John Hattie's findings (2009, 2012) remind us that student achievement outcomes can be mapped to specific high-leverage practices. We know, after years of top-down reforms, that formative assessment is more than just a buzzword. For teachers working with English language learners, these sound formative assessment practices can help make a difference minute by minute.
Holmberg, C. & Muwwakkil, J. (2020). Conversation in the classroom. Phi Delta Kappan, 101(5) 25-29. Moving Up Dr. Rebecca O’Brien recently took a promotional position as Director of Special Education with the Morgan Hill Unified School District. She had been in her new role for about two weeks when she realized that she was facing some major restructuring. Upon reflecting on how to proceed, she realized she had taken an Ed.D. course in organizational change. From this realization, she saw that she had all the tools she needed at her fingertips and knew what needed to be done.
Administrator of the Year Dr. Michael Paynter has been selected as the Student Services Administrator of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region 10. He is very grateful to his peers for this award, as, in his words “only in relationship with each of them do we make an impact on the thousands of students in Santa Cruz County. Together, countywide, we have met as Student Services Directors for more than 3 years, collectively supporting each other and making progress on important learning supports for districts, schools and students. The latest work, which I am honored to facilitate, is our Schools Integrated Behavioral Health Initiative which aims to bring increased understanding, communication, resources, connections and skills to the myriad ways mental health and substance use challenges affect students, schools, families and communities. Given there are many wonderful efforts underway, we ask, how can we use MTSS and other frameworks to maximize serving the whole child as well as attend to the whole staff and parents doing that important work.” National Conference Presenter Dr. Hyon Chu Yi-Baker recently presented at the Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education National Conference. The title of her presentation was "Daring Greatly: From Hurt to Healing – Owning Our Own Stories." This pre-institute workshop explores how the model minority stereotype and the pursuit for "perfectionism" has hurt the AAPI community and impacted their journey. In the words of Dr. Yi-Baker, “we begin the road to healing by being the architects of our own personal ecology.”
Faculty Achievements Publishing and Presenting Locally and Internationally Rebeca Burciaga Presentations Burciaga, R. (2019, November). Testimonio as a culturally sustaining pedagogy. College of Social Sciences Dean’s Symposium, San José State University, San José, CA. Testimonio as a culturally sustaining and emancipatory pedagogy in higher education.
Burciaga, R. (2019, October). Publishing in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Invited presentation. The Ford Foundation: 2019 Conference of Ford Fellows, San Juan, Puerto Rico. A workshop on writing and publishing for new Ford Foundation Pre-Dissertation, Dissertation, and Postdoctoral Fellows. Burciaga, R. & Tavares, A. (2020, February). Latinas Leading Schools: An Act of Resistance. School Leaders of Color Conference. Las Vegas, Nevada. A review of Latina school leadership innovations in research and practice. The workshop addresses the
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