Historical monument statue of Robert E. Lee. (iStock)
Historical monuments are intended to be timeless, but almost all have an expiration date. As society’s values shift, the legitimacy of monuments can and often does erode.
This is because monuments – whether statues, memorials or obelisks – reveal the values of the time in which they were created and advance the agendas of their creators.
Many 9/11 monuments in the U.S., for example, serve both to remember and honor victims of the attacks while promoting national vigilance. These views garnered nearly universal support immediately after the attacks. Over time, however, as the costs and consequences of “homeland security” became clearer, unqualified support for this agenda has waned.
Current debates around racism confirm that Confederate statues and Christopher Columbus statues, both of which effectively commemorate white superiority, have expired, too.
The question then becomes: What’s a nation to do with expired monuments?
“Over the past century, American public officials, citizens and historians have taken one of two paths. They either ignored expired monuments – the 20th-century approach – or, more recently, rejected them.”
Purpose of monuments
Russian children play atop a toppled statue of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. (The Conversation/Getty Images)
Over the past century, American public officials, citizens and historians have taken one of two paths. They either ignored expired monuments – the 20th-century approach – or, more recently, rejected them.
Ignoring problem monuments left the impression among many that officials endorsed the views they embodied. Today, people who see a host of monuments as illegitimate symbols of racism, authoritarianism and oppression have rejected this official indifference. Through protest or policy change, they have forced more open and productive discussions about race in America. Ultimately, many offensive monuments have been removed.
Removal eliminates the symbols of now-rejected values. But as historians and educators who have explored the instructive value of monuments, we believe statue removal can also limit the important conversations underway about their expired agendas.
Monuments provide an especially useful educational service because they serve double duty. They mark historical events or figures – the Battle of Bunker Hill, say, or Martin Luther King Jr.– and reflect the prevailing values of the time in which they were created. Monuments are also unique compared with other forms of cultural expression like art or literature in that they almost always reside in public spaces and are found in practically every town and city in America.
These attributes make monuments ideal launching points for helping society assess its current values and compare them with what mattered in the past.
Expired monuments are a lesson: They teach that people can be tragically wrong about something even when that belief once had widespread public support and official approval. Simultaneously, they show that radical, marginalized or contrary voices can turn out to be right. Or they may be, like their opponents, creatures of a particular moment in time.
Reinventing monuments
A 1933 statue of Confederate leader Jefferson Davis is removed from the University of Texas campus to be placed in a university museum, 2015. (The Conversation/Getty Images)
A common idea is to move expired monuments to museums, where they would be recast as art or as historic artifacts. The most creative proposals include making a Confederate statues “graveyard” or moving expired monuments to a sculpture park.
In all these settings, expired monuments would be stripped of the seal of official endorsement and clearly explained as once-venerated symbols of views now understood to be morally unacceptable. That raises larger questions about how societies can be blind to their own moral failures.
Gorky Park in Moscow contains an area displaying old Soviet-era monuments that deprives them of their symbolic power. Statues of dictators Stalin and Lenin are no longer in a prominent public location and are clumped together in an apolitical manner.
In Estonia, old Soviet-era monuments are part of a history-rich museum exhibition that uses these relics of authoritarianism as a warning to future generations.
In post-World War II Germany, virtually all monuments to Hitler and the Third Reich were destroyed; perhaps some crimes are simply too abhorrent to be remembered so soon. But in 1986 an unusual monument against fascism was erected in Hamburg. Each year a portion of this vertical gray column was lowered underground until by 1993 it was completely gone. The 39-foot monument “disappeared” before it could expire.
The sunken monument can still be viewed underground. This tactic communicates that society needs to remember the dangers of fascism, but that a monument is not enough. Ultimately, only engaged citizens can attack injustice.
From valorizing to analyzing
Reinventing expired monuments uses outdated objects to teach about a society’s past values while assessing – and perhaps challenging – its contemporary beliefs. In other words, it moves from valorizing monuments to analyzing them.
That’s rich terrain for educators. Teachers can use reinvented monuments to ask students to consider the validity of what American society believes, says and does.
Monuments expire because views change. But because present-day cultural values are themselves often difficult for people to see from another perspective, analyzing monuments also has the educational value of prompting deliberations about how future generations will reflect upon today’s United States. How did this generation of Americans grapple with issues like racial injustice, climate change and economic inequality?
Future generations will hold current society to account, just as Americans today are scrutinizing the views and actions of past generations.
Reinventing rather than simply removing monuments requires confronting the past, recognizing current conditions and planning for the future – all while embracing the reality that historical change is a complex, messy and malleable process.
Staff at Kennelly School in Hartford, Connecticut, take part in a “reverse” car parade this past May for Kennelly students. (Photo courtesy of Mary Vallera)
The summer is typically a time for school superintendents to reflect on the previous school year and start thinking about the year ahead. However, preparation looks very different in the age of COVID-19 as school districts choose between three reopening models: fully in-person, hybrid, or remote.
Neag School alumnus Joseph Macary ’94 (ED), ’08 ELP, ’16 Ed.D., superintendent of Vernon Public Schools, says preparing a concrete reopening plan has been a challenge.
