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School of Education Newsletter, Volume 7, issue 1
Update from the Dean
Dear Friends of the UW Tacoma School of Education,
As we wrap up 2024, which seems to be at the intersection of an unusually disruptive and distressing time, I thank you for your ongoing support of the UW Tacoma School of Education, and more specifically, for your deep care for the communities, families, and young people with whom we collectively and individually serve. More than ever, the core values that the UW Tacoma School of Education has been inter/nationally known for since our founding will guide us in these challenging times. Over the years, I often refer to the following quote from James Baldwin’s 1984 preface to his seminal Notes of a Native Son (originally written in 1955) that may resonate with many of us in this moment: “I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am, also, much more than that. So are we all.”
In this edition of E3, we are honored to feature some incredible members of our community, including our 2024 cohort of Martinez Fellows in our Teacher Certification Programs. A heart-felt congratulations to Chelsea Escalante, Rosemary Ford, LaNeiya Holmes, Lan Nguyen, and Gudalupe Ramos-Orozc! We also are delighted to feature in our “Get To Know” section Alysa Schafer, an Alumnus of the Master of Education (MEd) for Practicing Educators Program and Dr. Janelle Franco, a Field Supervisor & Part-Time Lecturer in our Teacher Certification Programs.
This newsletter also features a special initiative led by Assistant Professor, Dr. Dawn Hardison-Stevens, known as ALPINE: Academic Learning Pathways in Indigenous and Native Education. Finally, we are honored to share a select number of accomplishments of our alumni, faculty, and staff.
As we enter into 2025, I wish you and yours much light, love, and peace. In the meantime, happy holidays (if you celebrate any) and/or have a restful winter 2024 break. I look forward to staying in touch.
Respectfully,
Rachel Endo
Dean & Professor, School of Education
Congratulations, 2024 Teacher Certification Program Martinez Fellows!
The UW Tacoma School of Education is delighted to congratulate and welcome our 2024 Martinez Fellows Chelsea Escalante, Rosemary Ford, LaNeiya Holmes, Lan Nguyen, and Gudalupe Ramos-Orozc. For this edition of E3, we are honored to feature Holmes and Nguyen.
The Martinez Fellowship Program was established by Holli and Edgar Martinez in 2008 to support the professional preparation and development of equity-committed teachers. It is now managed by the Technology Access Foundation (TAF) and UW Tacoma is one of a handful of universities in the state that host Martinez Fellows. Interested applicants are selected, following a highly competitive review process.
Says Dr. Julia Aguirre, Faculty Director of the Teacher Certification Programs (graduate and undergraduate) and Professor in the School of Education at UW Tacoma:
The Martinez Fellowship program is the premier professional development and support network for equity-conscious teachers in Washington State. It supports our campus’s urban-serving mission and values. Our teacher candidates participate in justice-focused professional development specifically designed to cultivate diverse teacher-leaders. We look forward to the Martinez Fellows sharing their knowledge with faculty, staff, and the K-12 students they will impact, to strengthen our teacher certification programs.
Meet LaNeiya Holmes
She/her
Tell us a bit about your background and interest in becoming a teacher.
I love working with kids and seeing how much they can grow in such a short amount of time. I love being able to be a positive influence on a student's life and I have been able to watch how much of a difference I can make in their life.
As a UW Tacoma Martinez Fellow, what do you look forward to learning this year in your courses and fieldwork?
I am looking forward to connecting with other fellow upcoming teachers and converse about their views and perspectives to create a safe classroom and school for all students of different backgrounds and upbringings.
What do you look forward to doing as a teacher when you finish the program?
I look forward to being the active part of a change not only just for the students but for the school as a whole. I am a key part in diversifying the environment the kids are a part of. Kids are going to see a teacher that looks just like them, and I can promote growth mindset to the students.
Lan Viet Nguyen
He/him
Tell us a bit about your background and interest in becoming a teacher.
