Neag School Hosts “News Literacy in a Digital Media Age” Conference on March 16

Posted on January 27, 2012December 1, 2021 by

Digital literacy The Neag School of Education will host the 10th annual Northeast Media Literacy Conference, “News Literacy in a Digital Media Age” on Friday, March 16 in the Bishop Center from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. This year’s event will emphasize exploring the importance of news literacy, the impact of new technology, the need to help youth develop critical thinking skills to understand and interpret media, and other important digital media issues effecting schools, communities and youth-oriented organizations.

“The Northeast Media Literacy Conference has been recognized for almost a decade as a key annual meeting of media literacy leaders and enthusiasts to learn and share with each other,” said Dr. Thomas B. Goodkind, conference creator and coordinator and a Neag School of Education professor of curriculum and instruction. “The program usually features two keynote speakers — recognized national and international experts in the field — as well as over a dozen workshops led by innovative theorists, practitioners and researchers in media literacy and technology.”

A special repeat feature of the conference will be the participation of 22 media leaders representing 22 nations, sponsored by the U.S. State Department’s International Leadership Program.

“The participation of these leaders in this distinguished State Department program at our conference is significant in that it appears to tie in directly with the continued, timely U.S. government recognition of the international interest and importance of media literacy,” said Goodkind.

The international visits to UConn also boosts the visibility and image of both the University and the Neag School of Education, while providing the potential for important world-wide contacts in media literacy and related fields.

Keynote speakers are Howard Schneider, nationally recognized speaker, educator and founding dean of the School of Journalism at Stony Brook University, and Dr. Kathleen Clarke-Pearson, award-winning American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) pediatrician and expert on the impact of the mass media upon young children. Both will bring leadership, knowledge and experience in media literacy to the conference, Goodkind said.

The conference will also feature 15 workshops, exhibitors and film showings. Registration includes a continental breakfast, buffet lunch, refreshments throughout the day, social hour, conference-related handouts and parking fee. Cost to attend is $95 per person; $45 for students (with ID).

For more information and to register, visit the Northeast Media Literacy Conference website at http://medialiteracy.education.uconn.edu or contact Dr. Thomas B. Goodkind at t.goodkind@uconn.edu or (860) 486-0290.

Husky Sport Connects Hartford, Storrs

Posted on January 27, 2012July 19, 2017 by

Josh Lupinek, a first year master’s student in sports management, teaches Hartford students how to play soccer during the Husky Sport “Read and Raise Olympic Event.” About 200 Hartford students and staff spent the day on campus with 200 UConn students and staff, celebrating the schools’ participation in the Read and Raise initiative from December through April. Photos by Jessica Tommaselli

A program that pairs UConn students with schools in Hartford’s North End—using sports as common ground for learning—has instilled the importance of community service in every participant.

Week after week since 2004, UConn students have spent time in Hartford through the Neag School of Education’s Husky Sport program. They work alongside nearly 30 community organizations, particularly the City of Hartford’s Parker Memorial Center, and in five local schools—Capital Prep, Clark, Fred D. Wish, Martin Luther King and SAND—to drive home the importance of education, engage the students in school-wide reading challenges, and participate in sports activities and nutrition lessons.

Some of the UConn names who have contributed to the program are also among the most well-known: Kemba Walker, Maya Moore, Donald Brown, Brittany Hunter, Emeka Okafor, Kevin Ollie and many more. Okafor also supported the program through a 2007 gift, donating $250,000 to the program, which has been integral in the growth of Husky Sport.

Husky Sport is not limited to student-athletes, however. More than 1,000 UConn volunteers participate each year, amassing more than 25,000 hours of community outreach annually through service learning classes led by Jennifer Bruening, Ph.D., in the Department of Kinesiology. Bruening created the Husky Sport program shortly after arriving at UConn in 2002.

“Sport is at the root of our partnership,” Bruening said. “Sports-based youth development provides the basis for teaching larger life lessons. Husky Sport uses sport as a foundation to assist the Hartford students in making smart choices, and bringing real change to their community.”

The UConn students take on a kind of rock-star status among the students at the schools, and their presence helps to encourage the students in Hartford to reach higher. For instance, the Read & Raise Initiative that challenges the students at each of the Hartford schools to read 15,000 books and complete 15,000 work sheets by April 30 was met and surpassed well ahead of the target date. The students in Hartford are also invited to Storrs for events, often tied into Division of Athletics activities

Bruening’s service learning class in Storrs—and the popularity of the program—has allowed for a steady increase in the reach and depth of the Husky Sport program. Through the program, UConn students provide assistance with physical education and nutrition in the schools and partner with Clark Street neighborhood after school programs to increase the number of youth who attend weekly swimming lessons at the Parker Memorial Center.

