This summer marks one year since the Neag School’s University of Connecticut Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP) began implementing changes as part of a nationwide effort known as the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI). In 2016, UConn was one of seven universities selected to join this initiative, funded by New York City-based Wallace Foundation, aimed at improving training for aspiring administrators.

Congratulations to our Neag School alumni, faculty, staff, and students on their continued accomplishments inside and outside the classroom. 

The Neag School is proud to announce for the 2020-21 academic year a number of new hires across each of its academic departments. In addition, the School announces several faculty promotions and new appointments for existing members of the Neag School community, effective Aug. 23.

“In my work as a researcher,” says LLEP doctoral candidate Pauline Batista ’16 MA, “I come from an understanding where youth do not have a voice unless youth have the educational skill set or the educational apparatus.”

The Board of Education appointed Charles Hershon as the middle school principal at a special meeting on July 6. Hershon has served as the assistant principal at Granby Memorial Middle School from 2017 to the present. Prior to that, he was a middle school English language arts teacher in Suffield, and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Andrew Girard MA ’19 has been preparing for baseball’s opening day since this past September. As the stadium operations manager for the Hartford Yard Goats, Girard oversees the maintenance and facility enhancement projects at Dunkin’ Donuts Park in Hartford, Connecticut. When he learned that the season start date would be delayed due to COVID-19, he and his team began creating systems to ensure that fans would feel comfortable and safe when they were able to return to the park. 

Schools play a critical role in fostering emotional safety for adults and students. In responding to COVID-19, schools planning to reopen must include efforts that define a safe school environment as having not only physical elements such as cleaning practices, ventilation conditions, and physical distancing protocols, but also emotional elements.

S. Kent Butler came to UCF in 2007 to teach counselor education and has more than 30 years of experience in the field and multicultural work. As the head of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, he has created the Leadership Council for Equity, Inclusivity and Diversity, which is made up of 22 individuals across UCF that champion social justice and equity.

“I’m so thankful that when I went to UConn I had a great experience on the basketball court, I had a great experience in the classroom, I had an amazing experience creating with players who were human, who were real, who were at the forefront of these fights as you look at a lot of the WNBA teams who were kneeling and were part of those movements and who were loud about it, and who were proud about what they were fighting for, as they should,” says Batouly Camara.

Jamelle Elliott, who helped usher in the UConn women’s basketball dynasty as a member of the 1995 national championship team and later guided the Huskies to five more titles as an assistant coach, was officially appointed to the staff after serving in an interim role since February, the school announced.