For teachers, administrators, and school psychologists, finding an easy, efficient way to track student conduct during the school day has long posed a challenge. Thanks to a new online behavioral assessment tool developed by Sandra Chafouleas, professor in the department of educational psychology and associate dean for research in the Neag School, and T. Chris Riley-Tillman, a professor at the University of Missouri, educators and school personnel can now quickly and efficiently monitor behaviors key to school success – with virtually no paperwork.
Launched after more than a decade of research, this innovative behavioral assessment tool – called DBR Connect – “can be used to screen at-risk students and monitor their behavior before, during, and after an intervention is implemented,” says Chafouleas. “It is one of few behavior rating systems that allows users to enter data online and easily chart students’ progress over time.” DBR stands for Direct Behavior Rating.
Chafouleas and Riley-Tillman, who both started their careers as school psychologists, created the system to help school personnel easily monitor students using three research-based, broad behavioral constructs – academically engaged, disruptive, and respectful. Designed to rate behavior over a specific period of time (for instance, over the course of a 45-minute class), DBR Connect can be used by any school staff member as part of ongoing progress monitoring or on an as-needed basis. Each student assessment can be completed in under one minute.
“[DBR Connect] is one of few behavior rating systems that allows users to enter data online and easily chart students’ progress over time.”
– Sandra Chafouleas, co-developer of DBR Connect
Formerly classmates in graduate school at Syracuse University during the 1990s, Chafouleas and Riley-Tillman had worked in the Syracuse City school district. At the time, Chafouleas says, efficient behavior assessment tools were limited in helping to “identify a student in need and then evaluate whether that student was responding to the behavior support plans that were developed.”
“We had comprehensive behavior rating scales – but those could not be administered repeatedly to tell us quickly if a strategy was working,” she says. “Observations are very time-consuming – and, inevitably, as a school psychologist, you would be observing at a time when the problem behavior did not occur.”
Riley-Tillman sees the importance of DBR Connect given the lack of evidence-based assessments for monitoring progress for behavior interventions. “This leaves tens of thousands of teachers out there doing interventions with children in need and not being able to really see if they are effective,” he says. “This tool solves that issue.”
Through DBR Connect’s intuitive online assessment interface, educators and practitioners can screen for problem behaviors and monitor the effectiveness of interventions in just a few clicks, helping educators easily identify at-risk students and track their progress over time. The tool can be customized to include additional behaviors, which can be tailored to the needs of the students or the classroom context. Users are able to view ratings by student, by classroom, or by the school as a whole; results are immediately available through charts and reports.
Chafouleas and Riley-Tillman consulted with Professor Steven Demurjian of UConn’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering to make the initial prototype of the online system. The tool is now published by PAR, a publisher of psychological assessment materials.
DBR Connect is designed for students in kindergarten through eighth grades. Teachers of students in grades 9 through 12 can still use DBR Connect as a screening and progress-monitoring tool; however, research-based risk-level scores for screening are not yet available for high school students.
“This is valuable tool,” says R. Bob Smith III, PAR chairman and CEO. “It can be implemented easily in a classroom setting and doesn’t burden teachers with long, time-consuming forms.”
Below are news and notes from our alumni, faculty, staff, and students. We are proud of all the amazing accomplishments by our Neag family. If you have an accolade to share, we want to hear from you! Please send any news items (and story ideas) to neag-communications@uconn.edu.
Students
Elena Forzani, a Ph.D. student in educational psychology, was named the Neag School of Education’s 2016 Outstanding Graduate Student Researcher.
Symone James ’15, ’16 MA, an elementary education major, was one of nine students nationwide to become a Nancy Larson Foundation Scholar. James was awarded a $1,000 scholarship in recognition of her personal narrative, academic achievement, and community service.
Symone James ’15, ’16 MA is an elementary education major. (Photo Credit: Shawn Kornegay/Neag School)
Yujin Kim, a Ph.D. student in adult learning, was recognized by the Academy of Human Resources Development (AHRD) with the 2015 Dissertation of the Year Award.
Max Klein, a sport management major, was awarded a UConn IDEA grant in support of his undergraduate research regarding the socioeconomic factors that contribute to a high school baseball player going to college or signing a professional contract.