The program has also expanded its work with the Teens Through College program for high school students preparing for college to include a college credit bearing course at Capital Prep High School. Graduates of the Teens Through College program are presently attending college throughout the state, including UConn.

For more information on Husky Sport, visit huskysport.uconn.edu.

Academic Coach on the Bench

Posted on January 27, 2012December 8, 2016 by

When Alyssa Budkofsky (BS Sport Science ʼ01) listens to the student-athletes on the menʼs basketball team at Quinnipiac University describe the challenges of getting their schoolwork done while still meeting their obligations for practice, games, and travel, she is sympathetic up to a point.

After all, Budkofsky, assistant athletic director for menʼs basketball academic support at Quinnipiac, once faced a similar situation herself, as a student manager for the Huskies. Today, she tells her student-athletes: “I had to go to practice and go to class. I know youʼre going to have to make sacrifices in your personal life, but thatʼs what you have to do to make that commitment.”

Soon after earning her degree from the Neag School of Education, Budkofsky received a call from Karl Hobbs ʼ84 (CLAS), who had been named head coach at George Washington University after being an assistant coach to Jim Calhoun at UConn, asking if she would be interested in going to graduate school and working as a student manager. While obtaining a masterʼs degree in business administration, Budkofsky tutored basketball players at George Washington to earn extra money. With her MBA in hand, she then spent a year and a half working for the management division of Ripken Baseball, led by former Baltimore Orioles star Cal Ripken Jr., before returning to George Washington as an academic advisor and earning a second masterʼs degree in higher education.

Budkofsky started as academic advisor for menʼs basketball in 2007 at Quinnipiac, when Tom Moore was named head menʼs coach, and established an academic advisor position for his team. Moore, a former assistant coach to Calhoun at UConn, had previously hired Budkofsky as a student manager for the Huskies.

“Alyssa has been invaluable in our efforts to establish a culture of academic excellence in our menʼs basketball program,” Moore said. “Her work ethic, loyalty, and commitment to the academic process have been the driving forces behind us being noted by FoxSports as having the largest increase in our academic progress rate score of any Division I menʼs basketball program in the country.”

Budkofsky met Moore on her first day in Storrs as a freshman in 1997, when she visited the menʼs basketball office to see how she could get involved with the team. The meeting put her in a front-row seat for a basketball journey she never anticipated, including being part of the Huskiesʼ first NCAA title in 1999.

“I was never very good at sports,” said Budkofsky, who sits on the team bench during games. “I played softball and danced. I grew up in Connecticut [in Bloomfield] and loved watching UConn basketball. Thatʼs where my passion for sports started.”

Budkofsky has not only offered academic support to her student-athletes, but has also worked with Quinnipiac assistant coach Scott Burrell (BGS ’10). Burrell, who left UConn before completing his degree to pursue a playing career in the NBA, completed his UConn degree requirements 17 years after he left Storrs.

For more information on Neag’s Sport Management program, visit here.

Coaching Cross Country

Posted on January 27, 2012April 4, 2016 by

Rich Miller (Physical Therapy ’95) is head coach of menʼs cross country and associate head coach of menʼs track and field. He has been part of the Huskiesʼ coaching staff for 16 years, and as a student-athlete was named the 1995 UConn Club Outstanding Scholar-Athlete. He was a co-captain of the track and field teams that won back-to-back New England Indoor Championships. He spoke with UCONN Magazine about coaching menʼs cross country.

What should people know first about cross country?

We race over five miles in the woods and in the fields. Each course varies in the level of difficulty because of the terrain we run on. You have both individuals competing and a team competition. You are scored based on the place that you come in – you get one point for being in first place, 30 points for being in 30th place – as well as the time you have. You add up the points for the top five runners on the team, and thatʼs the score you come in with. Itʼs like golf in that the lowest score wins.

What makes a good championship course?

A challenging course. Runners have different strengths and weakness, and you have some runners who may favor the hillier course, some who favor a flat course, or those that are good in the fields or the woods. The weather also plays a factor. Some courses get muddy when itʼs raining, and others drain pretty well. To me, a good championship course combines a lot of things, giving you some flat running as well as open running.

