E3 Newsletter - Autumn 2023

School of Education Newsletter, Volume 6, issue 1

Update from the Dean

Dear Friends of the School of Education,

I hope the end of 2023 is going as well as possible for you and your loved ones.

For this edition of our E3 Newsletter, I am delighted to give you a preview of the amazing work being done by the School of Education’s diverse and high-talent alumni, current students, faculty, and staff.

The EdS in School Psychology just welcomed its third cohort this autumn 2023 quarter, an incredibly talented group of pre-service professionals who are committed to advancing equity and justice in our schools and society. EdS students Seonyeong Kim and Kat Wittman were recently awarded the highly competitive WSASP Diversity Scholarships — congratulations! Moreover, our first-ever undergraduate education program, the BA in Education, has received acclaim for its innovative approaches to preparing the next generation of equity-minded professional educators and was featured in the UW Viewpoint magazine. Under the leadership of Dr. Julia Aguirre, Faculty Director of our BA in Education/Teacher Certification Programs and Professor, Elizabeth Rangel, Academic Advisor/Recruitment & Retention Specialist, and other program faculty, the inaugural cohort is preparing to take their cohort-based Education courses this spring 2024. Angel Fresnares, who is featured in this newsletter edition, represents the incredible talent of the inaugural cohort.

You will also see in this E3 edition that the alumni/current students, as well as faculty and staff, continue to make a significant impact in the field and profession through their scholarship/research, teaching, and service. I would specifically like to congratulate and thank Yennhi Truong, who has been a student worker in the School of Education at UW Tacoma for over two years; she is graduating this December 2023.

Finally, I thank Taylor Merwin, Donna Braboy, and Nicco Eblum-Tabanda in the School of Education at UW Tacoma for their support in creating this edition of E3, in addition to Cody Clark in the UW Tacoma Office of Advancement.

As we close out 2023, I wish all of you and yours all the best for the holidays if you celebrate them and time for restoration. I look forward to staying in touch and seeing you in 2024.

Respectfully,

Rachel Endo
Dean & Professor, School of Education

Welcoming the School Psychology Program’s Cohort 3

Dr. Laura Feuerborn, Faculty Director of the School of Education’s School Psychology Program and Professor, is honored to announce that this Academic Year 2023-2024, the School of Education at UW Tacoma welcomed Cohort 3 into the program. The EdS program takes three years of full-time study to complete. This new group of students in Cohort 3 brings us to full enrollment for the first time since we launched the program in autumn 2021. This is our most diverse cohort with 64% identifying as BIPOC; their diverse backgrounds, experiences, and identities are among the key strengths of the program.

EdS Students Seonyeong Kim and Kat Wittman Receive WSASP Diversity Scholarship

Dr. Laura Feuerborn, Faculty Director of the School of Education’s School Psychology Program and Professor, is honored to announce that half (two out of four) of this year’s Washington State Association of School Psychologists or WSASP Diversity Scholarship recipients this year are UW Tacoma students.

Please join us in congratulating Seonyeong Kim (Year 3 student and current intern) and Kat Wittman (Year 2 student in the program) on their achievements.

This scholarship is highly competitive and requires that recipients have a powerful application letter and be a student in a regionally accredited program, from an underrepresented group, a WSASP student member, in solid academic standing (minimum GPA of 3.0), and have several strong recommendations.

Meet BA in Education Student Angel Fresnares

Angel Fresnares is a new student in our inaugural BA in Education program, which officially launched in autumn 2022 quarter. The cohort will start its cohort-based Education classes this upcoming spring 2024. Dr. Julia Aguirre, Faculty Director of the BA in Education and Teacher Certification Programs and Professor, is honored that high-talent students like Fresnares have chosen a career in PK-12 education.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what drew you to the School of Education undergraduate program at UW Tacoma?

