The Weekly Recap

News and Updates from Across BU Wheelock SPACE This Week

Welcome to this week’s recap! This week we share announcements and updates on recent community events, provide insights into faculty engagement, and highlight news mentions, newly published research, and upcoming events.

New Announcements!

• The BU Center for Future Readiness received an Impact Driven Collaboration (IDC) grant from the Liberty Mutual Foundation. The grant will support a fellowship program for youth enrolled in social services, designed to create employment opportunities within the nonprofit sector. The BU Center for Future Readiness created the curriculum and the program connects graduates to West End House Inc., Sociedad Latina, and Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center.

Faculty Engagement

• Early College Policy Brief: The BU Wheelock Education Policy Center released a policy brief on recently conducted research by Yasko Kanno (Professor, BU Wheelock), Pierre Lucien (Early College Data Manager, DESE), and Andrew Bacher-Hicks (Vice President of Evidence and Evaluation, Arnold Ventures). Read the brief, titled English Learners’ Access to Massachusetts Early College Programs, here.

In the News

• NAACP New England president on why so many Black voters abandoned Democrats, WBZ - CBS News Boston, (interview with Adjunct Professor and president of the NAACP New England Area Conference Tanisha Sullivan), December 15, 2024

• Dust off your 2024 bingo card, The B-Side, (Assoc. Dean Mary Churchill quoted), December 19, 2024

• Campus D.E.I. Programs Under Fire After Supreme Court Ruling on Race, TIME, (interview with Assoc. Professor Anthony Abraham Jack), December 17, 2024

• The Impacts of Anti-Black Racism in Psychology, Psychology Today, (co-authored by Clinical Professor Detris Adelabu), December 19, 2024

Research that Matters

• Commentary on the Literacy Debates: Preserving Integrative and Humanizing Literacies: A Commentary on the Current Literacy Debates and the Narrowing of Literacy Instruction (co-authored by Assoc. Professor Kate Frankel, Asst. Professor Davena Jackson, and doctoral student Ashley Houston King)

  • This commentary examines how the present iteration of the “reading wars” has created intense debate about what constitutes rigorous and effective literacy instruction. The authors posit that the politicized discourses have narrowed the field's definition of reading across education spaces (P-20) and overemphasized foundational early literacy skills while minimizing the consequentiality of sociocultural influences on literacy learning. In this commentary, authors engage and critique recent narratives about the nature of literacy learning among scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and in the popular media. They discuss what has been and will be silenced, erased, and sacrificed as a result of these debates. Further, they argue that literacy educators should not abandon the complexities of literacy learning and the social, political, and historical contexts in which students live and learn.

• The Advocacy Activities Scale: Establishing an Advocacy Activities Scale for Parents of Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (co-authored by Assoc. Professor Zach Rossetti)

  • Advocacy has long been heralded as a way to create change for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. However, without an established measure, it is difficult to accurately characterize advocacy activities. Drawing from existing research, the Advocacy Activities Scale was developed to assess three domains of parent advocacy: advocacy for one’s own children, advocacy for other families, and advocacy for systemic change.

• Superintendent Turnover: Slowing the Churn: What’s Really Behind Superintendent Turnover in Ellington City School District? (co-authored by Senior Lecturer Stacy Scott)

  • This case examines the unusually high turnover of superintendents in Ellington City School District between 2011 and 2022. It delves into the tenures and controversies surrounding four superintendents, highlighting issues such as employee mistreatment, racism, sexism, and a lack of transparency within the school board. This case raises several questions: How does a superintendent or school board address racial tension in a school district? What factors hinder superintendents from leading effectively? What is the role of the school board, and how are board members held accountable for their actions?

• 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.

Upcoming Events

• January 14 - “To Live and Thrive” in Massachusetts: Native American Perspectives on Wealth. The racial wealth gap has gained significant attention recently, but Native American families are almost always left out of these discussions, in part due to data limitations. This webinar will explore a recent report commissioned by Boston Indicators at the Boston Foundation and conducted by the Institute for New England Native American Studies at UMass Boston. Released as part of the Racial Wealth Equity Resource Center's research series, the webinar will present key findings from in-depth focus groups. The session will take place on January 14th from 9:30-10:30am. Register here.