Is most of the teamʼs training done on or off campus?

One of the great things about being here is there are a lot of varied routes nearby. We have some traditional loops on campus here: near Mirror Lake, Horsebarn Hill, and some trails up near the fields behind Charter Oak in the woods. Weʼll also go down to Mansfield Hollow a number of times during the year. Itʼs great training for these guys.

Is it difficult that you donʼt have the chance to coach your student-athletes as they are competing in cross country as other coaches in other team sports can do?

Thereʼs always final minute adjustments right before the competition starts but, by and large, most of the work has happened already, leading up to that competition. There is a race plan for the kids to be disciplined, aggressive, and to follow the plan set up for them. Success or failure will be based on that. It is unique in that once the race starts, you turn into a cheerleader.

What are the elements of a race plan?

I believe in racing aggressively and in putting yourself in a position to win and not waiting for something to happen. A lot of it starts with mental preparation and race concepts. We work on understanding the benchmark is running five-minute miles over a five- to six-mile race. If youʼre able to run at that level, by and large, youʼre going to be successful. Guys need to be in position as they move into the rest of the race. And you need to do it without exerting the energy you need for the rest of the race.

What do you feel is unique about cross country racing at the intercollegiate level?

One of the great things in the sport is that weʼre all starters. Thereʼs no looking around for someone to take the ball away from you. I have my opportunity to succeed or fail, be a champion – and itʼs up to me, not the guy next to me. If I can be my best on the day that Iʼm preparing to be my best, nobody can take that away.

Neag School’s DPT Program Achieves National Accreditation

Posted on January 27, 2012December 8, 2016 by

Current DPT student Gregory Sago gets hands-on instruction from UConn Health Center physical therapist Gregg Gomlinski as part of his clinical experience. (Shawn Kornegay/UConn Photo)

UConnʼs Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program has achieved national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. This is the first review of the DPT program, which has been part of the Neag School of Education since its inception in 2007. The accreditation is good for 10 years.

The accreditation commission said, “The program is meeting its mission, as evidenced by the programʼs high licensure pass rate on the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy licensure exam and the reputation of its graduates as being well-prepared for autonomous, evidence-based practice.”

Accomplishments of students in the DPT program include:

A 100 percent first-time licensure exam pass rate, compared to the national average of 89.5 percent.
An employment rate for graduated students of 100 percent.

“This accreditation is a testament to the hard work of many faculty and staff members, along with our students and alumni,” said Dean Dr. Thomas C. DeFranco. “The program has a very rich history and, through the efforts of many, has the potential to be a nationally ranked program.”

In 1952, the University of Connecticut became the first public university in the nation to establish a physical therapy degree program. The program evolved from an undergraduate program, then became a masterʼs, and in 2007 progressed to a doctorate program. Now based within the nationally ranked Neag School of Education, the DPT degree program is offered through the Department of Kinesiology.

“The physical therapy program at UConn has always been highly regarded,” said Dr. Craig Denegar, director of the DPT program. He said the program is now “poised to become a leader in the advancement of evidence-based care.”

“We are so proud of our accreditation and the faculty, students, and staff who continue to work hard to make the DPT an excellent program,” he added. “We have excellent students and faculty working together to prepare excellent clinicians, advance practice through research, and serve our communities.” There are currently 60 students in three cohorts. The first DPT class graduated in 2010.

As a professional doctoral program, the curriculum is designed to ensure physical therapists receive the skills and expertise needed to practice and stay abreast of advances in physical therapy and health care which, in turn, ensures patients receive top-quality care. Through strong didactic and clinical education experiences, the DPT program also fosters each studentʼs individual talents through collaborative research with a team of faculty mentors.

The DPT is a three-year, post-bachelorʼs program. Applicants may earn a bachelorʼs degree in a number of different areas, but all complete the same pre-requisite coursework.

Clinical education is at the heart of the DPT program. The students participate in full-time learning experiences at healthcare facilities across the country. The Nayden Rehabilitation Clinic, operated by the Department of Kinesiology, also serves as a local training site for students, while providing care to the University and nearby communities.

Opening a Door Leads to Giving Back for One Alumnus

Posted on January 27, 2012April 4, 2016 by

DSC_John Greene John Greene (MA ’67, Ph.D. ’70), a master’s student at UConn in the 1960s, was also teaching high school math at the time. One day he was walking down a hall on campus, where he saw the sign “Project Essay Grade” and he knocked on the door. Entering that door would change his course of study – and his life forever.