My name is Angel Fresnares. I am a junior at UW Tacoma and a Tacoma native. I am a proud first-generation college student and the son of Mexican immigrant parents. This is my first quarter at UW Tacoma as I transferred from Pierce College this summer 2023 quarter. Community is an important thing to me, especially in the community we are in, here in Tacoma- it is diverse and full of life. We also see this in our community’s classrooms. What drew me to the undergraduate program was our shared values. This was important for me because I wanted my program of choice to align with my beliefs, thoughts, and values I wish to implement in my future classroom.

What do you want/hope to get out of your time here?

What I want to get out of my time here is to continue to build on my skills and knowledge of building a diverse and inclusive classroom. A big part of why I am pursuing a career as an educator is because I want to serve my community and the diverse youth population in our area. To do so, I must be able to connect with all students who come from a wide variety of cultural and social backgrounds.

What is are you looking forward to the most at UW Tacoma and the School of Education?

What I am looking forward to the most at UW Tacoma and the School of Education is the start of my cohort coming in the spring 2024 quarter. Being able to build relationships and work together with my peers is very exciting. It is nice to know that I will have a group of peers going along with me on this journey. It will be a great benefit to have a group of people I know I can count on and use as support along the way. Most importantly I know my peers will be sharing the same values and goals as me for a better educational future for our children.

Tell us about an upcoming project you have in the works.

A personal project I have been working on is understanding the development of children in the Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) setting. I currently serve as a Pre-K teacher who serves children as young as three years of age and as old as five. The four development domains (social, emotional, cognitive, and physical) are important to observe, especially during this time of life. It has been something I have been very interested in since my time at Pierce College and I wish to continue my research in this further.

Get to Know Yennhi Truong (and Congratulations!)

Yennhi Truong has been with the UW Tacoma School of Education since December 2021 as a student worker at the front desk. She has led several projects, including coordinating past editions of our E3 newsletter and planning for major events, such as our all-school retreats. She is set to graduate this autumn 2023 quarter with her BA in Accounting. Congratulations, Yennhi! 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what drew you to UW Tacoma.

I was born and raised in Saigon, Vietnam. I immigrated to the United States when I was ten and have lived in Tacoma ever since. I am majoring in accounting and finishing my bachelor's degree at UW Tacoma this quarter. I decided to attend UW Tacoma because I want to be more connected with my community and learning environment. One of my top priorities when choosing my college is the smaller campus and class size because then I would be able to connect with my professors and classmates better. Plus, Tacoma is home so I will always prioritize supporting our local community.

Tell us about an upcoming project you have in the works.

I don’t currently have a project in mind. However, I hope that after graduating and with more time on my hands, I will be able to do more volunteer work. To start off, I would like to come back and volunteer for the Daffodil Festival as a former princess. As spring would be the busiest time for the festival, I would love to help the newly crowned princesses prepare for their parade season.

Do you have a favorite quote or reading that you would like to share, and why it inspired you?

My favorite quote is: “Run to the rescue with love and peace will follow.” I heard this quote from one of the awards shows a while back and it has resonated with me ever since. If only we can practice not judging others for their worst mistake, become less entitled to our own needs, and care for others- when we could use love and compassion as our guiding principles, to develop and grow- then our world would be a much better place.

What is your favorite part about being a student worker in the School of Education at UW Tacoma?

The School of Education is an uplifting working and learning environment. During my time here, I have grown a lot as a worker and as a student. The school constantly provides me with new opportunities to help me improve my skills. I hold a deep appreciation for all of the projects I got to be a part of as it has brought me valuable lessons for my future. I originally chose to apply for this position because I admire educators and the impact they have on future generations. I was hoping that this role would allow me to take part in the students’ journey as they become educators. Watching the staff and faculty here, it is clear they are dedicated to their roles and passionate about providing a welcoming place for students and inspired me to work harder too. I have found the two years working as a student worker for the School of Education to be a very meaningful experience.

What are your future plans after your BA?