“My motto has always been to take things one day at a time,” says Macary. “There’s no right way you can plan for this.”
Macary, with the Vernon school district’s health and safety committee, drafted plans for a fully in-person reopening, but by the end of July began considering a hybrid model. A team of administrators, teachers, medical advisors, school nurses, and facilities personnel met weekly to discuss plans and establish the pros and cons of each reopening model.
“A school with 100 kids and a school with 2,000 kids can’t follow the same plan or be given the same guidance,” says Macary. “The commissioner [alum Miguel Cardona] does a nice job of considering our parameters.”
The superintendent of Mansfield Public Schools, alumna Kelly Lyman ’88 MA, ’01 6th Year, ’10 ELP, says her district’s reopening plan has relied heavily on advice from public health officials and medical advisors. She has also held Q&A-style town hall Zoom meetings to hear the concerns of Mansfield community members.
“Ultimately, this isn’t a decision that we can take a vote on,” says Lyman. “It’s really an administrative decision that needs to be made in cooperation with public health.”
Teachers and Parents Voice Concerns Managing a socially distanced school environment, where students will be expected to wear masks and follow proper sanitary procedures, remains among the district’s top concerns, says Lyman. Many parents, she adds, say they are worried about their child’s adjustment to the new environment.
“The concerns are centered around safety and educational efficacy,” says Lyman.
When Craig Cooke, the superintendent of Windsor Public Schools, sent out a survey to parents in his district, the results showed that nearly a third of respondents were uncomfortable with sending their child back for in-person learning. On the other hand, several parents expressed concerns for their child’s social and emotional well-being, believing a return to school would be beneficial.
“Some families have said this is not right and that we need to continue distance learning,” says Cooke. “Other families are saying we trust you, and we want to be able to send our child back.”
Cooke says the guidelines offered by state officials, allowing for flexibility as school sizes vary, have also acted as part of the roadmap for the district’s plans.
“One of the things we were really intentional about last spring was making sure that we were learning from what we were experiencing.”
— Kelly Lyman ’88 MA, ’01 6th Year, ’10 ELP,
Superintendent, Mansfield Public Schools
Health and Safety at the Forefront As they juggle various moving parts and new directives, superintendents say they are seeking to prioritize the health and safety of their school communities.
“My hope is to meet the needs of everybody involved, from our employees that we care so much about and want to keep safe, to our students, who we know need to have that in-person experience,” says Cooke. “We want to keep them and their families safe as well.”
School districts have increased their janitorial staff to keep up with the sanitation demands while students are in the building.
“Every classroom will have spray bottles to disinfect all the desks and tables and chairs,” says Macary of Vernon Public Schools. “Those things are ready; buildings are being cleaned, and I feel like we’re in good shape with that.”
“A school with 100 kids and a school with 2,000 kids can’t follow the same plan or be given the same guidance,” says Joseph Macary ’94 (ED), ’08 ELP, ’16 Ed.D, superintendent of Vernon Public Schools. (Shawn Kornegay/Neag School)
Learning From the Past When schools closed in March, teachers and students had to transition quickly to the digital learning environment. The superintendents recognized several areas of improvement in online instruction on which they wanted to focus for this upcoming school year.
“One of the things we were really intentional about last spring was making sure that we were learning from what we were experiencing,” says Lyman. “We thought that what we were experiencing would not only teach us how to do the distance learning better, but that we would also be able just to learn more about teaching and learning in general.”
The Mansfield school district, she says, is focusing in part on developing students to be more self-directed and to become familiar with a multitude of online platforms. The transition to remote learning has also highlighted the benefits of technology in the classroom, which is something the district aims to utilize more this year.
“Our integration of technology when we’re in person wasn’t as great as we thought it should be,” says Lyman. “It hadn’t been used as much because we didn’t see the value of it previously.”
The Vernon school district has been teaching asynchronously since March because many students did not have access to the necessary devices. This school year, the district will be utilizing synchronous (real-time) teaching practices for online instruction.
Networks of Support The past few months have brought school administrators across the state together to discuss the safest and most effective methods for reopening their schools. Macary and Cooke, who were in the same superintendent preparation cohort at the Neag School 11 years ago, continue to rely on each other for support and guidance.
“It’s great to have that UConn network,” says Macary. “We have a shared philosophy, and we learned about a lot in the same way.”
Lyman meets weekly with fellow school administrators to share materials, communications, and thoughts. She says the professional collaboration has been a silver lining during these times.
“This is not a time to try and be a maverick or do things on your own,” she says. “You really need somebody to be a critical friend to help you think through things.”
After receiving a master’s degree in the Neag School’s Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA), Truth Hunter ’14 MA is returning to the Neag School to pursue a doctorate in the Learning, Leadership, and Educational Policy Program. (Photo courtesy of Truth Hunter)
The Neag School of Education welcomes a new Dean’s Doctoral Scholar this fall who will receive four years of fully funded tuition plus a stipend to conduct interdisciplinary research in the field of education. After receiving a master’s degree in the Neag School’s Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) program and moving on to conduct diversity-centered work at higher education institutions, Truth Hunter ’14 MA is returning to the Neag School to pursue a doctorate in the Learning, Leadership, and Educational Policy Program (LLEP). Her research will center on equitable classroom practices with an emphasis on supporting faculty.