The sign on the door, “Project Essay Grade,” was for a US Office of Education doctoral program at UConn, focusing on behavioral science research. In speaking with the professor in charge, Dr. Page, Greene discovered “they were looking for people like me.”

“The program offered a stipend, which matched my teaching salary,” he recalled. “It also paid for all the costs, including tuition, books, and travel to conferences. There was even an extra allowance for your children.”

He switched academic programs from math education to behavioral science research and started in the program with nine other doctoral students, including Dr. Fran Archambault (MA ’69, Ph.D. ’70). The two students built a life-long connection.

“Fran was a year ahead of me,” said Greene. “He was very helpful to many people. I have the highest regard for him, and his expertise and dedication.”

“He would go out of his way to help people. Fran even showed me the secret spots to park on campus, but I had to promise not to tell anyone,” Greene smiled.

The doctoral research fellowship — which was through UConn’s School of Education (later renamed the Neag School of Education) — focused on behavioral science. “At UConn, they had outstanding facilities and computers.” It was Greene’s first experience with computers and educational research.

The project focused on computer simulations and Artificial Intelligence. He was very curious about the research focus and thought it was an unbelievable opportunity. The program and experience helped Greene prepare for the world after college. “It gave me the ability and credentials. I had selected UConn because of its reputation,” he said.

Along the way, he met education psychology professor Dr. Joe Renzulli. “I’m a math guy – I do stats and computer analysis – and Joe really helped me with my writing.”

“Unlike others, he didn’t just accept or reject the writing,” said Greene. “He actually taught me to write. We would go over each chapter, and he’d mark it up in a helpful way. Joe did that for many people, and it really helped me.”

Renzulli served on Greene’s dissertation committee, which Greene fondly reflected on. “I keep up with all that Joe’s doing. I’m so happy for him and all his accomplishments.”

“John was an outstanding student when he was here at UConn,” Renzulli recalled. “He graduated and went on to become a highly respected professor and then an entrepreneur. He went into a different aspect of education, on the business side of education services.”

After graduation, Greene went on to teach at the University of Bridgeport. He worked there for the next 10 years, focusing on educational research. His research expertise also allowed him to explore consulting opportunities outside the classroom, which led to him publishing over 100 articles, manuals and professional papers.

While at the University of Bridgeport, Greene worked with his doctoral friend, Archambault, on National Science Foundation grant projects. Archambault was at Boston University at the time, and Greene helped him with various projects, including one with math development for children.

Archambault needed help and asked Greene to get involved, along with Renzulli. They travelled together, collected and analyzed data together, and wrote reports together. They also had a chance to talk about life and strengthen their bond. “I have great memories of working on those projects with John,” Archambault said.

“He was committed, insightful, talented and fun to be with. What could better than having fun with your work?”

Greene also reflected about those projects. “We went around the country, interviewing the brightest kids,” Greene recalled. “Some could solve math puzzles faster than the professors. Our research focused on how the kids were taught, and their verbal interactions were measured.”

Greene determined his next path would be consulting full time and helped launch a consulting firm with a colleague, Joe Keilty, a professor at the University of Bridgeport. Named Keilty, Coldsmith and Company, the firm launched in the 1980s. Greene was a founding member.

He spent the next 30 years flying all over the world, with his second home being a hotel room. Greene’s favorite was La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, California, near where the firm was based.

Members of the firm worked with Fortune 500 organizations like General Electric, American Express, IBM, AT&T, and numerous others, including the FBI. They developed organizational and leadership development modules for their clients, and Greene’s research and expertise with behavioral sciences constituted key components. They were among the first to use 360-degree feedback and other cutting-edge leadership development and measurement tools.

He also met industry leaders along the way. Jack Welch from GE was one of those leaders.

“I met the dynamic Jack Welch when we were consulting for GE,” said Greene. “Often we were doing our training at the Crotonville facility, and Mr. Welch would take a helicopter to the meeting. Everyone gathered at a reception area and waited for him to arrive.”

“He gave a presentation and then opened it up to questions. He was very receptive to questions, but if you asked him a question, sometimes he would turn it around and ask the individual what he or she thought.”

“Hopefully, they all had good responses,” he chuckled.

