The University of Connecticut has accepted an invitation to become part of the BOLD Women’s Leadership Network. The BOLD program seeks to equip young women at select universities nationwide to be innovative agents of change, both during their college careers and after they complete their studies.

The field of education has been going through constant evaluation and evolution since 1983, when “A Nation At Risk” was published.

“That report sounded the alarm that the United States was not at the top of the food chain anymore when it comes to education,” says Richard Gonzales, director of UConn’s Neag School of Education leadership preparation program.

Since then, responses to the report have encompassed curriculum changes and standards, teacher preparation, and in the early 2000s, a growing emphasis on leadership – in particular the role and training of school principals.

The influence of having a black teacher can make a monumental difference in a black student’s life, and the effect begins early in an education.

The influence of having a black teacher can make a monumental difference in a black student’s life, and the effect begins early in an education.

Having just one black teacher in elementary school not only makes children more like to graduate high school – it also makes them significantly more likely to enroll in college.

“Student of color benefit from having teachers of color,” says Dean Gladis Kersaint. “They respond when they are supported by teachers of a like race. It’s not just students of color, though. Research supports that all students, no matter what race, benefit from having teachers of color.”

The University of Connecticut will begin a teaching certification program in Mandarin Chinese next year, in response to a need for Mandarin elementary and high school teachers both at the state and national level.