Category Archives: Educational Leadership

Attend Our Lurie College Emancipatory Education Speaker Series

SJSU Lurie College of Education Spring 2021 Emancipatory Education Speaker Series

Many are looking forward to a time when we can go back to “normal” in education; however, that “normal” wasn’t working for too many of our children, youth, families and communities. Join us for a series of live, online conversations with nationally recognized speakers and emerging voices who will share their visions for post-COVID education through an emancipatory lens and identify steps to enact their visions. Confirmed speakers include:

  • Friday, February 26, 3:30-5pm PST | Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings & Dr. Jonathan Rosa
  • Friday, March 5, 3:30-5pm PST | Secretary John King & Dr. Leslie Gonzales
  • Friday, March 12, 3:30-5pm PST | Dr. Fabiola Bagula, Dr. Rebeca Burcaiga, Dr. Melissa Martinez, Dr. Sylvia Mendez-Morse, Ana Tavares, Dr. Tara Yosso
  • Friday, March 19, 3:30-5pm PST | Dr. E.J.R. David, Dr. Saili Kulkarni, Lisa “Tiny” Gray-Garcia, Leroy Moore

Visit sjsu.edu/education/community/iee/speaker-series to register for our upcoming speaker events and revisit the webpage in February for updates about additional speaker events!

Watch Our Lurie College Scholarships Workshop

Big thanks to Christine Cha from the SJSU Financial Aid and Scholarship Office as well as Child and Adolescent Development faculty Danielle Mead for sharing their insights about the Spring 2021 SJSU and Lurie College scholarships application process for students who will be enrolled at SJSU for the 2021-2022 academic year!  The recording of the workshop is available for viewing below.  The SJSU scholarship application platform will go live in March and the deadline to apply for Lurie College scholarships will be Saturday, May 1.  We will send out an email notification to Lurie College students when they can begin to apply.  In the meantime, please visit sjsu.edu/education/financial-aid for an overview of all Lurie College of Education financial aid opportunities.

Watch our Conversation with Radical Monarchs’ Cofounder Anayvette Martinez

We recently hosted Radical Monarchs’ Cofounder Anayvette Martinez to learn more about their organization, which creates opportunities for young girls of color to form fierce sisterhood, celebrate their identities and contribute radically to their communities. The talk with Anayvette included the herstory of the Radical Monarch movement, in addition to how methodologies and lived experiences inform our queer feminist social justice praxis; the concept of Radical Joy and the key role it plays in the Radical Monarch movement, especially in these heightened times.

Watch the recording of the conversation below.  To learn more about the Radical Monarchs organization, connect with them on social media, and support their movement, visit radicalmonarchs.org

Connect with Lurie College at https://linktr.ee/sjsulurie​​​ to receive more news about academic and student life. Video recorded and edited by Brian Cheung Dooley. “Inspirational Outlook” provided royalty-free from Scott Holmes.

Join Lurie College Live for Emancipatory Education Now

Emancipatory Education Now is a new student-led initiative at the SJSU Lurie College of Education that examines what emancipatory education – the critical evaluation of the systems and structures of oppression that maintain the status quo in our educational institutions – looks like in today’s society and advocates for the expansion of emancipatory education research, policies, and practices.

Join us for the live discussion on Friday, February 12, at 5:30pm on the Lurie College YouTube channel – bit.ly/lurie-youtube – to learn from the student co-hosts and get a preview of some of their upcoming dialogues!

