Dean Kersaint and Yuhang Rong visit Jordan in November 2018 to connect with Queen Rania Teacher Academy, as well as educators, administrators, and students, to learn more about the success of the Academy’s implementation of a principal training program based on UCAPP. (Photo courtesy of Queen Rania Teacher Academy)

Visit to Middle East Marks Enduring International UConn Partnership

January 23, 2019

As part of an international partnership that began two-plus years ago, Neag School Dean Gladis Kersaint and Yuhang Rong, UConn’s associate vice president for global affairs, traveled this past fall to the Middle East on behalf of the University to connect with educators, administrators, students, and even royalty, in a country where one Neag School program has been making an impact.




1:00 p.m. — Baker checks in at the office and confirms her afternoon schedule. (Photo credit: Cat Boyce/Neag School)

Principal Preparation Program Undergoes Redesign

January 11, 2019

The field of education has been going through constant evaluation and evolution since 1983, when “A Nation At Risk” was published.

“That report sounded the alarm that the United States was not at the top of the food chain anymore when it comes to education,” says Richard Gonzales, director of UConn’s Neag School of Education leadership preparation program.

Since then, responses to the report have encompassed curriculum changes and standards, teacher preparation, and in the early 2000s, a growing emphasis on leadership – in particular the role and training of school principals.




Emily Tarconish, a Neag School scholarship recipient, spoke during the 2018 Scholarship Celebration.

10 Questions With Ph.D. Student Emily Tarconish, Brain Injury Survivor

January 8, 2019

Emily Tarconish is a Ph.D. candidate in Neag School’s educational psychology program with a concentration in special education. She is a survivor of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) she endured at the age of 15. With years of hard work and rehabilitation, Tarconish has relearned how to walk, speak, and regain basic life functions. Once she completes her Ph.D., she plans to pursue research focused in part on improving access to higher education for college students with TBIs.



Book participants in the 2018 Children’s Literature and Human Rights Workshop held in November 2018. The workshop provided instruction on how educators can effectively introduce and include human rights topics in the classroom using children’s books. The books were provided to the Dodd Center by the Connecticut State Resource Library and are available in classroom sets for loan. (Photo courtesy of Glenn Mitoma)

Advancing Human Rights Education in Connecticut 70 Years After UDHR

December 9, 2018

Seventy years ago this week, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris. “All anniversaries provide a moment to reflect and take stock,” says Glenn Mitoma, an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in the Neag School. “The UDHR was written in the aftermath of World War II, a catastrophic moment in history that has important lessons for us today. We can use this anniversary as an opportunity to reflect on and rededicate ourselves to the goal of a more just, equitable, and inclusive world.”