Dr. Joshua Childs presented his research at the White House along with school district partner Lockhart ISD as part of an event on absenteeism in public schools. The College of Education partners with Lockhart ISD through the college’s Power in Partnerships (PIP) collaboration. The Power in Partnerships Action Learning Cohort aims to apply school improvement research to local problems of practice and involved working with four districts from January to May 2024 to use current research to address a pressing issue. Dr. Childs applied his extensive research in the field to create an action plan to reduce chronic absenteeism and improve attendance. In September, Lockhart ISD Deputy Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Camarillo, who led the application process for PIP and assembled a team at Lockhart High School to address attendance, joined Dr. Childs to meet with White House education staff, U.S. Department of Education representatives and other researchers. The exclusive session focused on discussing their insights and best practices to overcome barriers.
A new report on the fiscal impacts of voucher programs and charter schools co-authored by Dr. David DeMatthews was published by the National Education Policy Center. Dr. DeMatthews wrote the report with co-author Dr. David S. Knight, associate professor of Education Finance and Policy and co-director of the Education Policy Analytics Lab and the Center for Early Childhood Policy and Equity at the University of Washington College of Education. The report, which is titled The Fiscal Impacts of Expanded Voucher Programs and Charter-School Growth on Public Schools: Recommendations for Sustaining Adequate and Equitable School Finance Systems, examines the impact of voucher programs and charter schools on public school funding nationally, as well as the federal, state and local district implications. Dr. DeMatthews is the founder of the Texas Education Leadership Lab and holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Special Education. He is also the director of the Cooperative Superintendency Program. His research focuses on equitable and inclusive school improvement, including how schools and districts can create equitable and inclusive environments at the intersections of race, social class, language and other markers of identity.
Dr. Angela Valenzuela was recognized with the NAACP Hero Award, the organization’s highest accolade, during the 87th annual NAACP Conference in Corpus Christi. Dr. Valenzuela shared the distinction with Robert Notzon, Distinguished Attorney and Chair of the Texas NAACP Legal Redress Committee. She was honored for her mentorship of students working toward positive change in the Texas State Legislature and Texas State Board of Education, as well as her work in co-founding Black Brown Dialogues on Policy. The latter is a collective of academics, students and community members who hope to empower Black and Brown communities through research, legislative advocacy, and conversation in order to support one another locally, regionally and nationally. Dr. Valenzuela also holds a courtesy appointment in the Cultural Studies in Education Program within the Department of Curriculum & Instruction. Additionally, she directs the University of Texas Center for Education Policy, the National Latino Education Research and Policy Project (NLERAP) for teacher education pathways for Latino/a youth, and Academia Cuauhtli, a local partnership-based community Saturday school that impacts students across the Austin area.
Dr. Sarah Powell was appointed this month to serve for four years on the board of the Mathematical Cognition and Learning Society (MCLS). Her term will begin in January 2025 and end in December 2028. The MCLS is a unique international organization that researches cognition and how students learn math. The organization’s mission is to promote the communication of scientific research in this field and further research on typical and atypical development, neural substrates, genetic and environmental influences, cultural variation and malleability. Dr. Powell also serves as an associate director in the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. Her research is focused on math and how students experience math differently.
Taharka Anderson is one of four students selected this year to participate in Project MALES’ 2024-2025 Graduate Scholars Program (PM-GSP). The PM-GSP is meant to support the academic and career advancement of emerging scholars whose research examines educational outcomes of male students of color. Each scholar will be placed with a faculty and research affiliate mentor and will receive a $500 stipend, as well as professional development opportunities. Anderson comes from Long Beach, CA, where he majored in Sociology with a minor in African Studies at California State University. He remained there to obtain his master’s in Social and Cultural Analysis of Education. Anderson’s focus over the last decade has remained in supporting social and educational justice. His dissertation historicizes Black masculinity within Western patriarchal social systems and explores how college-aged Black males experience, make sense of, and navigate school discipline in the U.S.