95,000 hours in action

Special Education First: Teaching In-Person During a Pandemic

Spokane Public Schools was fully virtual for a time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the exception of the Autism Behavior Learning Environment (ABLE) program at Lewis and Clark High School (LC).

During the virtual course delivery in the Spokane Public Schools there was a limited number of in-person placements for Gonzaga teacher candidates, which is a critical step when preparing special education student teachers for successful careers.

Alyssa Burrus, a cooperating teacher for special education and director of the ABLE program, welcomed placements for School of Education (SOE) student teachers to LC so they could gain valuable experience in a physical classroom working with students with complex needs. Burrus said, “Teacher candidates worked with a team of staff to support one another through challenging behaviors, as well as learned how to make quick and lasting connections with the ABLE students who have many different backgrounds, interests, and ways of learning.” In return, the LC students gained a valuable role model and mentor who cared about their success as future educators.

Abigail Chen, (’21) B.A. Special Education, taught a number of job skills, social skills, self-confidence, and self-advocacy to help toward social justice. “If you give these children a good education they have knowledge, they have power,” she said. Chen was grateful for the opportunity to put to work her knowledge of Autism in a meaningful way. Furthermore, her observations of “learned helplessness” (co-dependency) in her students became the basis of her senior honors thesis paper. Chen’s passion during such an unprecedented health crisis comes from her belief that “improving education improves health.” The risks the ABLE teachers and teacher candidates went through during the pandemic underscores how important it is for all students to have access to free and appropriate public education. Burrus was grateful for the Gonzaga teacher candidates’ critical work. She said the Gonzaga students were invaluable to the ABLE program and exemplified “true Jesuit values helping to serve the common good and support students with special needs.”

Mirrors & Windows

A mirror is a story that reflects your own culture and helps you build your identity. A window is a resource that offers you a view into someone else’s experience. It is critical to understand that students cannot truly learn about themselves unless they learn about others as well.

-Emily Style, National SEED Project

As the School of Education (SOE) continues to prepare teachers to best support their students. Master’s in Teaching (MIT) student Noreen Duffy (they/them), asked the question, “How do we prepare teachers to make their classrooms affirming and safe for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) K-12 students?” Duffy partnered with the SOE’s Office of a Pedagogy of Hope through Research and Practice (PoH) which seeks to provide a forum for students, faculty, staff, and community members to engage critical questions like this one. As a result, a partnership was formed with the Spokane Odyssey Youth Movement and the PoH office to host an event for faculty and students to participate in a discussion on LGBTQ+ inclusivity in the classroom. In organizing diverse groups of panelists, Duffy used their networks to ensure there is diversity across age, race, gender, disability, and all intersecting identities. They explained their philosophy when organizing events is “to show not only the diversity that can be found in Spokane, but also to connect future teachers with diverse narratives they might not otherwise be exposed to.” The staff from Odyssey presented survey data from local K-12 students in the Spokane area that focused on how homophobia and transphobia (discrimination against LGBTQ+ community) has been present in their schools and which individuals in the school provide a safe-haven for them. Queer teens are three to five times more likely to seriously think about or attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. That number is even higher for trans youth. To assess, a K-12 student panel reflected on their experiences in the classroom and their hopes for the future of K-12 education.

Prior to the presentation, the Odyssey staff reviewed the common vocabulary of the LGBTQ+ community to ensure everyone in the audience felt comfortable asking questions. The students shared some hurtful encounters where they were ignored by the school administration. Their stories made it clear there is still work to be done locally and nationally. An adult panel of LGBTQ+ members from Gonzaga community and Odyssey staff fielded questions from faculty about what to strive for in future classrooms. One of the panelists said it is important to approach people with empathy and not assume they have bad intentions. Questioning standard practices is how we can educate each other to create safe and welcoming classroom environments. Ultimately, systemic curricular change is driven by teachers who can recognize which voices are silenced and change that in their classroom.

Climate Change: Global Impact, Local Solutions

School of Education’s (SOE) John Traynor, Ph.D., associate professor in teacher education, collaborated with Brian Henning, Ph.D., professor of philosophy and environmental studies, and founder of the Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment. The center received a $100,000 ClimeTime grant from the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to support the efforts of Climate Literacy.