Theus McBee ’16 received a 2015 UConn Intern of the Year Honorable Mention selection. McBee, a sport management major, interned at the National Basketball Association headquarters in New York City during the summer of 2015.
Alumni
Brittany Perotti Agne ’09 (CLAS), ’11 MA, was recently promoted to director of children’s programs at New York Cares, in New York, N.Y.
Brianna Clark ’05 (ED), ’07 MA was inducted into her high school athletic Hall of Fame last fall in Marshfield, Mass.
Jason Cvercko ’11 (ED) has been hired as the director of football recruiting and retention at the University of Hawaii. As a sport management major at UConn, Cvercko served as a football recruiting intern for two seasons.
Classes 4 Classes, a classroom act of kindness initiative founded by former Sandy Hook teacher Kaitlin Roig DeBellis ’05 (ED), ’06 MA, is partnering with The Kraft Family Foundation. The partnership will expand the program to the entire New England region, including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island.
Kydani Dover ’05 (CLAS), ’07 MA, who is completing his Ph.D. in higher education at Louisiana State University, will be inducted into her high school athletic Hall of Fame in Newton, Mass. in March.
Joon Han ’08 Ph.D. returned to the Neag School as a visiting scholar to teach an undergraduate course in sport marketing. He is on sabbatical from another alma mater, Yeungham University in South Korea.
Coventry High School Principal Stephen Merlino ’81 (CLAS), ’84 MA, ’08 ELP was selected as the 2016 High School Assistant Principal of the Year. During his five-year tenure at Coventry High School, Merlino has played an integral role in improving CHS’ graduation rate to 98 percent.
Stephen Nelson, Ph.D. ’96 in higher education, has published a new book, The Shape and Shaping of the College and University in America (Lexington Books, 2016). He also recently penned a commentary piece for the New England Board of Higher Education offering a condensed version of one of the book’s chapters.
Matthew Ross ’02 (CLAS), ’07 MA as the director of technology, launched a new website for the Farmington School District, with the help of a firm, that was launched by another alum, Rob DiMartino ’97 (ED), ’00.
After 35 years of service, Sharon White ’76 MA retired from the University of Connecticut campus in Stamford on Dec. 31. White began her career at UConn – Stamford as an administrative assistant and worked her way up, finishing out her career as the campus director.
Jason Zigmont ’08 MA, ’10 Ph.D. has become a life coach focusing on personal achievement, helping nontraditional students finish college, and offering academic, life, and executive coaching. He has launched a personal website to conduct his business across the United States through a forum called PopExpert.
Faculty
Four faculty members received 2016 research awards from the Neag School of Education. Rachael Gabrieland Sarah Woulfin won the Early Career Researcher honor, while Don Leu and Betsy McCoach were named Distinguished Researchers.
Ronald Beghetto and James Kaufman’s book Teaching for Creativity in the Common Core Classroom(Teachers College Press, 2014) was named a 2015 Choice Magazine “Outstanding Academic Title.”
Sandy Bell was chosen as the Neag School representative for the Center for Excellence for Teaching and Learning (CETL) Innovation Council. The Council comprises faculty representatives from each school across UConn to serve in an advisory capacity to CETL.
Milagros Castillo-Montoya served as a guest speaker at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., on Jan. 27 on the topic of affirmative action. Her presentation focused on the educational benefits of diversity. She also served as the chair of the American Educational Research Association Hispanic Research Special Interest Group-Early Career Scholar award this academic year. The committee has selected a winner and will present the award at the upcoming AERA Hispanic Research/SIG business meeting. Castillo-Montoya was also awarded an UConn Reads grant to support the organization of three dialogues on race to be held at the Neag School this semester. Danielle DeRosa is working with Castillo-Montoya to plan and implement the sessions.
Sandra Chafouleas and Michael Coyne co-wrote, with other colleagues, “Exploring an Ecological Model of Perceived Usability Within a Multi-Tiered Vocabulary Intervention” in the journal Assessment for Effective Intervention, available online as of this January.
Michael Coyne and Brandi Simonsen were announced as the new co-directors for the Center of Behavioral Education and Research (CBER). In a statement, they said, “CBER has established a strong local, state, national, and international presence. As CBER moves forward, our goal is to sustain CBER’s original vision while working to enhance and build on CBER’s current strengths.”