“I will be doing a lot of work around supporting faculty members and understanding identity, power, privilege, and oppression, and how that can inform and enhance the work that they do in the classroom,” says Hunter.
Working With Underrepresented Students
For 13 years, Hunter has worked closely with underrepresented students. She began her career at Upward Bound, where she helped high school students from under-resourced schools navigate the college application process. The excitement of helping students get into college also came with the frustration of seeing many of those same students not complete their degrees, Hunter says.
“It had me begin to think deeply about what are the structures, what are the systems, what is the type of environment that will allow historically marginalized students or students who came from under-resourced or underserved background to really thrive and flourish in college and to meet their educational goals,” she says.
To address these questions and learn how to help students develop holistically, Hunter enrolled in the HESA program. It was there that she conducted research on first-generation success, recognizing that the literature on first-generation students focused mostly on a deficit-based model, in which this group of students were constantly compared to their more privileged counterparts and would always fall short. Hunter and another HESA student, Jillian Ives ’14 (ED), decided to conduct research that highlighted the strengths of first-generation students instead of their deficits.
“I want to take the information my students trusted me with and give it a voice, give it a platform, allow it to start new conversations, and new ways of thinking,” she says. “That is how I hope to use my experience as a Dean’s Doctoral Scholar.”
— Truth Hunter ’14 MA, Neag School of Education Dean’s Doctoral Scholar
“The approach we took was looking at first-generation students who are successful, who already have that status,” says Hunter. “We said, ‘Let’s look at what they are doing well, and hopefully that will have implications for first-generation students who are struggling.’”
The research Hunter conducted during her time in HESA set the foundation for the practitioner-based work she would go on to lead at Bard College in Annadale-on-Hudson, N.Y. as the assistant director of Bard’s Higher Education Opportunity Program. During her three years at Bard, Hunter worked one-on-one with first-generation, low-income students of color.
“That experience taught me to pay attention to the early challenges in student experiences and that you can actually build in structures and programs to increase their chances at being successful,” says Hunter.
After gaining insights into the experience of first-generation students at Bard, Hunter went on to serve as director of Race and Ethnicity Programs at Connecticut College in New London. In this role, Hunter expanded the college’s first-generation mentorship program for students of color by creating a one-credit course for students to discuss college success strategies and enhance their social network.
“I could see that it strengthened their community as students of color and it made them more confident because they knew people and had real relationships and were getting access to information that made them feel empowered,” she says.
Educating Faculty
Hunter has also been involved in faculty-based work at Connecticut College, which includes leading a workshop titled “Debunking Racialized Notions of Intelligence.” The workshop is designed to help faculty better support underrepresented students.
“I realized that I could be a bridge or a liaison with helping faculty members really get into the shoes of what it means to be an underrepresented student and maybe think about some issues or challenges that they may not be aware of,” says Hunter.
The type of work Hunter engages in at Connecticut College aligns closely with research conducted by Milagros Castillo-Montoya, assistant professor of HESA who will serve as Hunter’s academic advisor. Hunter met Castillo-Montoya while working toward her graduate degree, and she later came to view her as a mentor.
“She would actively invite me for opportunities to present, to do research, to be a guest speaker in her class,” says Hunter. “She was a really powerful influence for me to see that I could do this.”
Castillo-Montoya says she recognized Hunter’s ability to engage in critical analysis of literature and thoughtful conversations about racial microaggressions and encouraged her to apply to UConn for her doctorate.
“She brings really strong administrative experience around the issues of diversity and specifically around race that she wants to be looking at in the classroom,” says Castillo-Montoya. “I think that it’s a fantastic asset as a scholar, to be someone who knows what it looks like for this work to be happening and practiced.”
A Career Rooted in Personal Experience
An African American woman who grew up in Oakland, Calif., in a low-income household, Hunter held hopes of being the first person in her family to attend and graduate from college. Raised in a working-class environment, she first experienced what it was like to be shaped by class when she began college at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, an all-women’s, predominantly white school.
“I had never experienced insecurities like this before, in terms of feeling like I didn’t belong, that I wasn’t good enough,” says Hunter. “Nobody had ever said it, but it was this internal dialogue that was triggered by this environment of being underrepresented.”
It wasn’t until Hunter found a major that allowed her to flourish intellectually and develop relationships with faculty that she was able to create for herself a supportive community at college.
“In the end, I had a wonderful experience, and it was so rich that I wanted to figure out how I could transform this experience into a career, by helping other students who went through what I went through,” says Hunter.
Hunter says it has enriched her life to be able to work with students whose experiences match her own, allowing her to elevate the narratives of underrepresented students. She says the opportunity to be a Dean’s Doctoral Scholar will allow her to strengthen her platform in academia and expand her resources and mentorship.
“I want to take the information my students trusted me with and give it a voice, give it a platform, allow it to start new conversations, and new ways of thinking,” she says. “That is how I hope to use my experience as a Dean’s Doctoral Scholar.”
