The Weekly Recap
News and Updates From Across BU Wheelock SPACE This Week
Welcome to this week’s recap! This week we share updates on recent community events, provide insights into faculty engagement, and highlight news mentions, newly published research, and upcoming events.
New Announcements
It’s the season of celebratory parties. Members of the SPACE Office attended the annual Boston University Holiday Party and connected with partners across the university. We also attended the annual Boston University Women’s Guild Holiday Party and the BU Wheelock celebration.
Out and About
BU Wheelock was thrilled to host Massachusetts Senator Jason Lewis, Chair of the Joint Committee on Education, for a conversation on College and Career Readiness and High-School Redesign. Moderated by BU Wheelock Dean Penny Bishop, the panel featured Yasko Kanno (Professor, BU Wheelock), Scott Solberg (Professor, BU Wheelock), Kimberly Howard (Professor, BU Wheelock), and Josh Goodman (Assoc. Professor, BU Wheelock).
Cara Mattaliano (Asst. Director, SPACE), Raul Fernandez (Senior Lecturer, BU Wheelock), and Sidrah Baloch (Asst. Director, BU Wheelock Education Policy Center) attended the December meeting of the Rennie Center’s Massachusetts Education Policy Fellowship, which included a conversation with Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, Executive Director of Lawyers for Civil Rights.
Boston University, France Fulbright, and Mary Churchill (Assoc. Dean, SPACE) were thanked for their work in helping to organize the 2024 France Alumni Night in Boston. The event, hosted by the Consulate General of France in Boston at the French Library/Alliance Française of Boston and Cambridge, brought together alumni from French universities across the New England region. Florence Botello, the newly appointed Attachée de Coopération Universitaire / Attachée for Higher Education at the Consulate, coordinated the successful gathering.
Mary Churchill (Assoc. Dean, SPACE) represented BU Wheelock at a retirement celebration for Joseph Cambone, Dean of the McKeown School of Education at Salem State University. During the event, Representative Manny Cruz presented Dean Cambone with citations from the Massachusetts House and Senate, recognizing his service as Dean of Education from 2014 to 2024.
Ariel Tichnor-Wagner (Lecturer, BU Wheelock) and Hardin Coleman (Professor, BU Wheelock) co-facilitated a training for the BPS Office of Teaching & Learning with EdVestors at the Bolling Building, the district office for Boston Public Schools. The training served as the first meeting for an equity-driven Networked Improvement Cohort involving over five central office teams. Participants received training on identifying problems of practice, conducting root cause analyses, and writing goals within an equity-focused improvement science framework.
Faculty Engagement
Pia Caronongan (Research Assoc. Professor, BU Wheelock) shared a recently released white paper from the BU Wheelock Education Policy Center, Early Education Workforce Supports at Scale: How state-level data and research could improve innovations and investments in Massachusetts, at the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care Workforce Council meeting.
In the News
Maryland may retain third-graders lagging in reading. Can schools afford it?, The Washington Post, (Professor Marcus Winters quoted), December 6, 2024
Collegial Conversations: Higher Education at a Crossroads, BU Today, (written by Professor Emeritus Jay Halford), December 12, 2024
Research that Matters
Higher-Education Merger: “It Wasn’t What I Expected”: Students’ Perspectives and Experiences on a Higher Education Merger (co-authored by Clinical Professor Ellen Faszewski, Clinical Assoc. Professor Karen Murphy, Clinical Professor Eleonora Villegas-Reimers, and Clinical Assoc. Professor Tina Durand)
In 2018, Wheelock College and the Boston University School of Education merged, giving rise to a new school of education: Boston University Wheelock. This study explores the experiences and perspectives of undergraduate students who underwent the Wheelock College and BU School of Education merger, using both survey and semi-structured interview methods. Through quantitative and qualitative analyses, the study identified several key factors and challenges that significantly impacted students and highlights critical sources of growth and resilience among students.
Antiracism in Teacher Preparation: Preparing Antiracist Teachers: Fostering Antiracism and Equity in Teacher Preparation (co-authored by Assoc. Professor Christina Dobbs)
This book examines multiple strategies and theories for developing antiracist attitudes and actions in teachers and teacher candidates, using critical consciousness as a framework to guide practitioners and scholars to facilitate the process of doing antiracist work.
English Learners and Teachers’ Perspectives: How teachers’ beliefs and pedagogical practices are impacted by the experience of being labeled as an English learner (co-authored by Lecturer Jennifer Altavilla- Giordano)
This study explores how public school teachers who were classified as English learners (ELs) in childhood make sense of the EL category, and how their beliefs shape their work with students who are designated as ELs. Seven teachers share their experiences, including how they first learned of their EL designation, what it was like to be identified as EL students, and how these experiences shape their current perspectives on the EL label and their teaching methods. By examining these stories through the lenses of labeling, stigma, and sensemaking, the study informs the work of educators who advocate for and instruct students designated as ELs, as well as individuals who train preservice and in-service teachers.
Upcoming Events
December 19th - Conversations with the Dean Webinar: Empowering Students to Plan for Their Futures. Join BU Wheelock Dean Penny Bishop on Thursday, Dec. 19th from 3:00-3:45 pm for a discussion with a panel of experts about the ways educators can support positive youth development in school settings and to learn more about MyCAP (My Career and Academic Plan), a holistic, multi-year planning tool that engages students in planning for their futures. Dean Bishop will moderate the panel featuring Erin Jacques, Assistant Director of College and Career Advising K-12 at BPS; Sugeily Santos, School Counselor at Curley K-8 and BPS 2024 School Counselor of the Year; Jodi Then, School Counselor at Boston Green Academy; and Scott Solberg, BU Wheelock Professor. Register here.