My great-grandmother, who was on my mother's side, used to be a teacher before the conflict back in Vietnam. I want to follow in her footsteps and what she had left behind.
As a UW Tacoma Martinez Fellow, what do you look forward to learning this year in your courses and fieldwork?
Experiences and growth.
> What do you look forward to doing as a teacher when you finish the program?
Be able to teach and be contributing citizens.
Get to know Master of Education Program Alumnus Alysa Schafer
Alysa Schafer (They/Them/Theirs) is an alumnus of our MEd for Practicing Educators Program.
What inspired you to pursue a career in teaching, and what led you to choose the MEd program?
During the pandemic, I was accepted into a veterinary program. When I got in, I felt no joy. I turned inward to seek out my best skills and the passions that drove me. I used to tutor a young boy with learning disabilities, and it made me very happy to see him thrive and do middle school algebra at the age of nine after working with him for a year. I also tutored at my undergraduate university in the biology and chemistry department. In general, I found that helping others learn came relatively easy to me at the time. Aside from tutoring and helping students understand material, I was and still am very social justice oriented. I feel that all people deserve access to a solid education that will set them up to be successful in life. Due to these beliefs, I felt that becoming an educator would be the best fit for me. That way, I could make social change, uplift students and help give them the best educational experience that I could.
I chose UW Tacoma’s School of Education because one of its main advertising pitches was that it was social justice oriented. As I said, this is very important to me. I wanted to learn how to be an educator that made change, instead of perpetuating the current status quo of the public education system. I am also from Tacoma, and I feel that giving back to my community after achieving higher education is meaningful to me and those around me. With this program, I felt that I could be the type of teacher that I used to look up to.
How has your experience at UW Tacoma prepared you for your role in the classroom?
I feel that the student-teaching experience was the most crucial for me. Learning about classroom management, how to help students with learning disabilities, and more is crucial to becoming a good educator. However, getting into the classroom made the biggest difference. Learning from professors who come from different areas within the K-12 system was also especially valuable for me. The varying pedagogies and approaches to learning helped me figure out which worked for me, and which did not. Being able to experience the different courses, perspectives, and student teaching gave me tools to tackle my first year of teaching with general ease.
What challenges have you faced in your education or teaching career, and how have you overcome them?
Most of my challenges in education have come from the top-down approaches that the federal, state, district, and other administration make. I want to incite systemic change. At the school I teach at, I feel very restricted in terms of resources, money, and support. A great deal of the labor going into supporting our students falls on the backs of overworked classroom teachers. If educators do not have access to resources, money, and support, being able to give students a good education becomes quite a challenge. Not impossible, just more challenging.
To overcome this, I try to focus on the change that I can make in the classroom on a day-to-day basis. I also have been working to do research outside of the classroom to insight more of a system change. What I mean by that is to continue being a postgraduate student, do activism work within and outside of unions, and to work within my community. I will also say, I have seen stark differences in behavior of students depending on the school that I have been observing. At my school, many of our students tend to come into the building with this idea that they can do whatever they want, with unmet consequences. It is difficult navigating the terrain like that as someone who wants to support the student's well-being and their education. To overcome this challenge, I focus on building relationships with each of my students, meeting them where they are and giving them the safe space to develop respect for themselves and others.
If you could give one piece of advice for aspiring educators, what would it be?
Be patient. Don't just be patient with students or your peers, but also yourself. I tend to have a habit of overworking myself. And in a field like education, everything piles up very easily and very fast. There is always one more thing to do even if you thought you were done. Being kind to yourself allows you to be kind to your students, colleagues, and community. Do not just be resilient within the confines of being a graduate student but be resilient with what people are throwing at you. Do not accept too many hats like I did last year. I wore the hat of educator, researcher, advisor, union representative, and the hat of someone who was creating a building professional development plan to improve education for queer youth. Again, be patient, pace yourself, and be kind to yourself.