  • Abby Almerido – Educational Leadership
  • Aminah Sheikh – Communicative Disorders & Sciences
  • Ana Isabel Hahs – Teacher Education
  • Vaishnavi Sunkari – Child & Adolescent Development, Public Health
  • Victor Calvillo Chavez – Counselor Education

SJSU Lurie College of Education Emancipatory Education Now Meet the Co-Hosts Spring 2021

Join Lurie College for a Conversation with Radical Monarchs’ Cofounder

SJSU Lurie College of Education Conversation with Radical Monarchs Cofounder Anayvette Martinez

Join the SJSU Connie L. Lurie College of Education on Wednesday, February 10, from 6-7:30pm PST for a conversation with Anayvette Martinez, Cofounder of the Radical Monarchs, which creates opportunities for young girls of color to form fierce sisterhood, celebrate their identities and contribute radically to their communities. The talk with the Radical Monarchs cofounder will include the herstory of the Radical Monarch movement, in addition to how methodologies and lived experiences inform our queer feminist social justice praxis; the concept of Radical Joy and the key role it plays in the Radical Monarch movement especially in these heightened times. To RSVP and receive the link to the Zoom webinar, complete the Google form at the bottom of this page.  Live captions will be available at this event.

Watch the trailer of their PBS documentary We Are The Radical Monarchs below and watch the full documentary at http://to.pbs.org/3nESo51  SJSU faculty, students, and staff can also access the film on the SJSU Library website.

Student Spotlight: Abby Almerido

Learn about Abby Almerido, who is an SJSU alumni and a student in our inaugural cohort of our MA in Emancipatory School Leadership program!

Connect with Lurie College at https://linktr.ee/sjsulurie​ to receive more news about academic and student life. Video and audio recorded by Brian Cheung Dooley – http://brianpdooley.com​. “Going Higher” provided royalty-free by bensound.com.

Welcome to the Spring 2021 Semester, Lurie College of Education Students!

Dear Lurie College Students —

We hope that your first days of class were a success and that you are looking forward to new opportunities and learning experiences during the semester ahead.  We know that taking courses remotely can be challenging and that many of you are also navigating added family responsibilities, work disruptions, and health concerns due to COVID. Our Lurie College community is here for you!

Please reach out to your instructors, academic advisors, and/or program coordinators if you have questions or concerns about your courses.  We also encourage you to connect with our dedicated team in the Lurie College Student Success Center for support and advice on how to access resources on campus.  If you are struggling, you aren’t alone.  Please contact us so that we can connect you with academic supports, counseling services, financial supports, or other resources to help you succeed.

The events of recent weeks have reminded us, once again, of the critical importance of the work that happens in our college.  The hatred, bigotry, nativism, violence, and white supremacy that were on full display during the capitol insurrection on January 6, clearly demonstrate the need for transformative educators, counselors, therapists, and school, college, and community leaders.  Thank you for your courageous decision to commit to academic fields and professional careers that will position you to be agents of change and move us toward a more just, inclusive, and equitable future.

In recent months, our faculty and staff have recommitted ourselves to advancing racial justice within our college.  You can view numerous examples of policy and program changes that we are committed to addressing during the 2020-21 academic year on our college’s Strategic Plan webpage.  We also recently created a webpage with a collection of Antiracism and Racial Justice Resources, which includes articles, podcasts, social media accounts, videos, and much more.

We hope you’ll join us at our upcoming engagement opportunities – such as our Conversation with Radical Monarchs’ Cofounder Anayvette Martinez, our Emancipatory Education Speaker Series, and more – to further advance this work.  We’ll also announce dates for our Deans’ Forums soon so that you can share your input, ideas, critiques, and questions with us directly.

A final word of advice in closing…  Pace yourself!  It promises to be a full semester with lots of time spent in online learning and activities.  Make sure that in the midst of your courses, field experiences, work, and family responsibilities you take time to take care of yourself.  Give yourself permission to turn off the computer and go outside.  Get sleep.  Find time to listen to music, have a good laugh, or just breathe.  We need you in this work for the long term, and that means we need you to take care of yourself.