George Sugai, professor of educational psychology, was one of two UConn experts who described to legislators how disruptive student behaviors can be reduced by building a positive school climate during a forum was sponsored by UConn’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education in January 2016. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Shaun Dougherty was named an editorial board member of the AERA journal Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis. He also participated in the University of Arkansas’ Department of Education Reform Series on Feb. 5 with his lecture titled “The Influence of Career and Technical Education on High School Completion, College-Going and Initial Wages.”
Justin Evanovich, along with students Carolina Franco, Sarah Levine, and Ben Briskin, presented at the IMPACT Conference at the University of Massachusetts on Feb. 19 on the topic of “Innovative and Intentional Student-Volunteer Empowerment Through Structured and Systemized Management Practices.”
Rachael Gabriel co-wrote “Engaging in Performance Ethnography in Research Methods Class” for the journal Qualitative Inquiry (December 2015). Gabriel, along with a colleague, was awarded a Connecticut Sea Grant for her research involving the formulation and testing of education strategies to increase coastal literacy.
Tamika La Salle was awarded a $500 Pearson/Trainers of School Psychologists Junior Faculty Scholarship to further professional development at Trainers of School Psychologists and the National Association of School Psychologists conferences.
Don Leu presented at a literacy summit at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, on Feb. 13.
Jennie McGarry will represent UConn’s Office of Public Engagement at the Research University Civic Engagement Network Conference at the Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., on Feb. 26 and 27.
Joseph Renzulli launched an education program in China to help students develop maturity, creativity, and independence. The program, called Renzulli Creativity Programs, will be also offered at UConn. He also recently penned a piece for District Administration Magazine, titled “Involving All Students in Advanced Activities.”
Blanca Rincón will join nine UConn faculty members as a 2016 Service Learning Faculty Fellow. The Service Learning Faculty Fellows program offered by the Office of Public Engagement recognizes faculty engaged in the pedagogy of service learning, a high-impact pedagogy that aims to bridge the needs of communities with active learning opportunities for students.
Blanca Rincón and Justin Evanovich were awarded a $5,000 Provost’s Teaching Innovation Grant for their course, Intergroup Dialogue on Race, which they will be teaching this fall. The grant competition is designed to support faculty innovation in teaching and student learning.
Del Siegle received the 2016 Palmarium Award earlier this month from the University of Denver’s Institute for the Development of Gifted Education. Siegle was awarded $5,000 for exemplifying the Institute’s vision.
Megan Staples recently penned a post for the Furthering Girls’ Math Identity blog titled “Girls’ Math Identity: Increasing Participation by Changing Definitions.”
George Sugai, sponsored by UNICEF and the U.S. Department of Education, will be traveling to South Africa to discuss his work regarding Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and supporting students with disabilities. Sugai will visit Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Cape Town and will meet with leadership in the Department of Basic Education. Sugai also presented at a forum at the state Capitol sponsored by UConn’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education last month, where he spoke with legislators and education leaders about reducing the use of restraints and seclusion in public schools.
Jaci VanHeest has been appointed to the President’s Council of Sport, Fitness, and Nutrition Science Board, which supports President Obama’s SFN Council to enhance Americans’ health and fitness. She was also appointed to the National FitnessGram Scientific Advisory Board, which furthers research on FitnessGram and physical activity and fitness.
Suzanne Wilson chaired the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee that recently published the report “Strengthening Science Education Through a Teacher Learning Continuum.” Wilson, along with a colleague, presented her research findings about what constitutes good teaching at an event titled “What Do We Know About Good Teaching? Results of a Research Synthesis” in Washington, D.C., in December. She also co-authored a paper on this topic.
Sara Woulfin, Morgaen Donaldson, and Richard Gonzales co-wrote “School District Leaders’ Framing of Educator Evaluation Policy,” published in the journal Educational Administration Quarterly this month.
In Memoriam
Patricia A. Belade ’52
Myron A. Cohen ’49
Ann C. Cox ’00
William M. DeMatteo ’58
Betty Domis ’60
Francis J. Duff ’71
Alan W. Gates ’66
Robert P. Horan ’72
Forrest A. Johnson ’76
Harold F. Lawson Sr. ’52
Joseph H. Marks ’71
Richard Mottola ’70
Dolores D. Scrivano ’56
Escott O. Smith ’66
Cody R. Thomas ’13
Audrey F. Thorpe ’58
Emil Salzberger ’77
Connecticut lawmakers and education leaders seeking to reduce the use of restraints and seclusion in public schools were encouraged this week by two UConn experts who offered a successful, research-driven alternative to addressing disruptive student behaviors.
