into their Neag School experience and their current career, research, or community activities. Incoming Ph.D. student Dakota Cintron will join the Neag School this fall as part of the second cohort of Dean’s Doctoral Scholars.


10 Questions With Alexandra Lamb, Dean’s Doctoral Scholar

July 25, 2016

In this new series, the Neag School will be catching up with students, alumni, faculty, and others throughout the year to give you a glimpse into their Neag School experience and their current career, research, or community activities. Incoming Ph.D. student Alexandra Lamb will join the Neag School this fall as part of the second cohort of Dean’s Doctoral Scholars.


Athletes Using Sports Platforms to Push for Social Change

July 25, 2016

Athletes today are using their platforms as sports celebrities to bring attention to the violence that has erupted across the country. Dr. Joseph Cooper, assistant professor at the University of Connecticut, said any major social policy — civil rights movement, feminist movement, passage of Title IX — began with multiple conversations. But there must be action behind the words.