“Students need more support to adjust to these new times,” said Clewiston Challenger, an assistant professor at UConn’s Neag School of Education. “So school counselors, by themselves, are doing more checking on students for mental health and wellness, providing more support and making sure they’re coming to school in a virtual setting, which then leaves college exploration to be also in the background and not a top priority, which is unfortunate.”

“Distance learning with elementary students is an entirely different experience from working with them in-person,” says Kimy Velasquez, a Neag School education student. “Everything I imagined my internship to me is different from what I expected. Despite this, there are still opportunities to learn and grow as an upcoming teacher in this new environment.”

In her last message to students and families filling them in on the latest coronavirus cases and news, now-former interim schools superintendent JeanAnn Paddyfoote at once said goodbye, and welcomed Madison’s new schools chief Dr. Craig Cooke. Monday was his first day on the job.

Joseph Renzulli, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut, explains the concept of ability versus familiarity in another way: assessment of learning versus assessment for learning.

“Online learning must ensure the quality and equity of student learning,” says Jia Cai, a first-year student in the Neag School of Education’s Higher Education and Students Affairs master’s program. “Classes cannot be taught in a way that fits solely the institution’s convenience and preferences. Do not let the inequity that already exists in our higher-education system continue to haunt students with disadvantages in an online environment.”

“The 45th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is particularly meaningful to me and to students with disabilities,” says George Sugai, a Neag School professor emeritus.

On December 15, the Brown Center for Education Policy at Brookings and the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH) will cohost a webinar that examines the changing landscape for U.S. schools and education policy.

Jesse Mala is an assistant visiting professor in the UConn Department of Educational Leadership sports management program. He studies how sport can be used to promote positive development among Black and Latinx youth in poverty. Mala himself grew up in poverty, in the housing projects in New Britain, Connecticut but still had access to some sports through the Police Athletic League in his neighborhood. There he learned crucial life skills and lessons that he feels contributed to his overall development and eventual academic success.

As a part of the Provost’s Distinguished Speaker Series, Professor Sandra M. Chafouleas gave a talk titled “Well-Being in School, Child, and Community: Advancing the Whole, Not the Sum of Its Parts” on Thursday afternoon. The Provost’s Distinguished Speaker Series is an annual series where distinguished professors are invited to discuss their research and scholarship with the greater community.

“We’re living in an era of this kind of vicious Russian nesting doll of crises,” Glenn Mitoma, director of Dodd Human Rights Impact, said, drawing attention to the concerns toward the pandemic, racial inequality, political environment and climate running parallel to one another. “Interconnection, interdependence, and indivisible human rights are all really at the forefront of each and every one of these choices…what I learned in this kind of framework is a strategy for how universities and companies can respond.”