“Historically, the students that graduate from some of the traditional principal preparation programs have had very little experience learning about leadership in communities dealing with those needs,” says Miguel Cardona, alum and Connecticut’s education commissioner. (Courtesy of Wallace Foundation Blog)
This summer marks one year since the Neag School’s University of Connecticut Administrator Preparation Program(UCAPP) began implementing changes as part of a nationwide effort known as the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI). In 2016, UConn was one of seven universities selected to join this initiative, funded by New York City-based Wallace Foundation, aimed at improving training for aspiring administrators. The Wallace Foundation prioritizes practical training to ensure that principals have the knowledge, skills, and judgement required to lead successful schools.
UCAPP underwent a series of self-study, visioning, planning, and administrative procedures to bring the newly designed program to life beginning in July 2019. Within the first year of UPPI’s implementation, Richard Gonzales, director of the Neag School’s Educational Leadership Preparation programs, says the collaboration and conversation involved with this new model rapidly increased students’ skills and capacity.
“More today than ever, the social fabric of the reality of what’s happening in society and in communities matters in schools.”
— Richard Gonzales, director,
Educational Leadership Preparation Programs
“We don’t know yet what the candidates look like when they finish the whole cycle,” says Gonzales. “We’ve only taught them half of the program, and yet we are able to see them being able to do things halfway through the program that is at, or even exceeding, what other groups could do.”
A History of Partnership
UCAPP began building relationships with Connecticut school districts in 2012 when Hartford Public Schools expressed interest in a partnership to strengthen its principal candidate pool. Gonzales says they designed a restructured program that prepared principals for what they should know and be able to lead effectively in the Hartford Public Schools. New Haven Public Schools underwent a similar restructuring with UCAPP, beginning a close and long-standing partnership.
One of the goals of the Wallace Foundation was to expand district partnerships where UCAPP graduates will lead schools. Beyond that was the need to redesign the curriculum and assessment plan, which appeared disjointed, along with the internship portion of the program. Meriden Public Schools thus joined as a partner for UConn’s UPPI project.
“Going through UCAPP is just as rigorous as it ever was, but I think that, on our side, we have organized a differently thoughtful and differently meaningful experience that fits what it is to be a principal,” says Gonzales.
Changing Curriculum
Alan Addley ’08 ELP, ’14 Ed.D., superintendent of Darien Public Schools, left, greets Richard Gonzales during a UCAPP meeting. (Frank Zappulla/Neag School)
Prior to receiving the Wallace Foundation funding, the UCAPP curriculum aligned with the topics administrators are required to know in order to be certified.
“Now, it’s, not about what topics we must cover,” Gonzales says, “but what must a principal know and be able to do, and what kind of judgement do they actually exercise in applying the knowledge and skills.”
Rather than focus on the narrow topic of teacher evaluations, for instance, UCAPP has expanded its focus to the broader competency of talent management. Redesign of the coursework also focused on instructional leadership and organizational leadership, shifting from other discrete topics such as school improvement, curriculum, and school climate.
“It didn’t make sense to teach those narrow topics anymore,” says Gonzales. “We need to teach those concepts in the context of broader practices that matter out in the real world.”
An essential aspect to the program redesign was developing a “spiraling” curriculum, where competency areas would be revisited throughout the two years, rather than only being covered in a single course. Students are then able to make connections between concepts, especially as ideas discussed in class relate to their internship experience.
Foregrounding issues of social justice and equity in the program curriculum was also a huge part of the redesign, and one UCAPP is still working to improve.
Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, superintendent of Hartford (Conn.) Public Schools. (Courtesy of Wallace Foundation Blog)
“More today than ever, the social fabric of the reality of what’s happening in society and in communities matters in schools,” says Gonzales. “You can’t do the work of school leadership without understanding the kinds of things that matter to helping students and families in their situations.”
In the midst of determining how to best implement social justice and equity in the new curriculum, Gonzales says the program needs to improve at connecting the dots between those ideas and principalship work. Student feedback shows that they understand the importance of equity but are unclear on how to put systems into place that create change.
“The students are telling us what’s working for them and how we can get better; that never used to happen before,” says Gonzales. “This new design has created a lot of conversation and feedback loops.”
“What matters to the principalship is that you understand and value that you are getting better, and you are constantly being aware of what works and what doesn’t work — and adjusting accordingly.”
— Richard Gonzales
Papers to Projects
Prior to the revamp, students were assigned final papers to demonstrate their understanding of the readings and theories covered in class. The new efforts to engage students in practice required a shift from the traditional paper assignment to a project-based assessment approach. The projects are done independently, over the course of multiple semesters. They are designed to engage material learned in class and in the internship, so that students can demonstrate that they have the knowledge and skills needed for principalship.
“It’s much more practice-based and more of doing the work of the principalship than it was before,” says Gonzales.
The changes in assessment bring an increased awareness of each student’s strengths and weaknesses. While a paper can demonstrate understanding, the projects provide a more concrete way to assess students’ progress in key areas of leadership.
“When they practice, we can show what they can do and what specific areas they can improve on,” says Gonzales.
Internship Redesign
UCAPP students listen during a presentation for the program’s annual Change Project event, where students identify a need or opportunity for school improvement. (Frank Zappulla/Neag School).