After graduating with my BA, I am planning to work on my last 30 semester hours to qualify for CPA licensure. I am either going to apply for the accounting master's program here at UW Tacoma or just going to a community college for a 5th-year credit. I have a couple of internships planned out for 2024, so I am hoping to be working on that while attending school and studying for the CPA exams. Of course, if I could, I would love to squeeze in a couple of vacations somewhere in between.

MEd Alumna Kathleen Byrd selected as City of Olympia’s Poet Laureate

Congratulations to MEd Alumna Kathleen Byrd for being selected as the City of Olympia’s Poet Laureate for 2023-2025. To learn more and to register for upcoming poetry readings and writing workshops, please visit the City of Olympia news release.

UW Tacoma School of Education Featured in UW Viewpoint Magazine

The UW Tacoma School of Education was featured in a recent edition of UW Viewpoint Magazine in its autumn 2023 edition for its distinctive and innovative approaches to culturally sustainable practices. The new BA in Education program, led by Faculty Program Director and Professor Dr. Julia Aguirre, was featured as an exemplar of fulfilling a longtime critical teacher shortage in the South Sound but in a distinctive way. An evidence-based approach that prepares the next generation of equity-minded teachers who will support the success of culturally, ethnically/racially, linguistically, and other diverse communities, families/guardians, and learners. The magazine also featured the Muckleshoot partnership, led by Dr. Robin Minthorn (formerly Associate Professor/EdD Faculty Program Director at UW Tacoma), Dr. Michelle Montgomery (Cohort Director), and Ms. Ashley Walker (Enrollment & Student Services Lead) from UW Tacoma, as well as Dr. Denise Bill and Dr. Amy Maharaj (former) of Muckleshoot Tribal College).

Faculty, Staff, Student & Alumni Accomplishments

We are proud to spotlight the accomplishments of some of our amazing alumni/current students, faculty, and staff.

Julia Aguirre, Professor & Director of Teacher Certification Programs

BOOK

• Zavala, M., & Aguirre, J.M (2023). Cultivating mathematical hearts: Culturally responsive mathematics teaching in elementary classrooms. Corwin Press.

MEDIA

• Aguirre, along with her colleague and co-author Karen Mayfield-Ingram, were invited to give the Iris M. Carl Lecture at the Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in Washington, D.C (October, 2023). Click here to view brief introduction video of speakers.

NATIONAL PRESENTATIONS

• Aguirre, J.M., & Zavala, M. (2023, November). Cultivating mathematical hearts: Culturally responsive mathematics teaching in elementary classrooms. Invited Session. Make Math Moments Virtual Summit.
• Aguirre, J.M, & Mayfield-Ingram, K. (2023, October) Essential elements to cultivate joy and justice in mathematics education: A critical dialogue for taking action. Iris M. Carl Lecture. Annual Meeting National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Washington D.C.
• Aguirre, J.M., Mayfield-Ingram, K., & Martin, D.B. (2023, October) Necessary but not sufficient: Building on the five equity-based practices that impact identity in K-12 mathematics. Pre-conference Workshop. Annual Meeting National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Washington D.C.
• Aguirre, J.M., Tate, H., Suh, J., McVicar, E., Turner, E., & Carlson, M.A. (2023, October) Cultivating belonging, empathy, and justice with culturally responsive mathematical modeling. Invited Session. Annual Meeting National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Washington D.C.
• Aguirre, J.M., Suh, J., Tate, H., Sotelo Ocampo, D., Turner, E., & McVicar, E. (2023, June) Cultivating empathy, equity and community connection with culturally responsive mathematical modeling in elementary grades. TODOS Annual Conference. Albuquerque, NM.
• Suh, J., Aguirre, J.M., Turner, E., Senia, L., McVicar, E., Carlson, M.A. (2023, June). “Learn from everybody’s strengths”: Developing confident math modelers through routines and formative assessment. TODOS Annual Conference. Albuquerque, NM.