With gratitude –

Heather Lattimer, Dean
heather.lattimer@sjsu.edu

Marcos Pizarro, Associate Dean

Lurie College Faculty Asked to be Featured Presenter

Congratulations to Department of Educational Leadership faculty María Ledesma, who will be one of the featured presenters at the upcoming CSU Certificate Program in Student Success Analytics on Friday, January 29.  Learn more about the program at certificate-program.dashboards.calstate.edu

SJSU Lurie College of Education Educational Leadership Department Faculty María Ledesma

Lurie College Hardship Fund Requests

Lurie College has a limited amount of grant funds available to support its students who have experienced an unforeseen financial hardship that will prevent them from continuing their enrollment at Lurie College and SJSU. Awards are processed fall and spring semesters and advisors are available year-round. If you are a currently-enrolled Lurie College undergraduate, graduate, credential, or doctoral student who has experienced this type of hardship, please complete this brief Google form so that a Lurie College advisor can contact you.

SJSU Lurie College of Education Hardship Fund

Dean Lattimer Featured in California Collaborative for Educational Excellence Field Guide

The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) has created The Field Guide for Accelerating Learning, Equity and Well-Being to support educational leaders as they serve their communities in 2021 and beyond.  Dean Lattimer was featured as one of the guest voices in the field guide and discussed topics like ‘what type of educational system we want to move towards?’ as well as ‘how can we approach improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in our schools?’  Watch the videos below and access the full Field Guide at https://fieldguide.ccee-ca.org/

Lurie College Faculty Featured on Race, Policy, and Reform Post-COVID Panel

Shoutout to Educational Leadership Department faculty María Ledesma, who was featured on a panel at Stanford’s Race, Inequality, and Language in Education (RILE) conference during the Fall 2020 semester. Watch the full recording on the Stanford Graduate School of Education YouTube channel – Dr. Ledesma begins speaking at 36:42.

Remarks from Dean Heather Lattimer | November 25, 2020

Dear Lurie College Students —

As we enter into the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to take a moment to express my admiration and gratitude for each of you.

This semester has presented incredible challenges — a global pandemic, massive wildfires, a passionate movement for racial justice, and a contentious election. Throughout it all, you have persisted and found ways to thrive. You’ve demonstrated care and compassion for one another, offered creative solutions to problems, been resilient in navigating online courses and field placements, and championed changes that can make our college and our world more just, equitable, and inclusive. I am impressed and profoundly inspired by each you! Thank you for all that you contribute to our college and thank you for choosing to pursue academic and professional fields where your passion and commitment will have a transformative impact!

I hope that you are able to take time away from schoolwork in the coming days to rest, reflect, and enjoy time with family. This semester has been exhausting for everyone and a break is needed before we return for the final push. Please give yourself permission to take a break, turn off the computer, and put aside the “to do” lists. The break has been hard earned and is well deserved!

Wishing you a safe and healthy holiday!

With Gratitude — Heather

Lurie College Establishes Racial Justice Commitments

Building upon the strategic plan the SJSU Lurie College of Education established in January 2020, we have identified several racial justice priorities to continue to decolonize our own institution and the systems within which we operate.

Strategic Plan Identity Statement

At the SJSU Lurie College of Education, we prepare transformative educators, counselors, therapists, school and community leaders. We do this through an emancipatory approach across our teaching, scholarship, and service with a focus on the four areas below.

Community-Engaged: We strive to become the hub for community-centered, educational transformation in the region.

Examples of racial justice priorities:

  • Strengthen outreach and recruitment for prospective students with an emphasis on recruiting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) applicants who are committed to racial justice
  • Identify/strengthen collaborations, student teaching, and internship placements/MOUs with local schools and colleges with high enrollment of BIPOC students and that are committed to anti-racist policies and practices
  • Strengthen outreach to BIPOC alumni to provide ongoing professional support and encourage their engagement with current students as mentors, fieldwork supervisors, and advocates
  • Provide open-access extra-curricular seminars, workshops, and colloquia for students and community partners to engage in interdisciplinary conversations to cultivate anti-oppressive, anti-racist policies, practices, and pedagogies within educational institutions
  • Launch of the Institute for Emancipatory Education. The mission of this P20 focused institute is to create more equitable and inclusive educational systems that nurture the creativity and brilliance of all learners so that our diverse, democratic society can truly thrive. The guiding principles of IEE are to center historically marginalized learners and communities, partner with community, and build bridges across institutions from preschool through post-secondary
  • Launch of the Healthy Development Clinic to be located in East Side San Jose to strengthen collaboration and engagement with local communities with an emphasis on equity through wellness for children, youth, and families