An avid sports fan and former collegiate athlete himself (four varsity letters including golf), Greene actively followed UConn sports, especially men’s and women’s basketball. He and his graduate school friend, Archambault, attended many UConn basketball games. He also enjoyed attending Super Bowls, Little League World Series, Final Fours and the Olympics with his six children.

“We’ve stayed in touch through important family events and various UConn functions, including events at the Neag School, Alumni Association events and football and basketball events,” recalled Archambault. “John is party of my family, and I am part of his. And we are both members of the UConn family, and proudly so.”

The consulting business was very successful, but after almost 30 years he decided to retire and hand part of the business to his children. Greene now has more time to spend with hobbies, including UConn sports and playing golf, both of which he enjoys with Archambault.

When asked who is the better golfer, Greene wouldn’t divulge who has the better handicap. He did, however, confess to really enjoying relaxing on the fairways and contemplating retirement. In between drives and putts, he started thinking about ways to give back to his alma mater. He thought about a scholarship that would benefit students studying educational psychology focused on measurement– the program he studied.

He connected with the folks at the UConn Foundation about setting up the scholarship and determined it would be wonderful to honor his life-long friend, Archambault, who has done so much for UConn and is always giving back.

“I’ve known Fran all these years,” Greene said, adding that he couldn’t respect or imagine a better professional than Archambault, which is why he named the scholarship in his honor, as opposed to himself.

The scholarship, officially named the “Friends and Colleagues of Francis X. Archambault, Jr. Fellowship,” was launched in 2006 and awards funds on an annual basis. Archambault is the Alumni Trustee of the University of Connecticut’s Board of Trustees, Professor Emeritus in the Neag School of Education and past president of the UConn Alumni Association.

“John thought it would be best to support graduate students in evaluation and measurement, the same discipline in which we earned our degrees,” said Archambault. “The scholarship helps move students along the path to the Ph.D. These students go on to take leadership roles at other universities and governmental agencies.”

Due to the scholarship, the students “have a direct impact on education here in Connecticut and across the nation.”

“I’m not surprised Greene established a scholarship back at his alma mater,” added Renzulli. “I know he’s always considered giving back, and I’m really proud of all that he’s accomplished.”

Last year’s recipient, Glen Davenport, is a current second-year doctoral student in measurement and starting to dive into his own research on cognitive diagnostic assessments. Davenport used the scholarship funds to attend the American Education Research Association (AERA) Conference in New Orleans.

“That was really a big deal, because as a first-year student, I did not have anything to present and was not eligible for most student travel grants,” said Davenport. “Attending the AERA meeting was a huge boost for me, as it gave me opportunities to network and ideas for my own lines of research.”

Davenport acknowledges the importance of the scholarship and who it’s in honor of. “(Dr. Archambault) is deeply connected to education, to UConn and this area. I know that the scholarship I received was in his honor, which is a seriously positive commentary on someone’s character.”

Davenport will carry on the legacy of Greene and Archambault through his studies and research.

Greene gets back to campus for UConn basketball and other sporting events. He’s also been able to meet some of the scholarship recipients at the spring Honors Celebration.

Opening that “Project” door years ago led to a new course of study, a new lifelong friend and a new career. He’s been happy he made that choice ever since.

New Academy Provides Opportunity to Challenge Best and Brightest Students

Posted on January 27, 2012April 4, 2016 by

Renzulli111214b231 The brightly lit room was buzzing. Groups of three or four children, all fourth graders, sat or stood around small tables, trying mightily to create an electromagnetic current that would lift more and more paper clips. Their teacher, Freddie DeJesus, wandered from table to table, sitting and chatting and making suggestions to help move each group in the right direction.

Le’Lah Arthur loves it.

“This is a really fun place,” says Le’Lah, referring to the sparkling new Renzulli Academy on Cornwall Street in Hartford, the first stand-alone, public school academy for gifted and talented children in an urban area in the country. “They let us a do a lot of really fun things.”

Her friend, Aleigha Johnson, agrees.

“I really like it here. It’s much better than my old school,” she says.

The academy is a dream come true for its founder, Neag School of Education Professor Joseph Renzulli, perhaps the most well-known champion of gifted education, along with his wife, Sally Reis, in the nation. The two have spent most of their careers trying to make legislators and school districts recognize the importance of challenging the best and brightest students in the world to reach their full potential.

