School of Education

School of Education
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The American University School of Education is currently accepting graduate applications!

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Raise Your Hand for Equity in Education

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Teacher shortages, lack of diversity, outdated policies, inequitable access - learn how to be a part of the evolution of the education system at the American University School of Education.

In the world of education, some of the most passionate teachers find their calling through unexpected paths. Juilenne Townsend-Sanders' story is a testament to the power of perseverance, lifelong learning, and the profound impact of discovering one's true purpose. After teaching for 32 years, "I'm still in the honeymoon phase of this job!" she exclaims. READ MORE
 

Dixon witnessed firsthand how a positive educational environment could transform the lives of his family members with special needs. This experience, coupled with his own academic and athletic journey, shaped his path to becoming an educator. Imagine going from tackling opponents on the football field to tackling learning disabilities in the classroom. That's the remarkable journey of Charles Dixon, a former Division I football star now pursuing a Master of Arts in teaching (MAT) special education with a concentration on learning disabilities. READ MORE

Jesse Lima, SOE/MAT ’24

Using what he’s learned from AU’s School of Education, the DC Public Schools first-grade teacher Jesse Lima, Master of Arts in Teaching ’24, is shaping the next generation of Washington learners at Janney Elementary School in Tenleytown. “Diversity means including everyone,” Lima said. “In our classroom community, we are all seen.”

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Emmett Till

Racism and Disabilities

Dr. Antonio L. Ellis wrote this piece in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education about Emmett Till's experiences as a person of color and a stuttering disability.

 

Read the Opinion

70 Years Later: Critical Education Policy to Live Out the Promise of Brown v. Board of Education

Did Brown v. Board of Education Fulfill its Promise?

Watch this insightful webinar today!

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School of Education Building - Spring Valley Building

Faculty Research Presentations

Join SOE faculty presenting cutting-edge research on coping with stress, and the importance of going to college.

RSVP - It's Free!

Two SOE ITEP students visit Japan, joining researches and other students

SOE Students Travel to Japan

ITEP students were among researchers and other students exposed to Japan’s society and culture.

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Maya Angelou Schools Student Learning

Teaching Those Most in Need

Dr. Clarisse Mendoza Davis, ’08, runs toward the students that everyone else could not reach.

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A calendar with a mortarboard

Fall 2024 Academic Calendar

If you're a potential student, student, parent, or community member, check out the fall 2024 academic calendar.

See the Calendar

Community-Based Heritage Language Schools Conference Join us in October

2024 Community-Based Heritage Language Schools ConferenceJoin this conference in-person or virtually to:

  • Build partnerships across community-based heritage language schools and determine future arenas for action
  • Help create, strengthen, and build school structures and activities
  • Clarify the importance of community-based heritage language schools in the language learning landscape
  • Develop information about community-based heritage language schools through a national survey of schools
     

Learn about SOE Accomplishments

  • Dr. Corbin Campbell, Professor, was quoted in the Washington Monthly article "Why Professors Can’t Teach," which discusses academics' struggle to impart their knowledge to students. [September 16, 2024]

  • Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Antonio L. Ellis penned a Diverse: Issues in Higher Education op-ed on how the intersection of race and disability is an overlooked aspect of Emmett Till's story. [September 16, 2024]

  • Carl Felton, III, MEd '23, policy analyst at EdTrust, wrote a blog post promoting tutoring, extending learning time, and teachers building relationships with students. [September 16, 2024]

  • Professor Dr. Jennifer Steele was featured in The National Desk news segment "Educators Want a Post-Pandemic Reset" and was quoted in both the CBS News story "How Schools' Long Summer Breaks Started, Why Some Want the Vacation Cut Short" and The Baltimore Sun story "Educators Call for Post-Pandemic Reset, Overhaul of Current System." [September 16, 2024]

  • Dr. Samantha Cohen, Senior Professorial Lecturer, co-wrote an article on the importance of equity-mindedness in The CRTL Beat. [September 16, 2024]

  • Dr. Bridget Trogden, Professor, talked with Inside Higher Ed in "Can Professors Get Some STEM Students to Vote?"

    SOE Professors Dr. Sarah Irvine Belson and Dr. Alida Anderson, with Adjunct Instructor Dr. Jasmine Rogers and Professorial Lecturer Anne Karabell, presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading in Copenhagen, Denmark. [September 16, 2024]
  • Adjunct Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Altheria Caldera appeared on NPR’s Open to Debate program, where she advocated the value of teaching social justice issues in K-12 schools. [September 16, 2024]

  • Assistant Professor Dr. Robert Shand co-published the educational policy article “The Relationship Between Teacher Collaboration and Instructional Practices, Instructional Climate, and Social Relations,” detailing the importance of teacher collaboration. [September 16, 2024]