More than 100 people attended a two-hour presentation at the state Capitol on Jan. 27, where professors George Sugai and Nicholas Gelbar described how a prevention and de-escalation strategy known as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) can significantly reduce incidents of seclusion and restraint, while simultaneously improving the classroom climate for all students.
George Sugai, professor of educational psychology, was one of two UConn experts who described to legislators how disruptive student behaviors can be reduced by building a positive school climate during a forum was sponsored by UConn’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education in January 2016. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Citing research from one alternative Connecticut school that implemented the PBIS model, Gelbar said that in the first year, restraints dropped by 25 percent and seclusions by 59 percent. The duration of the incidents that did occur also decreased 46 percent and 58 percent respectively.
The use of seclusion and restraints in Connecticut public schools is a growing concern. There are more than 30,000 incidents of seclusion or restraint each school year, with more than half taking place in elementary schools, and hundreds in preschools. In the past three years, there were more than 1,300 incidents in which students were injured during a restraint or seclusion. The Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate has found that children are being placed in seclusion as punishment for refusing to do a task or being disruptive, rather than on an emergency-only basis as state law stipulates to keep them safe if they pose a danger to themselves or others.
UConn staff and researchers have been working closely with lawmakers, educators, and advocates to reduce the reliance on seclusion and restraints and to raise awareness of alternative programs like school-wide PBIS. Last year, the Connecticut General Assembly passed a law limiting the use of seclusion and restraints in public schools and encouraging school systems to come up with better ways of dealing with challenging behavior.
The PBIS framework is one such option. Supported by the U.S. Department of Education, school-wide PBIS is currently being used in more than 21,000 schools across the country, including many in Connecticut.
“This is important work,” said Isabelina Rodriguez, special education bureau chief for the Connecticut Department of Education. Rodriguez said the department is committed to establishing a statewide support structure that improves the academic performance of students at all levels and particularly students with disabilities, students of color, and students for whom English is a second language. School-wide PBIS is part of that effort, she said, and a program that state officials would like to see extended to hundreds of Connecticut schools through ongoing professional development opportunities.
R is for Respect and Responsibility
So what is the School Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports model?
The main thrust of PBIS is that it teaches behavioral expectations and social skills the same way as any other core part of the curriculum. A school develops three to five behavioral standards that are positively stated and easy to remember. Those behavior expectations and the rules surrounding them are then explained to students, who are encouraged to follow them daily.
Some examples of behavioral standards adopted for students from pre-K to grade 12 would be:
Respect Yourself, Respect Others, Respect Property.
Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful.
Respect Relationships and Respect Responsibilities.
Those standards are then constantly reinforced through prompts and reminders during the school day. They also are monitored and modeled by the entire school staff, from the principal, teachers, and support staff to cafeteria workers, custodians, and bus drivers. Consistency and parental support for the initiative is key.
The use of seclusion and restraints in Connecticut public schools is a growing concern. There are more than 30,000 incidents of seclusion or restraint each school year, with more than half taking place in elementary schools, and hundreds in preschools.
Success, Sugai repeatedly cautioned, depends on a complete buy-in by staff, strong local leadership, broad support, and regular assessment of data to make sure that what is in place is working for individual students. The process usually involves a year’s worth of training and preparation by staff before implementation, and then ongoing development of additional “tiers” to enhance the program’s effectiveness.
“The ‘train and hope’ approach doesn’t work,” Sugai said of some school districts’ interest in taking a partial, one-day, quick-hit approach to PBIS. “This is a strategy and a process so we can pick the best intervention and support for a student and give that teacher or parent a better way to respond.”
Sugai, the Carole J. Neag Endowed Professor in Special Education in the Neag School of Education, was one of the founders of the PBIS model and has been refining it for the past 18 years. He is an international expert in behavior analysis, classroom management, and school discipline, and a speaker in high demand, who has served as a panelist and presented his research during several visits to White House for conferences dealing with school discipline, bullying, and other issues. He currently serves as co-director of UConn’s Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in Storrs.