“The fact that the City of Hartford has recognized what we’re doing – they gave us the building, rehabbed it, gave us the space, the equipment, great computers and smart boards, and allowed us to select and train outstanding teachers – is a testament to their commitment,” says Renzulli. “It makes it much easier for the teachers to do their job.”

Perhaps even more important, the Academy provides the teachers with much more stability than typical in-school gifted programs that often go away when a grant expires or a new superintendent moves in. Here, Hartford’s education budget follows the students, so as long as the students exist, the city will be paying for them one way or another. And, according to Miriam Morales-Taylor, assistant superintendent for learning and support services, this is where the city and board of education want these students to be.

“We’re changing the stereotype of Hartford students,” says Morales-Taylor. “Nearly 25 percent of our students are now in magnet schools, charter schools, or academies and we’re limiting enrollment in those schools to no more than 500 students, so they can receive direct education.”

The Renzulli Academy, which opened its doors two years ago in various corners of the Simpson-Waverly School on nearby Waverly Street, currently houses 104 students in grades 4-8. The plan, adopted unanimously by the board of education, is to add a kindergarten and ninth grade next year, first and 10^th grades in 2013, and so on until becoming a K-12 school for gifted and talented Hartford school children by 2016, with a maximum enrollment of about 300 students, hailing from all corners of the city. Reaching that level should not be a problem, says lead teacher and Director Ruth Lyons.

“Unfortunately, we had to cap fifth grade enrollment this year,” says Lyons. “Parents are clamoring for information but, to do what we want to do, class sizes must be limited.”

It’s no wonder parents are anxious to enroll their children at the Academy. The classes are small in the refurbished academy, which sits on a tree-lined street, a black wrought iron fence surrounding the property, which features a grassy entrance area and playscape. The interior of the building is no different. Light streams into the building. The floors sparkle. Everything smells clean.

And the children at the Academy are almost as shiny as the floors, neatly outfitted in their uniforms – blue shirts and khaki pants or skirts. Best of all, they are excited, chattering, working. A social studies class darts into the hall, posting the reports they just wrote on Abraham Lincoln, Illinois, and other historical topics on one of a number of 4X8-foot boards that line the halls. In a history class, hands pop up when the teacher asks questions about how soldiers in the Civil War survived the misery of encampments, and how Confederates and Union fighters handled the conditions differently. In between question periods, the students perform, acting out aspects of their studies.

“The growth I’ve seen in these kids has been remarkable,” says Lyons. “Especially the students who had a rocky start. They’ve really turned a corner. And the students who were solid when they arrived are even better. They have so much curiosity, so much potential.”

Lyons says the Academy, using Renzulli methods, is also like a research laboratory. In fact, she is listed on her business card as a research assistant, watching carefully to see how the students react to an advanced mathematics curriculum called Mentoring Mathematical Minds. They teach advanced reading skills using research led by Renzulli’s partner, Sally Reis, the Schoolwide Enrichment Model – Reading Framework (SEM-R), which allows students to choose what books to read, as long as they are challenging and above grade level. Teachers in SEM-R don’t lecture from the front of the classroom, but mingle with the students and discuss what they’re reading individually. The science curriculum is based on the scientific method and meets daily, unlike many other schools.

“We’re putting research into practice,” Lyons says.

The school day is also longer than in other districts, running from 8:45 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. Classes are held in 70-minute blocks. And the students get homework that matches the rigor of the classroom, not the watered down versions in most public schools, where teachers must focus primarily on the students who are lagging, leaving the bright students to work on their own.

“Homework can be a challenge to a lot of these kids who are used to being able to knock it off on the bus ride home,” says Lyons. “That isn’t the case here. They’re working one to one-and-a-half grades above level. They’re used to being a big fish in a little pond, and now they’re little fish in a big pond.”

Recognizing the workload, one of the requirements for admission to the Academy is for the parents to sign on, to agree to support their child, provide a positive home atmosphere, and devote time to work with them.

“That isn’t always easy,” Lyons says. “A lot of these children are living with a single parent who may be working two jobs, who has child care issues. Sixty-five percent of our students on are on free or reduced lunch.

There are other rules, both for the city and the students’ families, whether in Hartford or any other district interested in adopting the Renzulli model — officials from Waterbury and New Haven have visited, as have representatives from a city in Texas and a faculty member from a school district in Australia.