Kathleen Beaudoin, Associate Professor

PRESENTATIONS

• Beaudoin, K. (2023, July) Serving students with social-emotional behavioral needs: Supporting teachers through best practice PD. Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES) International Roundtable, Bangalore, India.

K. Kawena Begay, Assistant Professor

BOOK

• Gabrielsen, T. P., Begay, K. K., Campbell, K., Hahn, K., & Harrington, L. T. (2023). Assessment of autism in females and atypical presentations. Springer.

PRESENTATIONS

• Gabrielsen, T. P., Begay, K., & Cutrer-Parraga, E. (2023, November). Evidence base for identification of autism in females and nuanced presentations in school settings. Presented to the school-based professionals of Milwaukee Public Schools WI. Virtual.
• Begay, K. (2023, October). School-based identification of Autism in females and nuanced presentations. Presentation at the Washington State Association of School Psychologists Conference 2023. Virtual.
• Begay, K. (2023, October). School-based identification of autism in females and nuanced presentations. Presented to the school psychology staff of Downey Unified Public Schools, CA. Virtual.
• Gabrielsen, T. P., Begay, K. K., & Cutrer-Parragá, E. (2023, October). Evidence base for identification of autism in females and nuanced presentations in school settings. Full-day presentation for the South Dakota State Association 2023 Annual Conference, Sioux Falls, SD.
• Begay, K. (2023, September). Identifying autism in schools: Thoughtful approaches. Presented to school support services staff at Roosevelt School District, AZ. Virtual.
• Begay, K. (2023, April). Identifying autistic females: Nuanced presentations. Presented to school psychology staff of Northshore Public Schools, WA. Virtual.

Rachel Endo, Professor & Dean

• Endo facilitated a workshop titled "Equity-conscious mentoring: A praxis primer for senior faculty mentors" for the Associated Colleges of the South, Cross-Institutional Faculty of Color Mentoring Program (2023, September).
• Endo was a panelist, along with Dr. Peter Nien-chu Kiang, Professor and Director of the Asian American Studies Program at UMass-Boston, and Dr. Roland Sintos Coloma, Professor of Teacher Education at Wayne State University, as part of the American Educational Research Association SIG 94’s webinar. In this session, senior Asian/American scholars discussed what it means to be one of the few Asian/Americans in predominantly White spaces, along with reflections about negotiating advocacy and agency in contested times (2023, October).
• Endo and Tanya Velasquez (Associate Teaching Professor in the UW Tacoma’s School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences) were featured speakers for the Center for Communication, Difference, and Equity (CCDE)’s UW Pandemic Project’s Radical Listening Session (2023, November).

Maria Hamilton, Director of Operations

• Hamilton was featured in a UW Tacoma news story on July 14, 2023. 
• Appointed as the Academic Director of Operations/Program Administrators representative on the UWT Budget Advisory Committee.

Dawn Hardison-Stevens, Assistant Professor

• Hardison-Stevens was recently featured in the autumn 2023 Newsletter edition of Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington. Read the full newsletter.

Kurt Hatch, Professor of Practice & Director of Ed Admin Program

PUBLICATION

• Collins, V., Corbin, C., Locke, J., Cook, C., Ehrhart, M., Hatch, K., & Lyon (n.d.). Centering school leaders’ expertise: Usability evaluation of a leadership-focused implementation strategy to support Tier 1 Programs in schools.