At the core of PBIS is understanding student behavior and how things like the “coercive cycle” can escalate behavior into a crisis. Sugai illustrated the coercive cycle by using the example of a child screaming in a car for their parent to stop for ice cream. At first, the parent may politely decline. The child screams louder. The parent may then raise their voice louder and be more stern. The frustrated child may scream even louder or engage in other difficult behavior in order to get their way. Unless the situation is defused, it can create a crisis.
Using the school model, Sugai said teachers and students likewise respond to and learn from each other’s behavior. When a behavior doesn’t work for either side, it can escalate. A behavior problem is a teaching problem.
When it comes to defusing and addressing troublesome classroom behaviors, he said improving school climate is effective if done properly: “Restraint and seclusion and the coercive cycle are all directly linked to the climate of the classroom, the climate of the hallway, the climate of the school.”
Associate child advocate Mickey Kramer, whose office’s critical reports on the overuse of restraints and seclusion helped prompt the new state law, asked whether PBIS was structured to recognize the role trauma can play in student behavior and potential interventions. Sugai said detailed individual student assessments and screening are a critical component of the first tier of the PBIS program, and incorporating mental health assessments and treatments for students who may need them is an integral part of the process.
Wednesday’s forum was sponsored by UConn’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, along with the legislature’s Committee on Children and Education Committee.
Editor’s Note: The following story originally appeared on UConn Today, the University of Connecticut’s news website. A complete video of Wednesday’s forum can be found here. Additional materials from the presentation are available online here.
Editor’s Note: The following story originally appeared on UConn Today, the University of Connecticut’s news website.
This time of year, millions of high school students around the country are anxiously waiting to learn whether they will be accepted into the college or university of their choice.
For many, high school grades and standardized test scores will be the initial benchmarks that decide their fate. But UConn professor of educational psychology James C. Kaufman says traditional college admission practices are capturing only part of a student’s overall potential.
“Creativity would be great for admissions, not as a replacement for standardized tests, but as an addition to them,” says James Kaufman, professor of educational psychology. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
In a recent study with colleague Jean Pretz of Elizabethtown College, Kaufman argues that adding broader assessments of creativity to the college admissions process could help institutions of higher learning increase student diversity and enroll the kind of daring, imaginative thinkers many are searching for in today’s rapidly changing, technology-driven world.
“We’re not saying that the SATs or GREs should be thrown out. That’s not going to happen,” Kaufman explains. “What we’re suggesting is creativity assessments would be great for admissions, not as a replacement for standardized tests, but as an addition to them. We’re hoping this study and others like it will show that the SATs can predict only a certain amount of information and if we add creativity, we’ll know more.”
The pair pulled data on more than 600 college applicants to a small liberal arts college in the Mid-Atlantic region and compared that information to the applicants’ performance on a series of online tests assessing various forms of creativity. The application data included SAT scores, class rank, and college admission interview scores.
Their results showed that traditional admission criteria were only weakly related to creativity, and were failing in large part to adequately recognize such non-cognitive traits as artistic creativity, intellectual curiosity, adaptability, and perseverance.
“If higher education … seek[s] to develop critical and creative thinkers who can adapt to and innovate in a rapidly changing society, we must identify and develop creativity among our students.”
— James C. Kaufman & Jean Pretz
The findings are especially important now, Kaufman says, because of the focus many colleges and universities are placing on innovation and student learning in science, technology, engineering, and math, otherwise known as the STEM fields.
“If higher education faculty and administrators seek to develop critical and creative thinkers who can adapt to and innovate in a rapidly changing society, we must identify and develop creativity among our students,” Pretz and Kaufman wrote in the study’s conclusions. The study appears in the September 2015 issue of The Journal of Creative Behavior.
Creativity assessments are also more likely to be gender and ethnically neutral, Kaufman says, thereby avoiding the potential for bias that has been a concern on some standardized tests. Studies have shown that the most widely used standardized performance tests for college admission, the SAT, is a better predictor of college success for White students than African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American students, Kaufman says.
“If you look at creativity measures, those differences aren’t there,” says Kaufman, an internationally recognized leader in the field of creativity who has written more than 35 books on the subject. “Everyone has some capacity for creativity.”
