David Knight, assistant professor of education finance and policy, wrote about the three things state education agencies could be doing right now in a recent op-ed published by The Hill. Knight and his co-author argue that state education agencies have an important role for ensuring school reopenings run efficiently and equitably, particularly considering the billions of dollars earmarked for education through the Biden Administration's stimulus bills. They argue that state efforts have the potential of leveraging stimulus funds to create more equitable public education systems across the nation. Among their recommendations, they advise that state education agencies engage in long-term planning and evaluation processes to ensure that funds reach students disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
NEPC Talks Education: An Interview with Ann Ishimaru and Parents From the Supporting Partnerships in Education and Beyond Organization
Ann Ishimaru, associate professor of education policy, organizations and leadership, recently headlined an NEPC Talks Education podcast featured in the latest bulletin from the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado. Ishimaru was interviewed about creating systems that are responsive to the cultures, languages, priorities, needs, hopes and dreams of racially and culturally diverse youth and families in our schools. She spoke about how a school's culture of family and community engagement tends to be shaped by white heteronormative assumptions that have the effect of excluding students and families from groups who have been historically marginalized. Additional participants featured in the podcast include Regina Elmi, executive director of Supporting Partnerships in Education and Beyond (SPEB), who served as the keynote speaker for this year's College of Education graduation ceremony.
Building Communities of Trust: Transforming Family-School Relationships
Ann Ishimaru, associate professor of educational policy, organizations and leadership, headlined a recent episode of the Ethical Schools Podcast. In "Building Communities of Trust: Transforming Family-School Relationships," Ishimaru spoke with hosts Amy Halpern-Laff and Jon Moscow about correcting the power imbalance between schools and low-income families of color. She also discussed "learning loss" and why families of color are much more reluctant than white families to return to in-person learning as the pandemic eases. The podcast episode is also widely available on major platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Everybody. Every Day.
Viewpoint magazine features professor emeritus James A. Banks in its Spring 2021 edition, which is now available online. The two-page spread ― complete with a vintage photograph of Dr. Banks teaching students in 1990 ― provides a fascinating look at his career progression and legacy at the UW. Banks joined the College of Education in 1969, as part of the first university-wide effort to recruit faculty of color. The article draws connections between activism led by the UW's Black Student Union (BSU) in the late 1960s that advocated for the recruitment of Black teachers, scholars and administrators with contemporary efforts from the BSU to accelerate progress on diversifying faculty and other leadership roles.
Kids Illustrate Need to Reduce Global Plastics - and Take Local Action
Alumna Jennie Warmouth was featured in the May/June 2021 edition of the Sound Consumer, an online and print magazine from PCC Community Markets. The story highlights her leadership working with children to take local action in reducing global plastics. Warmouth's second grade class at Spruce Elementary School in Lynnwood, WA worked on a community design project this year that encouraged students ages 5-17 to create Arctic-inspired works of art ― and idea that came from their conversations about how powerful and convincing images can be when working toward change. Warmouth is a National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher, recipient of a two-year fellowship that sent her on an Artic expedition researching and teaching local students about issues facing that ecosystem. She earned her PhD in 2017 from the UW College of Education.
Summer Learning and Beyond: Opportunities for Creating Equity
Ann Ishimaru co-authored a new report, "Summer Learning and Beyond: Opportunities for Creating Equity," jointly published by the Learning Policy Institute and the Spencer Foundation. While many education stakeholders have called for intensive remediation for students to address this year of disrupted schooling and potential learning loss, this report argues that intensive remediation alone will not meet students' needs and ― if conducted in a way that is segregating, stigmatizing, and separated from children's real-life concerns ― could even deepen inequalities and exacerbate trauma. As schools and districts plan for summer learning experiences and beyond, Ishimaru and her co-authors argue that it is more important now than ever that they do so in ways that center the range of experiences, needs, and dreams that young people will be bringing with them to learning environments.
Leading by Service
Doctoral student Mike McCarthy was highlighted in a new feature from the UW Graduate School that focuses on how he is using his graduate education to redefine what it means to be a good leader and educator. McCarthy's military background and current role as a district director have given him experiences that continue to shape his approach to both. He is in his final year of the Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership program and is also a recipient of the Pat Tillman fellowship granted to military members, veterans and their spouses.
Four UW faculty named to American Academy of Arts & Sciences, including professor emeritus of education James A. Banks
Four University of Washington faculty members are among the leaders in academia, business, philanthropy, the humanities and the arts elected as 2021 fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.
The UW fellows include James A. Banks, professor emeritus of education. Honored for his work in education, Banks is the founding director of the Banks Center for Educational Justice – originally the Center for Multicultural Education – in the UW College of Education. He holds the Kerry and Linda Killinger Endowed Chair in Diversity Studies Emeritus and retired from the UW in 2019, after 50 years.
UW to renovate the Haring Center for Inclusive Education
The planned renovation of the UW Haring Center for Inclusive Education was recently highlighted in an article published by The Daily. The comprehensive renovation will bring the midcentury building that houses classrooms, offices and observation spaces into the twenty-first century, and is made possible through a generous $30 million gift from the Sunderland Foundation. Ilene Schwartz, faculty director of the Haring Center, and Chris Matsumoto, principal of the EEU school, are both quoted in the article.
Project-based learning is how we teach critical thinking
Knowledge in Action (KIA), an approach to project-based learning (PBL) pioneered at the UW College of Education by professors emeriti Walter Parker, Sheila Valencia, Susan Nolen and John Bransford, continues to inspire and informed a recent study referenced in an Education Lab op-ed published earlier by The Seattle Times. The op-ed highlights how project-based learning teaches critical thinking, one of the most important skills for students to develop and that is correlated with academic success and increases in empathy. Rather than approaching learning through memorization and top-down deployment of instructions, rigorous PBLs like KIA encourage students to learn through experimentation and observation.