Get to Know Dr. Janelle Franco, Faculty in the Teacher Certification Programs
Dr. Janelle Franco (She/Her/Hers) is a Field Supervisor & Part-Time Lecturer in our Teacher Certification Programs.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what drew you to UW Tacoma.
I was born in Tacoma, grew up in the area, and went to UW Seattle for my undergraduate studies. Since then, I have moved around a lot. I worked in schools here in Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Mexico, and Argentina. My research and teaching interests include early childhood literacy and math, translanguaging, learning through play, children’s books as resources for learning, and teacher preparation with a focus on culturally and linguistically diverse contexts. When I was finishing my PhD program at UCLA, my family and I thought a lot about what we wanted in terms of community. We moved to Tacoma five years ago and I started teaching at UW Tacoma soon after that. The factors that drew me here are the same things I love about UW Tacoma now. One thing that really stands out to me is how much everyone here cares about the students and the work.
If you could give one piece of advice to teacher candidates, what would it be?
I would encourage teacher candidates to always be curious and eager to learn. I have been inspired by the teachers and colleagues in my life who modeled this approach, as well as my students.
What are you looking forward to this year as a lecturer/field supervisor?
This year, I have been working with undergraduates and graduates in the Teacher Certification Program. I am excited to continue to see everyone grow as teachers throughout the school year.
Do you have a favorite quote or reading that you would like to share?
A favorite quote that comes to mine is “Imagine what our theories might be like if instead, development was traced in terms of structures lost over the course of childhood, and what adults therefore lack relative to children” (from Cindy Dell Clark, in A Younger Voice: Doing Child-Centered Qualitative Research). This quote reminds me that children are capable learners and teachers, and they bring unique understandings and experiences into schools from which we can all learn.
What is your favorite part about being in the School of Education at UW Tacoma?
My favorite part about being in the School of Education is working with the students and faculty. I love being part of the UW Tacoma community and working together to support our schools and families.
ALPINE: An Innovative Framework for Indigenous & Native Partnerships
Envisioning higher elevations towards viewing greater horizons
by Dr. Dawn Hardison-Stevens, Assistant Professor
ALPINE stands for Academic Learning Pathways in Indigenous and Native Education. The ALPINE initiative aims to empower Native peoples by building capacity within Tribal schools and education systems to increase the number of Native educators, Tribal certification, and Native-advised teacher preparation programs. The goal is to build capacity within schools with high Native populations, Tribal compact schools, and education systems to empower Native peoples and enhance their entry into the field of education. ALPINE focuses on Tribal certification and Native-advised teacher preparation programs, ultimately with the goal of increasing the number of Native educators and leaders.
In honorable collaboration, the UW Tacoma and the School of Education acknowledge the presence of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians' traditional lands as concepts grow with the Office of Native Education, various Tribes, and local communities to enhance Native education. Overall, ALPINE seeks to restore and uplift Native education, creating sustainable pathways supporting the growth of Native educators across Washington and beyond inspired by an ancestral dream related to academic pathways and climbing mountains.
The vision emphasized an alpine environment or experience as Ancestral-guided wordplay developed while envisioning higher elevations with 'The Mountain,' 'Mt. Tahoma,' 'Taquoma,' 'təqʷuʔməʔ' or 'the mother of waters,' a place commonly referred to as "Mt. Rainier." With several considerations of photo representations, one kept coming back around from photographer and UW professor Dr. Elli J. Theobald, who, after contact, permitted the ALPINE image. The photo includes Mt. Tahoma, seen from many directions, circling the lands of several Indigenous peoples and Tribes since time immemorial. The analogies are broad, consisting of the higher alpine elevations and across horizons, viewing the diverse landscapes, as each altitude provides varied opportunities, like that of the Sacred Circle.