Students in UCAPP complete a 12-credit internship over the course of two years, engaging with a Connecticut school community and building relationships with veteran school principals. The internship has always been a component of the program, but now there is a greater focus on getting feedback and utilizing the feedback in practice rather than simply completing the required credit hours.
Each student is also assigned a leadership coach, a former school administrator who assists in connecting the material learned in class to the internship experience. The coaches work closely with the student to monitor their progress and set goals for improvement.
The ability to receive and respond to constructive feedback is vital to principalship. The internship and leadership coaching opportunity allows students to gain a new perspective on their performance.
“What matters to the principalship is that you understand and value that you are getting better, and you are constantly being aware of what works and what doesn’t work — and adjusting accordingly,” says Gonzales.
Building Strong Leaders
With the support of the Wallace Foundation, UCAPP has undergone a holistic transformation. The newly designed program prioritizes competency areas and real-world practice over theoretical knowledge, allowing students to improve based on their individual leadership development plans.
As part of UPPI, UCAPP faculty offer up recommendations for university principal training programs. (Courtesy of Wallace Foundation Blog)
When asked whether UCAPP graduates are prepared to lead schools amidst the uncertainty brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gonzales says they as well prepared as anyone from any other preparation program in the country.
“We think about how to support students’ learning, and teachers’ learning and improvement,” says Gonzales. “I think those things transfer into their careers, and it puts them in a position to adapt to whatever they will face.”
UCAPP was among hundreds of university preparation programs invited to apply for the Wallace Foundation initiative. Their successful planning and implementation of a newly designed program earned them a profile series on the Wallace Blog, showcasing their progress and their goals for future improvement. The RAND Corporation is also conducting an independent evaluation of the initiative; the report is slated for release next year.
“The Wallace Foundation is the vanguard of principal knowledge and practice in our field,” says Gonzales. “UConn is right there in the center of the work towards changing the field in the next 10 to 20 years.”
Read each installment from the Wallace Foundation Blog series highlighting UCAPP’s success as part of UPPI:
A Road to More Effective Principals Begins in One University’s Classrooms
Taking Principal Training to the Real World
Embracing the Unknown in New Approaches to Principal Preparation
It Takes a Village to Train an Effective Principal
Learning to Navigate the Uncertainties of School Leadership
Congratulations to our Neag School alumni, faculty, staff, and students on their continued accomplishments inside and outside the classroom. 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.
In addition to the Dean’s Office and Department achievements, explore this edition’s list for Accolades from the following: Faculty/Staff; Alumni; Students; as well as In Memoriam.
Dean’s Office and Departments
TheNeag School welcomes a number of new faculty members and also announces several new appointments for current members of the community.Read more about the new hires and appointees, among them those pictured below.
Katie Nagrotsky.
Jason Mizell.
Diandra J. Prescod.
Kathleen Lynch.
Saran Stewart.
Jacqueline M. Caemmerer.
Ido Davidesco.
Del Siegle.
Niralee Patel-Lye.
Violet Jiménez Sims.
Sandra Chafouleas.
The Neag School is launching a Faculty Development Series structured around the themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion, with six online sessions on topics ranging from Culturally Sustaining Practices for College Teaching to Reimagining Schools for Equity.
Department of Curriculum and Instruction (EDCI) and Teacher Education
TheConservation Training Partnershipsprogram is a collaborative project between faculty from the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Neag School of Education, and Center for Land Use Education and Research. Its goal is to engage youth and adults in intergenerational teams to apply conservation science and geospatial technologies in the design and implementation of authentic conservation projects that benefit their communities. Its presentation, “Designing for Intergenerational Community Conservation,” which was created by a UConn undergraduate student, recently received Public Choice recognition at the2020 NSF STEM for All Video Showcase.
Grace Player and Danielle Filipiak compiled a comprehensive set of anti-racism resources for students, educators, and citizens, which now stands as the most popular post in the history of the Neag School’s website.
Department of Educational Leadership (EDLR)
This summer marks one year since the Neag School’s University of Connecticut Administrator Preparation Program(UCAPP) began implementing changes as part of a nationwide effort known as the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI). In 2016, UConn was one of seven universities selected to join this initiative, funded by New York City-based Wallace Foundation, aimed at improving training for aspiring administrators. The Wallace Foundation prioritizes practical training to ensure that principals have the knowledge, skills, and judgement required to lead successful schools. Read more about the progress of the initiative, including links to the Wallace Foundation’s featured blog series on UCAPP.
Department of Educational Psychology (EPSY)
The National Center for Research on Gifted Education has received a $5 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences to study how to improve gifted education programs. (Peter Morenus/UConn)
The Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education awarded a $5 million grant to the National Center for Research on Gifted Education for the next five years. This grant is a collaboration between UConn and the University of California – Berkeley, University of California – Santa Cruz, University of Iowa, Michigan State University, and University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. Neag School team members include Del Siegle, E. Jean Gubbins, D. Betsy McCoach, Catherine Little, and Christopher Rhoads.
