Gladis Kersaint has been named UConn Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives; her appointment begins March 1. Read the Provost’s announcement.

If our nation’s cities and towns are going to be asked to do more and more, the pandemic partnerships and the progress we have made offer promise for a brighter future for our communities.

Imagine what would happen if a preschooler didn’t “use their words” when they got upset about sharing, instead stomping around yelling while adults simply observed in silence. Think about what the school climate would feel like if a student punched another during recess while others watched without seeking help.  

Now consider the actions – and inactions – by Trump Jan. 6 as the electoral vote counts occurred at the U.S. Capitol. Those behaviors show a desperate need for social emotional learning.

To Miguel Cardona, it’s not “oh pobrecitos” — “oh poor them” — said Richard Gonzales, an associate professor in residence at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education who has worked closely with Cardona on principal preparation initiatives. “No, no, no. We will serve them as well as possible, and we will ask them to do their part, and they will rise because they’re very capable.”

Connecting these school scenarios and Trump’s behaviors is not intended to contribute to the ever-mounting list of recommended consequences that could result from his fueling the insurrection that our nation has just experienced. It does bear noting, however, that if Trump were a Black teenager, he most certainly would have received exclusionary disciplinary action such as suspension and perhaps even expulsion from school.

Meriden is where Miguel Cardona — President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to become the next U.S. education secretary — grew up and spent 21 years of his 23-year career as an educator. And his experiences there — his battles and the district’s successes — will likely be front-of-mind as he coordinates policy for all the public schools in the country.

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

Luis Ferreira will begin his Ph.D. studies in educational psychology this spring after facing unforeseen obstacles in obtaining a visa to study in the United States. Accepted to UConn’s Neag School of Education in February 2020, he has made tremendous sacrifices to pursue his doctorate, including moving away from his wife and family in Brazil.

No state school finance system remains adequate in perpetuity without checks and balances. Goals change as do other demands on local public schools. State school finance systems require constant evaluation and recalibration. Connecticut schoolchildren have waited far too long, especially those in the state’s low income black and Latinx communities.

The fascist riot at the U.S. Capitol is a fitting denouement of the Trump Presidency.  His incitement of thousands of white supremacists, conspiracy theorists, and others caught in the thrall of his cult of personality demonstrated once and for all that there is nothing he won’t do to cling to power – and nothing some won’t do to keep him there.