Kaufman and Pretz acknowledge that standardized tests like the SAT have proven success in predicting college grades. The tests also, to some degree, capture academic creativity as it applies in such areas as written essays or science and math problem solving.
Many selective colleges rely on the results of personal interviews, application essays, and letters of recommendation to obtain a more holistic assessment of students, including their potential creativity. But Kaufman argues that those elements are still limiting for some students, especially those who fail to clear initial hurdles regarding their grades and test scores.
“Letters and statements are way behind test scores and GPA in terms of what matters,” he says. “And there have been a number of studies that have shown that individuals who conduct interviews, such as administrators and supervisors, are not quite as good at gleaning information from those interviews as they think they are.”
In their analysis, Kaufman and Pretz assessed different aspects of student creativity by asking them to perform a series of tests. One question asked students how they would use a $1 million donation to their college or university. Another asked them to write a caption to an ambiguous photograph. A third asked them to write an essay about a dream project in their field of study. Participants also had to complete a personal questionnaire that sought to gauge their creativity.
Kaufman concedes that the study’s reliance on self-reporting in the questionnaire is a caveat that must be considered when drawing conclusions from the results. Both he and Pretz plan to continue gathering data from the students over the course of their college careers to assess the accuracy and effectiveness of their testing.
For now, he believes that broadening the college application process to include more aspects of creativity deserves further consideration. To those who counter that testing for creativity is labor-intensive and time-consuming, Kaufman says valid tests now exist that score for creativity quickly and accurately.
“Anytime you have more information of any kind, you are going to be more accurate about figuring out the best kids to admit, and with creativity you are going to identify kids who maybe wouldn’t have stood out otherwise,” he says. “We also know from our research that if these kinds of additional traits are considered, there is a better chance you will have a more diverse group than you would have if you just considered an SAT score.”
According to recent research, more than 40 percent of female rape victims have been assaulted before the age of 18. In the state of Connecticut in the year 2013 alone, roughly 1 in 5 of the male offenders arrested for rape were arrested at age 19 or younger.
In a new report titled “Sexual Violence with K-12 Students in Connecticut: Prevalence, Prevention, and Future Directions,” co-authors Jonathan Plucker ’91 (CLAS), ’92 MA – a Neag School alumnus and former faculty member – and current Neag School student Grace Healey share these and other recent research findings regarding the prevalence of sexual violence, with a focus on young people at both the national and state level. The brief also specifically outlines steps that the state of Connecticut is taking in response.
“Across the nation, efforts at prevention and increasing quality of services for victims have been focused largely at the college level. There is no question that institutions of higher education have to improve both prevention and victim services, but the available data make a strong case that sexual violence is not a college-only problem.”
Policymakers, the researchers state, have sought over recent decades to reduce sexual violence by relying on a criminal justice approach, in which sexually violent acts are dealt with after they occur. Plucker and Healey discuss the implementation, over the past decade, of a “primary prevention model,” which instead seeks to prevent sexual violence. The findings, they state, “suggest that prevention of sexual violence should start at least in early adolescence.”
According to the researchers, the brief’s intention is “not only to inform readers of the prevalence of sexual violence, but also to discuss sexual violence as a multifaceted and complex public health issue, one in which public policy alone will have limited effectiveness.”
Neag School alum Alicia (Qerim) Bowman ’01 (ED), ’02 MA, ’08 6th Year serves as principal of West Woods Upper Elementary School in Farmington, Conn. (Photo Credit: Shawn Kornegay/Neag School)
Three-time Neag School alum Alicia (Qerim) Bowman ’01 (ED), ’02 MA, ’08 6th Year is now in her sixth year serving as principal of West Woods Upper Elementary School in Farmington, Conn. This week, Teach.com — an educational web resource for information on becoming a great teacher in any state across the country — features Bowman in its “8 Questions” series, which showcases teachers who have transitioned their classroom skills into new and exciting careers in the field of education.
“From my internship experiences, my time as a student at UConn’s Neag School, and my years as a sixth-grade teacher, I understood the power of professional collaboration and shared accountability — for adults and students,” says Bowman. “My job now, as principal, is to create the culture and conditions for joint work to happen in regular, meaningful ways.”
Read Bowman’s full profile story on Teach.com here.