Catherine Little was elected to an at-large position on the board of the National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC). UConn research associate Kelly Kearney was elected chair-elect of the Early Childhood Network; graduate student Anne Roberts was elected chair-elect of the Creativity Network; and UConn alumna Janine Firmender’07 MA, ’11 Ph.D., an associate professor at Saint Joseph’s University, was elected chair-elect of the STEM Network. Lori Leibowitz, who graduated in 2019 with a graduate certificate in gifted and talented development, was named gifted coordinator of the year by NAGC.
Sally Reis, Joseph Renzulli, Del Siegle, and Susan Baum ’85 Ph.D. led free virtual workshops this July in lieu of the traditional in-person Confratute, which was canceled due to the pandemic.
Michele Back, along with doctoral student Joseph Dean, co-published “Recruiting Teachers in the Target Language” (starting on pg. 4) for the Spring 2020 issue of World Language News Exchange. Back also wrote an original commentary titled “What if the Coronavirus Could Change High School for the Better?” in June for CT Viewpoints, as well as an op-ed on the relationship of language, power, and linguistic discrimination for Caretas, a Peruvian news magazine.
Dominique Battle-Lawson participated in a virtual community panel titled “Black Women’s Voices” in July. In addition, she was featured in a video produced by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education about recruitment efforts focused on Black and Hispanic/Latino male teachers.
Cara Bernard co-published “Encouraging Participatory Music Through Differentiation on the Ukulele” for the May issue of General Music Today.
Todd Campbell, Tamashi Hettiarachchi ’20 (ED), ’21 MA, and Victoria Schilling ’16 (ED), ’17 MA co-published “Army Ants and Their Guests,” a Next Generation Science Standards middle school unit, in Science Scope earlier this year. (Photo courtesy of Science Scope)
Todd Campbell, with Neag School alumna Laura Rodriguez’20 Ph.D. and outgoing Neag School postdoc Lisa Lundgren, co-published a chapter in Mentoring Core Practices for Preparing Science Teachers Through Practice-Based Teacher Education (Harvard Press, 2020). Campbell also co-wrote with doctoral student Byung-Yeol Park and others “Science Teacher Education in the Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic” for the May issue of the Journal of Science Teacher Education (JSTE). Park serves as the managing editor for JSTE and Campbell is co-editor in chief. Campbell also co-published with graduate student Tamashi Hettiarachchi’20 (ED), ’21 MA, Neag School alumna Victoria Schilling’16 (ED), ’17 MA, and others “Army Ants and Their Guests” for Science Scope’s April/May edition and “The Journal of Science Education in 2019: A Year in Review” for the May issue of Journal of Science Teacher Education.
Rachael Gabriel wrote commentary for The Washington Post in May titled “Can We Stop Telling the ‘Corona Kids’ How Little They Are Learning?” In August, she was featured in a UConn 360 podcast episode on reading education during the pandemic.
Doug Glanville speaks with John Dankosky in a special CT Mirror event on race, politics, and sport this month. (Photo courtesy of CT Mirror)
Devin Kearns co-published “Sight Word Acquisition in First Grade Students at Risk for Reading Disabilities: an Item-level Exploration of the Number of Exposures Required for Mastery” for the June issue of Annals of Dyslexia. He also participated in a professional development webinar, “Back to the Classroom with Devin Kearns,” in June with The Windward Institute. In July, he co-published “Individualizing Literacy Instruction in Co-Taught Classrooms Through a Station Teaching Model” in Intervention in School and Clinic, and in August in the same journal, he co-published “Preparing to Implement Evidence-Based Literacy Practices in the Co-Taught Classroom” and “Teaching World and Word Knowledge to Access Content-Area Texts in Co-Taught Classrooms.”
Gladis Kersaint penned commentary for the Hartford Courant about her experience as a University dean and an African American woman. In addition, Kersaint was appointed to serve on the search committee for the University’s Vice Provost for Faculty/Staff Affairs and Development.
Allison Lombardi co-published with Neag School alums Jessica Monahan ’09 (ED), ’10 MA,’20 Ph.D., Graham Rifenbark’19 Ph.D., Dan Volk’16 MA, ’20 6thYear,’20 Ph.D., current doctoral student Emily Tarconish, and Chris Rhoads “Main and Moderating Effects of an Online Transition Curriculum on Career Readiness” for the January issue of Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals. She also co-published “Aided by Extant Data: The Effect of Peer Mentoring on Achievement for Students with Disabilities” for the Summer 2020 issue of Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability and a book chapter in the Handbook of Adolescent Transition Education for Youth with Disabilities (Routledge 2020).
Betsy McCoach served as a consensus panelist for the Center on Reinventing Public Education’s Evidence Project “Learning as We Go: Principles for Effective Assessment During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” published in July.
George Michna was named to the UConn Faculty Senate Curricula & Courses Committee for the 2020-21 academic year.
Kenny Nienhusser co-published a position statement for the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) program and undocumented college students. He has also been appointed faculty director for UConn’s Learning Community for Latinx students.
Diandra J. Prescod also has been working to support those facing unemployment in the face of COVID-19, as part of Kuder’s Hope Central project.
Diandra J. Prescod was named a winner of the 2020 Article of the Year for National Career Development Association’s official journal, Career Development Quarterly. The article, “Profile of High Schools Students’ STEM Career Aspirations,” appeared in the journal’s September 2019 issue. The purpose of the journal is to foster career development through the design and use of career interventions and publish articles on career counseling, individual and organizational career development, work and leisure, career education, career coaching, and career management. Read more about the award.
