On Saturday, Nov. 4, the School of Education’s Literacy Leadership Program celebrated the success of the first cohort to complete its Reading Specialist Certificate.
2023 News Stories
The Troops to Teachers Virginia Center (TTTVC) at the William & Mary School of Education has secured $760,000 in federal pandemic relief funding through the Elementary and Secondary School Relief Fund (ESSER). Funding opportunities are currently available for a variety of needs, and funds will be awarded to eligible applicants on a rolling basis through September 2024.
On April 24, William & Mary’s School of Education hosted a dedication ceremony for the Flanagan Counselor Education Clinic. Dr. S. Stuart Flanagan, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Education, and his wife, Cammie, assisted with cutting the official ribbon to the clinic alongside Dean Knoeppel and Clinic Director Dr. Erin Woods. The Flanagans are passionate about supporting mental health and training future counselors. The clinic serves as a training facility for our students and offers counseling and assessments to children, families, and W&M students.
Established in 1987 by Joyce VanTassel-Baska, the Center for Gifted Education (CFGE) celebrates 35 years of serving educators, students and families. Since its inception, the CFGE has been meeting the needs of students and teachers through curriculum, research, professional development and programs for children.
Chandra Floyd joins W&M as a clinical assistant professor in the Educational Policy, Planning & Leadership department and director of curriculum for the Center for Gifted Education. Her research interests include identifying and advocating for underrepresented high-ability children from diverse populations.
The William & Mary Literacy Lab hosts a professional development Summer Intensive, but it is more than a seasonal endeavor. It is a year-round commitment to enriching literacy education and supporting local teachers and students.
Tamara Williams joins W&M as a clinical instructor of literacy education. Her research interests include teacher professional development and ways to support teachers in shifting their instruction to research-based and evidence-aligned practices.
Sarah Tucker joins W&M as a clinical assistant professor in Counselor Education. Her research interests center on exploring the unique therapeutic needs of ADHD and Autistic individuals.
William & Mary Professor of Education Planning, Policy, and Leadership Christopher Gareis was awarded a $400,000 multi-year grant from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to address learning loss throughout the Commonwealth. The initiative, Bridging the Gap, is a pilot program designed in response to the profound learning challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Olivia Uwamahoro joins W&M as a clinical assistant professor in Counselor Education. Her research interests include using virtual simulation and virtual reality to teach microskills, client outcomes, counseling student development, and clinical supervision.
Toya Chambers joins W&M as a clinical assistant professor in Counselor Education. At William & Mary, she is looking forward to building connections with the community as well as preparing students to be counselors and social justice advocates.
Chelsea Smith joins W&M as a clinical assistant professor in the Higher Education program. Her research focuses primarily on the experiences of Black women within the higher education landscape. She is also interested in the experiences of graduate students and their development as students and paraprofessionals.
Rachel Sleeth joins W&M as a visiting instructor in School Psychology. Her research interests include assessment, identification of learning disabilities (especially dyslexia), and supporting schools’ implementation of science-based reading interventions and MTSS.
In response to changes required by the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA), the William & Mary Literacy Lab offered a professional development intensive for area teachers on teaching phonics this summer. Over 70 teachers spanning eight divisions signed up for this professional development opportunity, which involved four virtual sessions in July and a face-to-face meeting in August. The high turnout of teachers for this event, who voluntarily participated in the training during their summer vacation, speaks to how much reading instruction is currently top-of-mind for educators.
In recognition of academic excellence and commitment to community service, Evan Turner M.Ed. ’25, a student in the Online Military and Veterans Counseling program at William & Mary, has been named a 2023 Tillman Scholar. Out of thousands of applicants nationwide and across all disciplines, Turner is among the group of only 60 scholars chosen for this prestigious honor.
The 25th Annual SURN Leadership Conference brought together school division teams and individuals to share with other educators, discuss topics with leading researchers, reflect on the prior school year and plan strategically for the upcoming year.
Dean Knoeppel, Betsy Talbot and Jim Barber traveled to D.C. to share faculty expertise in educational policy and practice and highlight School of Education programs that serve the Commonwealth and the profession.
Philippa Chin M.Ed. ’19, Ph.D. ’23, recipient of this year’s Margaret, The Lady Thatcher, Award for Scholarship, Character and Service, does not see obstacles. She sees opportunities. After moving to the United States from Jamaica and exploring different choices, her path to a career in counseling was full of challenges and rewards.
The School of Education celebrated its 2023 graduates during Commencement weekend May 19-20. Twenty-seven doctoral students were celebrated in a Doctoral Cording Ceremony on Friday. In all, 253 students graduated from undergraduate and graduate programs in education.
Gladys Krause, William & Mary assistant professor of bilingual and mathematics education, has continued an innovative and successful collaboration with colleagues Maggie Vanderberg, Eva Skuratowicz, and Eping Hung from Southern Oregon University, and with Jill Hubbard from Oregon State University-Cascades. Their consecutive National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, part of the “Computer Science for All” program, promote computational thinking (CT) in the classroom.
In February, William & Mary Holmes Scholars: Philippa Chin, Darla Edwards, Tai Exumé, Lavare Henry (Henry), Tamika Jackson, Jingjing Liu, Paola Mendizabal, Aishwarya Nambiar, and Senttra Snowden-Gregg traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana to attend the annual American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Conference.
W&M faculty and students were once again able to travel to Rwanda this past January for the study abroad experience of a lifetime. The main goal of this learning opportunity was to understand peace, reconciliation and forgiveness in Rwanda through the knowledge of pathways to violence and benevolence.
Elizabeth Burgin was awarded the Association for Play Therapy Research Award, the Military and Government Counseling Association Outstanding Advocacy Award, and the Carl D. Perkins Government Relations Award.
Many of the Williamsburg James City County’s (WJCC) Teachers of the Year have been William & Mary alumni, including this year’s overall division winner, Ellen Frackelton, M.A.Ed. ’19.
Lavare Henry, Ph.D. ’23 was recently awarded the competitive summer fellowship with The Learning Partnership for Summer 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.
Janise Parker, assistant professor, was recently awarded both the Presidential Award for Exceptional Service to Children in School Psychology and the Faculty Champion Award by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).
The William & Mary School of Education convened a summit March 9 to explore how to build and sustain Virginia’s teacher pipeline.
Hollylynne S. Lee, M.Ed. ’95, was awarded the 2022 Robert Foster Cherry Award in recognition for her outstanding teaching as a mathematics and statistics education professor at North Carolina (NC) State University.
The latest special issue of the journal, Learning within Socio-Political Landscapes: (Re) imagining Children’s Geographies, was co-edited by William & Mary assistant professor Kathryn Lanouette and Katie Headrick Taylor, associate professor at the University of Washington.
The North Carolina Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NCACTE) hosted the 40th Annual North Carolina Teacher Education Forum this past September, where Loury Floyd, Ph.D. ’03 received an award for her leadership and service to North Carolina educator preparation programs.
Jingjing Liu, Ph.D. ’23 has been a Holmes Scholar during her time at William & Mary as a doctoral student in the Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership in Higher Education Administration degree program and was recently named the Holmes Scholar of the Month by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).