“The district has to agree to pay all expenses and guarantee they will adhere to gifted pedagogy,” says Renzulli. “Training of teachers – they have to know the pedagogy of gifted education. They all have to sing out of the same prayer book. There must be good leadership. We have that here with Ruth. And third, I want people to serve an internship, at least a week, not just a drive-by. They have to internalize the spirit of what we’re doing.”

The seven teachers at the Academy have that spirit. Three are Neag School of Education alumni. Lyons is currently completing her dissertation and should have a Ph.D. from UConn by May. Another, Melissa Thom, also is a current UConn Three Summers student. A sixth, Mona Teitelbaum, is the wife of the dean of UConn’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Jeremy Teitelbaum. As more teachers are hired, they will first be screened by Lyons and Renzulli, and then recommended for hire by the school district. They will be employed by the Hartford school system.

The students applying must score at the very top of the Connecticut Mastery Test, submit an essay and a teacher’s recommendation, and a letter from their parents that, among other things, entitles Academy officials to scour the student’s records, not just for academics but disciplinary records as well, evidence of creativity, perseverance.

“It’s a talent pool approach. It’s not just test scores. We look for students who have potential,” says Lyons. “Students who will be ready to attend an elite university and obtain a challenging fulfilling job.”

By the looks of things on Cornwell Street, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Enriching a Shared Experience With UConn Reads

Posted on January 27, 2012December 8, 2016 by

A photo of the first book to be selected for the UConn Reads Program named Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. (Sean Flynn/UConn Photo)

Reading a good book brings so much joy and comfort to so many people. Many of us fall asleep with a good book, explore new and old interests with a good book, and engage others in debate over the merits of and ideas in a book. For many of us, reading has been a lifelong passion. Reading constitutes the core of most of our studentsʼ academic lives at UConn, even though they may read differently than past generations – on their smartphones, iPads, or Kindles.

Earlier this year, President Susan Herbst launched a new initiative called UConn Reads. It is designed to provide a common reading experience for all of our campuses and members of our University community. We hope that UConn Reads will enhance our campus community experience by engaging our alumni, students, faculty, staff, and members of our University family in a common reading program.

UConn Reads invites all alumni, faculty, staff, students, and community members to participate in a common intellectual discussion by reading a book selected by a University-wide committee and then participating in events and online discussions with faculty, staff, community members, and students throughout the year.

UConn Reads is designed to:

Engage our campus and extended community in an enriched and focused reading experience; Generate discussions and exchanges of diverse ideas; Promote literary connections among students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the wider community; Bridge learning experiences inside and outside the classroom.

For the inaugural year of our UConn Reads program, the 2011-12 Steering Committee has chosen Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Pulitzer Prize-winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, a nonfiction bestseller centered on the oppression of women and girls in the developing world.

The UConn Reads Steering Committee combed through many worthwhile nominations over the past several months, ultimately narrowing down this yearʼs selection to three finalists. The runners-up were That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back, by Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum; and A Peopleʼs History of the United States, by Howard Zinn.

Come spring, we look forward to bringing Kristof and WuDunn to campus, as well as holding discussion groups and other exciting events in person and online, for our alumni, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other members of the UConn community.

For more information, including how to access this yearʼs book selection, please visit uconnreads.uconn.edu.

Sally Reis ʼ81 Ph.D. is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in the Neag School of Education; vice provost for academic administration; and chair of the UConn Reads 2011-12 Steering Committee.

College Prep Program for Bridgeport Schools  Awarded $368,000 Grant

Posted on January 27, 2012April 5, 2016 by

Classroom in a CommPACT school A grant supporting a college readiness program for two Bridgeport schools – Bassick High and Longfellow School—has been awarded by the Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee to the University of Connecticut for an initiative to be run by the Neag School of Education’s CommPACT Schools Program.

The $368,000 grant will go to a four-year program with a preparatory curriculum called “CollegeEd” that will be targeted to at-risk students in grades 7-12 and administered by teachers, school professionals, and Neag School counseling faculty and graduate students. The program will build on the Neag-generated CommPACT Schools reform that seeks to close Connecticut’s achievement gap—the largest in the nation.

“The Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation is pleased to continue to support the Neag School of Education’s public school reform efforts in Connecticut,” said Michealle Larkins, V.P., Foundation Officer with Bank of America. “The CommPACT College Readiness Program in Bridgeport will help normalize the attainment of a college degree for underserved students and provide them with a step-by-step guide to attaining a degree. This work complements the Balfour Foundation’s mission of promoting college readiness, access, and success for underserved populations.