Sally Reis co-published with alumna and visiting assistant professor Sara J. Renzulli’11 MA, ’13 Ph.D.“Parenting for Strengths: Embracing the Challenges of Raising Children Identified as Twice Exceptional” for the June issue of Gifted Education International.
Sara Renzulli and Nicholas Gelbar co-published “Leadership Roles for School Counselors in Identifying and Supporting Twice-Exceptional (2e) Students” in the July issue of Professional School Counseling.
Lisa Sanetti received a $50,000 Research Excellence Program award from the UConn Office of the Vice President for her project titled “Cognitive Interviewing to Increase Comprehensive of Fidelity Self-Report Measures: A Pilot Study.” In addition, Sanetti co-authored “An Exploratory Comparison of Three Treatment Fidelity Assessment Methods: Time Sampling, Event Recording, and Post-Observation Checklist,” with alumna Melissa A. Collier-Meek’08 (CLAS), ’09 MA, ’11 6th Year, ’13 Ph.D., published in June by the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation.
Brandi Simonsen co-published “Getting Back to School After Disruptions” for the National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Simonsen currently serves as director of the Center.
A map of the fictional world of Telluría, created this past spring by Stephen Slota’s undergraduate digital media and design Interactive Storytelling class.
Stephen Slota oversaw a project in his digital media and design interactive courses this past spring, featuring a virtual fictional world. The project, an exercise in worldbuilding and lesson planning, involved designing everything from creating mythologies to local governments to individual character arcs.
Saran Stewart co-published “Toward an Understanding of Intersectionality Methodology: A 30-Year Literature Synthesis of Black Women’s Experiences in Higher Education” in the August issue of Review of Educational Research.
Jennie Weiner, associate professor of educational leadership, at home with her 8-year-old twins, Manny and Rufus, and their dog, Junior. (Photo courtesy of Jennie Weiner)
Jaci VanHeest co-published “Gearing Up for the Future of Exercise” in the July issue of Simulation & Gaming.
Jennie Weiner co-published “Principal Professionalism in the Time of COVID-19” for the June issue of Journal of Professional Capital and Community. She also wrote “Going Viral in the Time of COVID-19” for the Summer 2020 issue of UConn Magazine. In addition, she served as a panelist on a University of Wisconsin-Madison “Feminist Fireside Chat” virtual event in May. This fall, she will be a visiting associate professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Also, she co-authored her first book, “The Strategy Playbook for Educational Leaders” (Routledge 2020) and was recently appointed coordinator of graduate education for the Neag School.
Teacher education student teachers/interns for the Kennelly School in Hartford, Connecticut, attended the school’s “reverse” teacher parade this past May. Student participants included Anna Paquette ’20 (ED), ’21 MA; Anna Connolly ’19 (ED), ’20 MA; Madelyn “Maddie” McDonald, ’20 (ED), ’21 MA; Micaela Bergel ’20 (ED), ’21 MA; and Sammi Mahoney ’20 (ED), ’21 MA. (Photo courtesy of Maryjane Killoran)
Students
Rebecca Whitney (Bissonnette) Aldred ’19 6thYear, a doctoral student in educational leadership, was named principal of Windsor Locks (Conn.) High School. Aldred most recently served as co-assistant principal at Ellington High School.
Austin Fradino, a teacher education student, appeared on CBS News’ “Sunday Morning” along with his twin brother, playing the trumpet in honor of Father’s Day.
Truth Hunter has been named this year’s incoming Dean’s Doctoral Scholar recipient.
Christina Irizarry has been elected president of the Connecticut Association for Latinos in Higher Education. (Photo courtesy of Christina Irizarry)
Christina (Rivera) Irizarry, a doctoral student in educational leadership, was recently elected president of the Connecticut Association for Latinos in Higher Education (CALAHE). CALAHE, the only Latinx organization in higher education in Connecticut and New England, is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting Latinx in different areas of postsecondary education in Connecticut. She is currently the program coordinator for the UConn College Access and Preparation Programwith the Center for Academic Programs, advising low-income and/or first-generation high school students in preparing for the college application process.
Amit Savkar ’07 Ph.D., ’17 MA, the founder of Stemify, was recently featured in Hartford Business Journal. (Photo credit Hartford Business Journal)
Amit Savkar ’07 Ph.D., ’17 MA, a doctoral student in educational psychology, was featured by Hartford Business Journal about a company he started that bridges the gap for college students’ math skills. He is the founder of Stemify, an online learning platform that tests students’ math skills, uses artificial intelligence to identify knowledge gaps, and creates an individualized curriculum from a cache of tutorials.
Orlando Valentin, Jr. ’15 (ED), ’16 MA, a graduate student in educational psychology and fourth-grade teacher at Casimir Pulaski Elementary in Mediden (Conn.), was featured by the Alma Exley Scholarship Program blog.