Gonzaga’s Climate Center has offered several professional development workshops to improve teacher climate literacy, which then helped K-12 students to achieve climate literacy. The Center’s approach to teaching climate change and climate science is to “make it local and keep it hopeful,” said Henning, director of the Center, referencing a curriculum which centers on regional climate issues and community solutions. The project will continue to offer professional development workshops for elementary and middle school teachers, both virtually and in-person, and involve undergraduate students in bringing climate literacy to classrooms.

Spokane Public Schools and Northeast Washington Educational Service District 101 are two historically underserved communities that will benefit from the grant work. “We are focusing on Northeast Washington because we believe that good climate pedagogy addresses global climate change first as a local issue. The issues confronting the Inland Northwest are different than those in Western Washington. Helping teachers connect climate change to projected regional climate impacts is a crucial component of our approach,” said Henning. “We will remain in close contact and collaboration with our partners to ensure effective learning for adult leaders in our professional development workshops,” said Traynor. The partnerships represent a continuing effort of the ClimeTime grant to address climate change from a local level in a way that aligns with Washington State Science and Learning Standards and national Next Generation Science Standards.

Traynor has considerable experience leading partnership projects with local schools, most recently Holmes elementary, and Shaw and Garry middle schools. These efforts have included both in-school and out-of-school academic and social supports. Traynor hopes that this significant grant will be the beginning of a series of cross- disciplinary partnerships. “I believe there is an abundance of opportunity for the SOE to pursue grants that support partnership initiatives,” he said. In keeping with Gonzaga’s mission, the Climate Center’s workshops invite reflection on the larger cultural, political, and ethical issues related to climate change and the challenge of engaging students on the topic. Learn more: gonzaga.edu/climatecenter

Retirement

Congratulations to Cynthia Johnson, Ed.D.,

assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership & Administration (DELA) who received associate professor emerita upon her retirement in May 2021. Since 2010, she has contributed to the Gonzaga community through her service, teaching, advising, and governance, for which she has been recognized by internal award processes and external professional associations. Chuck Salina, Ph.D., former chair in DELA, said Johnson is a visionary: “She resurrected the principal certification program, incorporating online technology offering a rich learning community through a hybrid approach.” Three times each year Johnson welcomes her principal interns and cooperating principals to the Gonzaga campus to create a community of learners. She is known by students for her support and dedication to her student’s success as they navigate their program. Johnson’s administrative contributions include serving as department chair since 2017. During that time, she guided DELA through an array of program implementations and revisions for the recently developed master’s and doctoral programs in Educational Leadership and has taught numerous courses for the graduate programs in Washington state, British Columbia, and Alberta, Canada. Johnson has served on numerous University and SOE committees, and as an officer and board member for the Washington Council of Education Administration Programs, to name a few.

Our Students

Gonzaga University School of Education awarded degrees to 53 undergraduates, 150 graduate degree students, and 100 students completed their teacher certification.

Across all programs in the SOE, over 95,000 hours were spent in field experiences, internships, clinical settings, and student teaching experiences during this academic year.

Chi Sigma Iota, the honor society for Counselor Education and the SOE donated 218 pounds of food to Second Harvest.

Thirteen students in the SOE received the Jeanne Foster Wardian Leadership in Education Award. These students demonstrate evidence of excellent scholastic achievement, disciplinary competence, commitment to education through service, and integrity of character.

Tyler Janzen, Master of Counselling; Jasmine McCarthy, M.A. in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling; Meghan Leary, M.A. in School Counseling; Kerry Jensen, M.A. in Marriage and Family Counseling; Pritpal Minhas, M.Ed. Educational Leadership; Darian Berger, Ed.S. in School Psychology; Dagny Albano, B.Ed. in Special Education; Joshua Reddy, M.A. in Sport & Athletic Administration; JJ Mitchell, B.Ed. in Sport Management; Alexis Lee, B.Ed. in Kinesiology & Physical Education; Sara HansonLynn, M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language; Christine Lester, Master of Initial Teaching; and Karen Burrington, B.Ed. in Community, Culture and Language.

Recognition and Achievements

Dr. Vincent C. Alfonso, received the Professional Contributions Award for Tenure Faculty.

Dr. Cynthia Johnson became Associate Professor Emeritus.

Dr. Melanie Person received the rank of Associate Professor and was granted tenure effective September 1, 2022. Dr. Kathy Nitta received the Community Engaged Learning Faculty of the Year Award at the 2021 Academic Awards Convocation.

Dr. Joseph Engler received the Jeanne Foster Wardian Leadership in Education Award for faculty.

Shannan Palomba received the Jeanne Foster Wardian Leadership in Education Award for Staff.