“I’m very, very excited,” says Dr. Robert Colbert, principal investigator on the project and an associate professor in the counseling program at Neag, “in particular because in our area—school counseling—it’s very difficult to get grant funding for what school counselors do.” Colbert says that intensive lobbying in Washington has begun to raise interest in college readiness efforts. “This puts us in a good place so that, when the federal government awards some large grants in the future, we’re ready.”

About 1,900 students at Bassick High School and Longfellow School will participate over the life of the program. Since being reorganized as CommPACT schools and improving their state test scores, both Bridgeport schools, where the student base is 95 percent poverty level and more than 90 percent students of color, have “Safe Harbor” status under No Child Left Behind.

“Expansion to Bassick High School is a logical extension,” the application for the grant reads. “It will be the first high school in the state to participate in CommPACT, developing the ‘pipeline’ aspect of the initiative.

This latest gift from the Balfour Foundation follows a $195,000 grant to the CommPACT Schools initiative in 2009. “The Balfour Foundation’s consistent engagement demonstrates a strong commitment to increasing opportunities for all students, and we truly appreciate this ongoing partnership,” said Chris Petkovich, director of foundation relations at the UConn Foundation.

The heart of the program is a three-stage curriculum: (1) Who Am I? Students will explore their own interests and life goals; (2) Where Am I Going? Students then will identify life and career goals; and (3) How Do I Get There? Students will investigate the importance of college, understand the planning process and build a plan to get to college and to succeed there.

In addition, the program will provide an open house weekend in the fall and spring for a select group of Bassick students and their families. A larger group of seniors from Bassick will be invited to a one-day fall visit to the campus for a tour and conversation with UConn students from Bridgeport.

The college readiness program mirrors the spirit of collaboration modeled by CommPACT Schools, which are autonomous public schools run with the support of community, parents, administrators, children and teachers.

This new idea, which will be launched this school year and continue through 2014-15, will create a partnership between the Neag School, the Bridgeport partner schools, the UConn Admissions Department and peer mentors from Student Support Services.

Colbert and Dr. Rachelle Pérusse, co-principal investigator and also an associate professor in the counseling program at Neag, will oversee the project, visit the schools twice a month and conduct assessment seminars. The team includes Michele Femc-Bagwell, co-principal investigator and director of CommPACT; a doctoral student who will coordinate the program and graduate students in the Neag counseling program who will do the classroom teaching. Lawrence Williams, interim associate director of admissions at UConn, will coordinate the open houses for Bridgeport students and families, along with Bidya Ranjeet, director of Student Support Services at UConn. Williams is a graduate of Longfellow, Bassick and UConn, where he served in the peer mentoring program.

Although, Colbert says, “the main goal is to get them to go to college,” he is excited about making the UConn connection to students at Bassick. In recent years, about three to five incoming freshmen are from the Bridgeport high school, and UConn hopes to increase that number to 10 after the first year of the program.

“We’re ambitious. We’re going to try to double it,” Colbert says.

The program seeks to lay the groundwork for long-term use of CollegeEd, a curriculum developed by the College Board. The college readiness program “is designed to set young people on the path to college, to employment, and to becoming engaged citizens,” the project outline reads.

Neag School Hosts Speaker on “The Expressway to Health”

Posted on January 27, 2012March 23, 2021 by

Carol Garber The Neag School welcomes Neag alumnus Dr. Carol Ewing Garber for a presentation on “The Expressway to Health: Essentials of Exercise for (Almost) Everybody and Every Schedule” on Thursday, Feb. 9 from 4-5 pm. at the UConn, Storrs Campus. The presentation, hosted by the Neag School’s Department of Kinesiology, is free and open to the public and will be held at the Center for Undergraduate Education (CUE), room 122.

Dr. Carol Ewing Garber is chair of the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) position stand on principles of exercise prescription for optimizing health. She is an associate professor of movement science and director of the Graduate Program in Applied Physiology at Columbia University. Dr. Garber earned her BS, MA and PhD from the Neag School of Education at UConn.

“It’s very clear that a little bit of exercise makes a big difference,” says Carol Ewing Garber, author of the ACSM new guidelines on quantity and quality of exercise for adults. “The recommendation to get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise is still one of the goals, but the message needs to be heard that doing less is also helpful.” USA TODAY

For more information, contact the Department of Kinesiology at 860-486-3623 or Kinesiology@Uconn.Edu.