  • Professorial Lecturer Dr. Jisun Jeong co-authored a chapter, "A Complex Global Governance of Education: Multiscalar Social and Emotional Learning Policy Making in Lebanon," in the e-book, Researching Global Education Policy: Diverse Approaches to Policy Movement. [September 16, 2024]
  • Professor Dr. Bridget G. Trogden talked with Inside Higher Ed about working with STEM students and encouraging them to participate in voting in "Can Professors Get Some STEM Students to Vote?" [Aug 28, 2024]
  • Dr. Samantha Cohen, Senior Professorial Lecturer, co-wrote the piece "Advancing Equity Through Participation in Faculty Learning Communities" in The CRTL Beat, a newsletter by AU's Center for Research, Teaching, and Learning. [Aug 12, 2024]
  • Professor Dr. Jennifer Steele was quoted by CBS News about whether summer vacation is a good idea for students. [Aug 12, 2024]
  • Dr. Jennifer Steele, Professor, joins the call for a post-pandemic overhaul of the US Education system in The Baltimore Sun[Aug 8, 2024]
  • Professor Dr. Jennifer Steele was interviewed about the need for a post-pandemic reset of educaiton with the National Desk. [Aug 7, 2024]
  • Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Antonio L. Ellis wrote an opinion piece in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education reflecting on the 83 birthday of  Emmett Till the intersectionality of his experiences as a person of color and a stuttering disability. [Aug 6, 2024]
  • Four SOE faculty presented their research at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR), the foremost international conference in the science of reading, in Copenhagen. Dr. Jasmine Rogers, Dr. Alida Anderson, Professorial Lecturer Anne Karabell, and Dr. Sarah Irvine Belson presented. [July 16, 2024]
  • Dr. Jasmine Rogers (EdD ’24) and former Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Phelton C. Moss developed a discussion guide with NAACP for the documentary The Right to Read, which discusses Black students’ literacy as it’s connected to civil rights. [July 10, 2024]
  • Dr. Jennifer Steele, Professor, weighed in on The National Desk in an interview about the learning loss, including too much screen time, during the COVID lockdown. [June 10, 2024]

VIEW ADDITIONAL FACULTY AND STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • Education studies minor Felicity Chapman, SOC/BA ’26won the prestigious 2024–26 Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship and up to $50,000 in financial aid. [September 16, 2024]

  • Teaching Fellows Tatiana Ellis, BA '26, and Luis Paredes Alvizurez, BA '27, taught DCPS Generation Teach (GT) STEAM Academy participants math and engineering as part of their GT Summer Teaching Fellowship, promoting teaching in diverse communities. [September 16, 2024]

  • The Black Code, a documentary by EdD program alum Dr. Sharice Lane, '24, is a Student Film category finalist for the 2024 Lane Doc Fest. The film analyzes the cultural responsiveness of English language arts (ELA) instruction. [September 16, 2024]

  • Pamela Harris, CAS/MEd '73 and SOE/EdD '25, with husband Tyrone, SOC/BA '72 and WCL/JD '75, won the 2024 Volunteer Impact Award at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Ebony Eagles of Excellence celebration, for their dedication to advancing the global Black community. [September 16, 2024]

  • EdD alum Dr. Dia L. Jones, '22, will facilitate a workshop at STEMNoire 2024: Black Women Leading the STEM Renaissance Conference which will provide attendees with tools to build their belongingness capacity in STEM spaces. She will also present research to support increased participation of Black girls and women in STEM at this summer's Black Gaze Symposium. [May 28, 2024]

  • EdD student Julie Corbett, '25, was one of the subjects of a The Hour article, "Chalk Talk: A Diverse Group of Norwalkers Are Being Trained to Be Civic Influencers," which detailed a program she designed enabling diverse citizens of Norwalk, CT, to participate in a civics lesson on local government. [May 28, 2024]

  • EdD alum Dr. Iris Bond Gill, '24, has been named a New America Fellow. The program invests in thinkers who generate big, bold ideas that have an impact and spark new conversations about the most pressing issues of our day. [May 28, 2024]

  • EdD student Darla Davenport-Powell, ’24, plays the role of the family matriarch Lucy Bell in the slavery-centered live-animation documentary The Bell Affair, which explores freedom lawsuits of US slaves and recently began streaming on Amazon Prime. [April 24, 2024]

  • Education Policy and Leadership (EPL) MEd students Lauren GustafsonMeanha Kim, and Kwand Lang, Jr. of Dr. Phelton Moss’s proseminar course are partnering with Opportunity Consulting to develop a series of toolkits for school leaders with strategies to bolster school improvement efforts. EPL MEd students Jarren NewbyKissiah Valle, and Angeliki Papari-Kosiori accompanied Moss to a Capitol Hill roundtable discussion he organized and facilitated for Black and Latino school superintendents from across the country and the education policy advisors of President Biden and Vice President Harris. [April 24, 2024]
  • Dr. Sarah Trembath, EdD ’23, and AU professorial lecturer of literature, wrote "Active Engagement," a review of the book Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain for Washington Independent Review of Books. [March 21, 2024]
  • Anna Lapera, MAT ’17, authored Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice, a book inspired by her teaching experience during her time at AU and since. It was named the “Most anticipated middle grade book of 2024” by the School Library Journal. [March 21, 2024]
  • Along with her AU Center for Teaching, Research & Learning (CTRLstudent partners, elementary education senior Qudsia Saeed co-presented "Student Feedback and Co-Creation for Equitable Teaching and Learning," which emphasized the importance of professors embracing and integrating student feedback. [Feb 10, 2024]
  • Education Policy and Leadership MEd alumna Regina Wesley is now working as a Management Analyst for Workforce Development and Enhancement at the Division of Early Learning for DC's Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). [Feb 10, 2024]
  • Education Policy and Leadership MEd alumna Katy Mullins was accepted into a doctoral program in education at Johns Hopkins, where her research will focus on the intersection of technology and language arts education. [Feb 9, 2024]

SUBMIT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT HERE