To learn more about ALPINE’s aims and goals, visit: https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/soe/soe-grants-and-partnerships
EdS in School Psychology Program & Project EXPAND
Contributions from: Dr. Kathleen Beaudoin & Dr. Laura Feuerborn
The UW Tacoma EdS School Psychology Program, in partnership with Kent, Puyallup, and Tacoma School Districts, will implement a 5-year US Department of Education Mental Health Services Professional grant program entitled Project EXPAND: Expanding the Roles of School Psychologists as Equity-Centered Leaders in Mental Health. The total award is $4,778,921 over five years and is one of the largest federal grants awarded in the history of UW Tacoma. The award period will begin January 1, 2025.
Project EXPAND comprises of three aims: (1) increase the number of diverse school psychologists trained in the UW Tacoma EdS in School Psychology program who will enter the workforce in high-need districts, (2) enhance school psychologists’ capacity to lead—and high-need schools’ ability to implement—culturally and linguistically responsible mental health practices, and (3) demonstrate a positive impact in mental health indicators among students in these high-need districts.
Dr. Kathleen Beaudoin, Associate Professor, is Principal Investigator and Dr. Laura Feuerborn, Professor/Director of the School Psychology program, is Co-Principal Investigator. Keep your eyes out soon for a feature story on UW Tacoma’s main website!
Congratulations, Dr. José Rios!
Dr. José Rios, Associate Professor in the School of Education, is a recipient of the 2024 Celebrando Communidad Award: Latine Education from the UW Tacoma Office of Community Partnerships. This award “Recognizes an individual, group, or organization that serves Latine communities in pursuing educational success, formally or informally.” Dr. Rachel Endo, Dean & Professor of the School of Education, notes: “Dr. Rios has positively impacted Latine, BIPOC, and other communities through his community-engaged scholarship. He is also has served as a key mentor and role model to several of our students who deeply appreciate his care for their academic success and well-being.”
On October 18, 2024, Dr. Rios accepted his award at the community reception and delivered remarks to a packed audience. To learn more about Dr. Rios and other award recipients, visit: https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/news/celebrando-comunidad-honors-leaders-local-latine-community
Apply Now for Summer 2025 Educational Administration or Teacher Certification Program Graduate Cohorts
Are you interested in a rewarding career as a PK-12 school principal or PK-12 classroom teacher, or know someone who is? We still have seats available for both of our high-demand graduate programs, where the next cohorts will officially start this summer 2025 quarter. To learn more about admissions and application requirements, and upcoming information sessions, please visit each program’s page below.
Our certification programs have an excellent reputation in our region and state. We are also proud to share that we have a high job-placement rate, as our graduates are in high demand and making a positive difference in our surrounding communities.
School of Education Accomplishments
We are proud to spotlight the accomplishments of some of our amazing alumni/current students, faculty, and staff. These are not exhaustive.
Kathleen Beaudoin, Associate Professor
GRANT
- Dr. Beaudoin (with Dr. Laura Feuerborn) received a federal grant from the US Department of Education Mental Health Services Professional titled Expanding the role of school psychologists as equity centered leaders in mental health (Project EXPAND). A total of $4,778,921 will be funded from January 2025 – December 2029). Dr. Beaudoin is serving as Principal Investigator and Dr. Feuerborn is serving as Co-Principal Investigator (see also newsletter story).
Deann Dillon, Part-time Lecturer
TALK
- Dr. Dillon was the featured speaker for UW Tacoma’s Alumni Speaker Series on November 07, 2024, which also intersected with our campus honoring Native American Heritage Month. Dillon is a citizen of the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe but grew up with the Puyallup Nation in Tacoma. Dr. Dillon is well-connected to UW Tacoma as an alumna of the inaugural EdD Muckleshoot cohort (2023) and part-time lecturer, but also wears many other hats outside of campus. To learn more about Dr. Dillon, visit: https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/alumni/alumni-speaker-series
Rachel Endo, Professor & Dean
CONFERENCE
- Au, W., Endo, R., Kumashiro, K., Pavri, S., & Roxas, K. (12/2024). Intersectional identities, tensions, and frameworks for transformation: An invited dialogue of Critical Asian American deans and leaders. Joint Education Deans for Justice & Equity Autumn 2024 Meeting with the International Conference on Education & Justice Annual Meeting. Honolulu, HI.