PRESENTATIONS

• Barrett, S., Hatch, K., Poulos, J., Splett, J., Rodenbush, K. (2023) Leaders supporting mental health for All: A panel discussion. National PBIS Leadership Forum. Chicago, IL.
• Schmitz, K., Hatch, K., Christensen, T., Sorensen, B., Peyton, A. (2023) Using multi-tiered system of support features to improve mental health for all. National PBIS Leadership Forum. Chicago, IL.
• Hatch, K., (2023). Education must be centered on a love ethic [Keynote, 150 attendees], Washington State Social Workers Annual Conference. Bellevue, WA.
• Brown, S., Kahn, M., Hatch, K., Schmitz, K. (2023) Implementation supports in education [325 online attendees]. SISEP National Implementation Center, US Dept. of Education.
• Hatch, K., (2023). Education must be centered on a love ethic [Keynote, 500 attendees]. Puyallup School District. Puyallup, WA.
• Hatch, K., (2023). Implementation Science and Systems to Support Defusing Disruptive Behavior, a multi-day training for Norfolk Public Schools leadership. Norfolk, Virginia.
• Hatch, K. (2023). Enhancing systems, leadership strategies and classroom practices to center equity and promote behavioral and mental health [Keynote, 450 attendees], North East Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports annual conference, Mystic, Connecticut.
• Hatch, K. (2023). Back to class: school-wide discipline that supports mental and behavioral health. North East Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports Leadership Forum [Breakout Session, 150 attendees], Mystic, Connecticut.
• Hatch, K. (2023). Back to class: school-wide discipline that supports mental and behavioral health. Alaska Department of Education, presentations in Anchorage, Sitka & Nome, AK.
• Hatch, K. (2023) Education must be centered on a love ethic [Keynote, 1,750 attendees], Northwest Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports annual conference. Portland, OR.
• Hatch, K. (2023) Leadership for systems change: The interconnected systems framework and MTSS. Online presentation. Virginia State Department of Education.
• Hatch, K. (2023) Leading for systems change [Keynote, 150 attendees]. Medical Lake School District Learning Improvement Day, Medical Lake, WA.

Christopher B. Knaus, Professor & Interim Ed.D. Director

PUBLICATION

• Knaus, C. B., & Rogers-Ard, R. (2023). Critical race teacher leadership: Leading anti-racist systems change. Urban Education: Special Issue (Online First). https://doi.org/10.1177/00420859231192083

PRESENTATIONS

• Knaus, C. B. (2023). Disrupting whiteness as higher education: Towards a systemic decoloniality. International Journal of Educational Development in Africa. https://unisapressjournals.co.za/index.php/IJEDA/article/view/12109/6512
• Pocklington*, A., Flanagan*, E. J., & Knaus, C. B. (2023). Selling graduation: Higher education and the loaning of liberation. Essays in Education, 29(1), Article 6, 1-27. https://openriver.winona.edu/eie/vol29/iss1/6/
• Knaus, C. B., Rogers-Ard, R., & Wilson*, K.O. (2023). Anti-blackness in the bones of our schools: Reimagining and decolonising educational leadership. The 5th International Conference on Educational Leadership and Management, Montego Bay, Jamaica.
• Knaus, C. B. (2023). Keynote: Decolonising teacher education: The mirages and shifting sands of transformation. 11th Teacher Education and Interdisciplinary Research Conference. Swakopmund, Namibia.
• Wilson*, K. O., Smith, M., & Knaus, C. B. (2023). Schools as anti-Blackness: Globalising Black affirmation. 11th Teacher Education and Interdisciplinary Research Conference. Swakopmund, Namibia.

*Indicates EdD alumni or students.

APPOINTMENTS

• Knaus was appointed Professor Extraordinarius in the Department of Educational Foundations at the University of South Africa (2023-2026).
• Knaus was appointed to the Advisory Board for the journal Africa Education Review.

Belinda Louie, Professor

PRESENTATION

• Louie was a PESB panelist of higher education literacy faculty presenting the state of Literacy Education in Washington state teacher certification to Senator Claire Wilson in November 2023.

APPOINTMENT

• As a member of the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 Committee, Louie has reviewed over 300 books and nominated an award-winning booklist.

José Rios, Associate Professor

PRESENTATION

• Rios, J. (2023, October) Seeing science, engineering, and sustainability all around us: The community science and engineering walk. Washington Science Teachers Association, Chehalis, WA

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