“I think we need to do a better job of listening to families and saying: ‘What do you need right now to feel safe and for your child to learn?’” says Robert Cotto Jr.

Throughout the academic year, the Neag School is proud to share the latest achievements of its faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

A study co-authored by Neag School doctoral candidate, Robert Cotto, and former faculty member Sarah Woulfin, is featured. A survey of more than 150 parents whose children attend school in Hartford found that child care needs and concerns about the effectiveness of schools’ COVID-19 safety measures strongly impacted whether or not families sent their children back to school buildings for in-person learning in fall 2020.

This fall, the Neag School is delighted to introduce its inaugural cohort of National Holmes Scholars.

Christina (Nikki) Kupec speaks up for what she believes in, and she genuinely has the best interest of every student in her heart. She is willing to push back when she feels a student’s needs are being compromised or in times when injustices or equity issues come up. She is passionate about equity work and strives to improve intervention to reflect this work at Martin. Nikki Kupec embodies all four core pillars and is, therefore, an excellent example of a Teacher of the Year!

“The visits to UConn are really important to the students taking UConn classes for credit in high school,” says Brendan Wilkosz ’03 (ED), ’04 M.Ed., who has been at Berlin HS since 2004, and teaches a chemistry class that grants UConn credit through the ECE program. “There can be a disconnect for the students if they are physically separated from UConn. This year, that was not possible, but it was important for me to do something, so we worked on a virtual day. There was a real willingness at UConn to get that done to have students experience the challenges and complexities of the work, but also see that the research is cutting edge.”

Six UConn students have been selected as recipients of a grant through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the 2021-22 academic year. The program provides grants for individually-designed study and research projects or for English teaching assistantships around the world. Students meet, work, live with, and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences.

UConn had an all-time high of 17 semifinalists for the Fulbright Student Program award, which includes the six finalists and three alternates.

Neag School students completing the UConn Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP) this spring recently presented their capstone projects – the program’s signature final assignment in which students identify a need or opportunity for school improvement and work toward positive change. The UCAPP program went through a redesign in 2020 as part of a nationwide effort known as the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI), funded by the Wallace Foundation. As a result of the redesign, the concept of family and parent engagement became a priority for the first organizational leadership course in UCAPP’s program of study.