Patricia Virella, a doctoral student in educational leadership, and Jennie Weiner co-authored “The Network Runs the Schools: From a Loose to a Tightly Coupled School District” this July in the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership. Virella also wrote a commentary titled “How Will Teacher and Principal Training Look in a COVID-19 World” for The Edvocate and was recognized by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) as a Division A 2020 Foster-Polite Scholarship awardee.
Alumni
A virtual performance by music education students was included in a piece in The Conversation. The collaboration featured Neag School grads playing a song with music education students from Purdue University.
Margaret “Maggie” Balch ’94 MA has been named dean of students at Westfield State University in Massachusetts. (Photo courtesy of Westfield State University)
Margaret “Maggie” Balch ’94 MA has been appointed dean of students at Westfield (Mass.) State University. She most recently served in a similar position for the past five years at Rhode Island School of Design.
Kent Butler’85 (CLAS), ’94 MA,’99 Ph.D. was featured in a profile piece in the University of Central Florida’s UCF Today.
Batouly Camara ’19 (ED), ’20 MA recently published a children’s book titled “A Basketball Game on Wake Street.”
Batouly Camara ’19 (ED), ’20 MA, a former UConn women’s basketball player, was recognized with the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award for her work with a nonprofit to support women and girls in sport. The award was given in connection with ESPN and The ESPYS. She also was featured in an interview with podcast “Burn It All Down” in June. She also published a children’s book, “A Basketball Game on Wake Street,” about girls from diverse backgrounds who come together for a fun basketball game.
Shannon Connolly ’06 (ED), ’07 MA created a YouTube channel covering elementary school math topics from first to fifth grade.
Shannon Connolly’06 (ED), ’07 MA, a fifth-grade teacher at Mather School in Boston and a former UConn women’s hockey player, created a YouTube channel covering elementary school math topics from first to fifth grade.
Andrew Dubs ’09 (ED) was interviewed by Bleave Podcast Network about his role in saving track and field at UConn. He was also selected as head coach for the USA National Team for the 2021 World University Games.
Jamelle Elliott ’96 (BUS), ’97 MA, sport management alumna and former UConn women’s basketball star, was appointed permanent assistant coach of the UConn women’s basketball team.
Marjorie Gillis’75 MA was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities (SKLD). She received the award at SKLD’s 20thanniversary virtual event in June.
Symone James ’16 (ED), ’17 MA and Tracey Lafayette ’15 (ED), ’16 MA presented at a virtual conference for educators of color titled “Melanin Magic” this August.
Jamelle Elliott ’96 (BUS), ’97 MA, was previously the associate athletic director for the UConn National ‘C’ Club, which connects the University’s 7,000 former student-athletes with current students. (Nathan Oldham/UConn)
John “Jack” Kitching ’16 (CLAS), ’17 MA penned commentary for the Hartford Courant about being a white man and reflecting on allying with #BlackLivesMatter.
Erin (Walsh) Murray ’17 ELP was recognized as Educator of the Year in Simsbury, Connecticut. She is the assistant superintendent of Simsbury Public Schools and a faculty member in UConn’s Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP).
Diane M. Myers ’08 Ph.D. was appointed senior vice president, special education behavior for Specialized Education Services, Inc. (SESI). SESI is a premier provider of education services for K-12 students who face challenges. Most recently, Myers served as chair of the department of teacher education at Texas Woman’s University, where she was a professor and the program coordinator for special education.
Ashley (Bayard) Rancourt ’13 (ED), ’14 MA was named Mansfield Teacher of the Year. She is a first-grade teacher at Southeast Elementary School in Mansfield, Connecticut.
Amanda Slavin ’08 (ED), ’09 MA was recently featured in Forbes. (Photo courtesy of Forbes)
Amanda Slavin’08 (ED), ’09 MA, a CEO of a branding firm, was featured in Forbes.
Martin Semmel’95 (CLAS), ’96 MA, ’03 6thYear, ’07 Ed.D. has been appointed superintendent of Trumbull (Conn.) Public Schools.
Lois Greene Stone ’55 (ED) celebrated her 64th wedding anniversary to Gerald E. Stone in June. Her wedding album is in The American Jewish Historical Society; honeymoon photo album is in The International Museum of Photography at the Eastman House, with 16mm film from their honeymoon; wedding gown is in The Strong Museum, while the gown’s lace gloves are in The Smithsonian’s Division of Costume. A writer and poet, also syndicated, she has 15 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Steven Swenson ’09 6th Year has been named principal of Masuk High School in Monroe, Connecticut. He most recently served as principal of Windsor Locks High since 2014.
Dana Tulotta’09 6th Year was appointed assistant headmaster at Greenwich (Conn.) High School, where she most recently served as Folsom House administrator.
Kelli-Marie Vallieres ’92 (BUS), ’05 MA, ’08 Ph.D. was featured in the HartfordBusinessJournal about her role as a manufacturer CEO in Connecticut. In addition, she has been named by Gov. Ned Lamont to lead the state’s new Connecticut Workforce Unit, which will be working with the governor’s Workforce Council on developing a statewide plan to promote workforce development.
Joy Wright’04 6thYear was named Middle School Principal of the Year for 2020 by the Connecticut Association of Superintendents. She is the principal at King Phillip Middle School in West Hartford, Connecticut.
A History of Partnership
