Neag School students completing the UConn Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP) this spring presented their change projects — the program’s signature capstone assignment, in which students identify a need or opportunity for school improvement and work toward positive change — during the 6th Annual Change Project Day.

The University had originally planned to conduct remote learning for two weeks following spring break, but growing health concerns led to a fully online transition for the Spring 2020 semester. UConn faculty members, some of whom had never administered remote courses before, had to transition their coursework quickly to align with the new remote teaching style. Neag School alumna Karen Skudlarek ’88 (BUS), ’16 MA and her colleagues at CETL have been instrumental in the process.

With the recent transition from educating in the classroom to the virtual realm due to the pandemic, the teaching world has changed drastically. We wanted to hear from Neag School alumni now serving as teachers about how they are managing the online teaching and learning environment.

As a psychologist and the mother of two college-aged students, I am concerned about my children’s future emotional well-being. I know that the late teens to early 20s are a time when the majority of many lifetime mental health disorders take hold.

We are featuring some of our Neag School Class of 2020 graduating seniors. Click each student image below to read a Q&A with each individual.

We are featuring some of our Neag School Class of 2020 graduating seniors. Click each student image below to read a Q&A with each individual.

Former UConn women’s basketball player and recreational therapy graduate Bert Wachtelhausen ’81 (ED) has shaped a thriving career combining skills she honed as a Division I athlete with her longtime interests in physical health and helping others. Climbing the corporate health insurance ladder in what for many years remained a male-dominated industry, Wachtelhausen has long since shattered the glass ceiling to excel as a senior executive who now serves as president of startup WellSpark Health.

The use of technology, particularly the internet, to support remote learning is nothing new.

Alumna Jessica Stargardter ’16 (ED), ’17 MA, a gifted and talented educator for Norwalk (Conn.) Public Schools, shares four tips for educators to serve gifted learners through remote instruction.

These are grim and scary times. A tolerance for ambiguity is often considered to be a hallmark of a creative personality, but the complete uncertainty we are facing would daunt even the most open of people. Like many, I have been trying to seek out silver linings.