MEDIA CITATION
- Dr. Endo was featured in the Profiles in Diversity Journal International: Leadership Defined Q3 2024 edition on p. 130: https://diversityjournal.com/?mc_cid=aec111fcec&mc_eid=e7b31f8a2d
Laura L. Feuerborn, Professor
PRESENTATIONS
- Feuerborn, L. L., Madfis, E., *Garcia, L, & *Øde, C. (2024). Threat assessment teaming and school psychologists. Paper to be presented at the Washington State Association of School Psychologists (WSASP), Virtual Regional Conference (HI, AK, WA).
*Laura Garcia and Chris Øde are candidates in the Ed.S. School Psychology program. This marks the first presentation at WSASP with our students in this new program. This is a collaborative project with faculty and students in the UW Tacoma School of Education and School of Social Work & Criminal Justice.
- Marrs, H., Feuerborn, L., Lawlor, J., Sisco-Taylor, D., Kucera, M. Matlack, A., & Iyer, M. (2024). Supporting school psychology through the supervision of practicum students and interns. Panel moderated at the Washington State Association of School Psychologists (WSASP), Virtual Regional Conference (HI, AK, WA).
Kurt Hatch, Professor of Practice & Director of Educational Administration Program
AWARD
- Dr. Hatch is the recipient of the UW SMART Center’s 2024-2025 Boundary Breaker Award, which recognizes an individual who best exemplifies the critical and challenging quest to convene and engage educational leaders, teachers, researchers, practitioners, students, families, and others in systems change, leadership, and school mental health.
PRESENTATIONS
- Barrett, S., & Hatch, K. (2024, October). The impact of classroom and school exclusion on mental health. A panel moderated at the Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) Leadership Forum. Chicago, IL.
- Hatch, K. (11/2024). Education must be centered on a love ethic. Keynote address presented at the Michigan Multi-Tier System of Support (MiMTSS) Technical Center Annual Conference. Lansing Center, Lansing, MI.
- Hatch, K. (11/2024). Back to class: A support system proven to reduce classroom and school exclusions. Presented at the Michigan Multi-Tier System of Support (MiMTSS) Technical Center annual Conference. Lansing Center, Lansing, MI.
Christopher B. Knaus, Professor & EdD Program Director
APPOINTMENT
- Dr. Knaus was appointed to the inaugural Editorial Board for Equitas: The Payne Center Journal on Race and Social Justice. To learn more, visit: https://www.infoagepub.com/series/Equitas
PRESENTATIONS/TALKS
- Dr. Knaus provided multiple talks and faculty development workshops to the University of South Africa in October 2024. He also provided multiple talks and faculty development workshops to the University of Namibia and University of Namibia Hifikepunye Pohamba Campus with Assistant Professor, Dr. M. Billye Sankofa Waters, in November 2024.
José Rios, Associate Professor
GRANT
- Dr. Rios is the recipient of a National Science Foundation grant titled Collaborative research: The next generation of equity-driven STEM teacher recruitment and preparation in Washington state (NextGen-WA II; total award is $2,999,979; UW Tacoma award is $468,148), where he will serve as Principal Investigator. The award period is 2024-2027.
PRESENTATION
- Rios, J. (10/2024). Guiding the work: Examining diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM teacher education programs. Poster presentation at the annual NRMERA Conference, Lake Tahoe, NV.
Sae saem Yoon, Assistant Professor
PUBLICATION
- Yoon, S. S. (2024). Drama-based pedagogy as a pedagogy of the possible for preservice teacher education. Possibility Studies & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/27538699241284145
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