News and Events 2009-10 SY

SETH Alumna 2010 National Superintendent of the Year

SETH Alumni Elizabeth Morgan, PhD was selected 2010 National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators. Dr. Morgan is Superintendent of Washington County Public Schools in Maryland. She was recognized for increasing the graduation rate and test scores, and reducing the dropout rate, particularly for minority and poverty groups, through the development of a student-focused strategic plan. Read more

AQUE Symposium with Sonia Nieto, PhD

Becoming Readers of Students: New Roles for Teachers in a Diverse Society was the subject of Dr. Sonia Nieto's keynote speech for the ninth symposium convened by the School of Education, Teaching and Health under a Department of Education Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant. The symposium was held March 20th at American University. Dr. Nieto, a renowned scholar, author and Professor Emeritus of Language, Literacy and Culture at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, engaged teachers, scholars and students in discourse on the relationship between language, culture and teaching.  She also autographed copies of her book, Why We Teach.
-Watch the edited video podcast or listen to the complete audio on iTunes U.
-Download the accompanying PowerPoint slides.

SETH ADJUNCT FACUTLY PHYLLIS LERNER is spending the winter volunteering in Thailand. Here she is with the staff of the Karen Educational Entity in Mae Sot packing test booklets to be distributed to the refugee camps for standardized tests. Sound familiar?

SETH Alumni Elected President of Denver Board of Education

SETH doctoral alumni Nate Easley has been elected President of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education. Dr. Easley is Deputy Director for the Denver Scholarship Foundation (DSF) and has extensive experience helping disadvantaged students realize their dream of a college education. His master’s and doctorate focused on how higher education can better support the academic success and retention of Black and Latino students.

READING WORKS: AU ALUMNI & LITERACY IN DC
A Larissa Gerstel Critical Literacy Discussion
SETH Professor Stacie Tate and a panel of AU Alumni addressed the issue of literacy in DC at a seminar on October 24th in the American University Library Curriculum Materials Center. Dr. Tate gave the opening presentation titled, "You Teach Where? A critical response to the deficit representation of urban schools." Alumni panelists included Eliza Derick of the Fillmore Arts Center, Stacey Gathers of Ballou Senior High School, and David Siu of Arlington County Schools.

POWER –“PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES WITH EDUCATIONAL READINESS”
The United Planning Organization (UPO - http://www.upo.org) in partnership with the School of Education, Teaching & health has developed a unique college readiness program geared towards low-income youth in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC. The program begins with youth in 7th grade and tracks them through their middle and high school years with a goal of preparing them for future college graduation. This program is unique in that it takes a holistic approach to addressing the issue of higher education preparation. As a component of the United Planning Organization’s Village Project, the POWER program is one facet of a multi-pronged approach to addressing poverty issues among families in the Congress Heights area. The program is taking an interdisciplinary approach to preparing youth for the rigors of higher education through an intensive four-week summer institute at American University. This past summer we hosted two 4-week summer institutes for middle school students as selected through a competitive application process by the United Planning Organization. The first Institute ran from June 16 – July 16 and the second from July 21 – August 21.