Hometown: Maywood, Ill. Program: Ph.D. Educational Psychology Status: Defending dissertation What inspired you to pursue this degree/career? I’m an African-American female. About 10 years ago, I was at another community college, and I met a young lady who I was very impressed
Read moreTeachers from Uruguay visit NIU, observe U.S. counterparts in DeKalb, Elgin schools
Valentina González and Analia Piantanida rarely see cultural diversity in the homogenous society of Uruguay, where both are English teachers in middle schools and high schools. Coming to Illinois as part of the NIU College of Education’s Uruguay Fulbright Teachers Program, however,
Read moreCOE Student Spotlight: Jeron Shelton
Hometown: Rockford, Ill. Program: Ph.D. Educational Psychology Status: Dissertating What inspired you to pursue this degree/career? I am in my 13th year as a seventh-grade English and social studies teacher at Abbott Middle School in Elgin U-46. Originally, I was teaching gifted
Read moreFirst-year high school principal builds strong foundation with NIU preparation
During the six years Matthew Bennett and his wife, Erin, spent teaching school in Nevada, he realized his professional future might lie outside the classroom. “We just had a lot of turnover in the administrative ranks,” Bennett says. “I thought, ‘There’s got
Read moreEd Psych students join Daryl Dugas for presentation on ‘white fragility’
Talking about race is never easy. Secondary teaching candidates in NIU’s EPS 450: Classroom Management course, however, are growing more comfortable in conducting such discussions in respectful, productive ways – something their professor hopes will “change the conversation.” Daryl Dugas, an assistant
Read moreMarguerite Key Fellows program marks two years of ideas, growing momentum
Kiwana Sanders grew up imagining the golden possibilities that she felt sure were waiting in the world outside her ZIP code. “I was one who was without,” says Sanders, principal of Nathan Hale Middle School in Cook County School District 130 of
Read moreAs superintendents face twin challenges, NIU works to prepare ‘visionary’ leaders
Ask Danny Oest to name the Top 5 challenges confronting school superintendents, and he succinctly boils his list down to just two. But they’re big ones. First, says Oest, the former shared superintendent of Richmond-Burton Community High School 157 and Nippersink School
Read moreNIU Ed Admin alum Brian Harris serves Barrington 220 with ‘what’s best for kids’
Brian Harris sports an impressive résumé. Superintendent of Schools in Barrington 220. Former superintendent of Wheaton-Warrenville 200, and assistant superintendent for Human Resources and Secondary Education in St. Charles 303. President of the Large Unit District Association in Illinois, an organization representing
Read moreLoyal Huskie R.J. Gravel thrives in career, embodies ‘definition of lifelong learning’
Growing up in suburban Des Plaines, R.J. Gravel wanted to live a life in song. He enrolled at NIU in the fall of 2001 to major in music education and vocal performance, but something happened before classes began in August that would
Read moreTeresa Fisher retires from College of Ed with vivid curiosity, love of learning intact
Growing up as the fifth of six girls, Teresa Fisher naturally “had to do a lot of listening and observing.” “That was an important piece,” says Fisher, recently retired after 18 years as a professor in the NIU Department of Counseling and
Read more‘Marks on a Page’ exhibition to explore long history of printed communications
Communication is so simple and immediate today that it’s difficult to comprehend the struggle our human ancestors faced. An upcoming exhibition in the Blackwell History of Education Museum will recognize those challenges and celebrate the achievements of those people throughout history who
Read moreEducational Studies Colloquium Series to explore impactful teaching practices
Organizers of the Professor Jean W. Pierce Educational Studies Colloquium Series are hoping to expand the audience across campus. Daryl Dugas and Kelly Summers, members of the faculty in the Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations, have scheduled faculty from both
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