Culturally Sustaining: We value and sustain the linguistic and cultural practices of the communities we serve and make that the foundation of our work.

Examples of racial justice priorities:

  • Increase scholarship supports for BIPOC students committed to anti-racist priorities
  • Strengthen inclusion of BIPOC researchers and theorists in course syllabi
  • Recognize, value, and highlight scholarship from our faculty and students that focuses on issues of racial justice, educational equity, and culturally sustaining pedagogy and provide multiple venues to showcase this research for internal and external audiences
  • Implement learning outcomes assessment practices with an equity and culturally-sustaining approach

Holistic: We foster a caring and supportive community of belonging, connectedness, and appreciation.

Examples of racial justice priorities:

  • Cultivate a sense of belonging and connectedness with current students and provide intensive advising across the areas of academic, career, and personal/social development to ensure students, particularly those from BIPOC communities, are valued and included
  • Increase scholarship supports for BIPOC students committed to anti-racist priorities
  • Strengthen efforts to recruit diverse faculty and staff through targeted outreach, DEI training for hiring committees, and critical assessment of application review and interview procedures
  • Grow student representation in department- and college-level committees, including continued presence on the college strategic plan steering committee

Interdisciplinary: We learn together across and beyond the college, transforming schooling and benefitting our communities.

Examples of racial justice priorities:

  • Provide anti-racist, culturally sustaining, and intersectional professional learning workshops to faculty and staff. These may be led by internal faculty experts and/or external consultants
  • Engage faculty and staff in college-wide anti-racist affinity groups for BIPOC faculty and staff and white faculty and staff
  • Develop and launch new courses and programs that directly address issues of race, justice, and intersectionality
  • Critically examine coursework and pedagogical practices to ensure they reflect a lens of racial justice. Update course content, syllabi, and assignments to address systemic racism, racial justice, and intersectionality

Join us at the Lurie College Deans’ Forum

SJSU Lurie College of Education Fall 2020 Deans Forum 4

Lurie College students, join Dean Heather Lattimer and Associate Dean Marcos Pizarro for a conversation on Thursday, November 19, from 3-4pm to discuss what’s next in education following the election results!  The Zoom link will be emailed to all Lurie College students’ via a Google calendar invitation.

Watch Our Faculty Research Symposium

Watch the recording of our Lurie College Faculty Symposium from Thursday, November 12:

  • 7:33 – Eduardo Muñoz-Muñoz, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education “The California Schools that are Coming: Towards Multilingual K-12 Programs beyond ‘Alignment’”
  • 31:12 – Rebeca Burciaga, PhD – Associate Professor and Interim Chair, Department of Educational Leadership “Testimonio as an Emancipatory Pedagogy”

Watch Our Faculty Research Symposium

Watch the recording of our Lurie College Faculty Symposium from Thursday, October 29:

  • 5:16 – Saili Kulkarni, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Special Education – “DisCrit at the Margins of Teacher Education”
  • 30:04 – Tammie Visintainer, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education – “Empowering Secondary Science Educators as Equity Advocates and Designers of Transformative Justice-Centered Science Learning Environments”
  • 53:12 – Luis Poza, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education – “To Be Seen and Heard: Dignity, Language, and Educational Rights in the United States”

Join us for the next symposium on Thursday, November 12, from 3-4pm, on Zoom

  • Eduardo Muñoz-Muñoz, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education “The California Schools that are Coming: Towards Multilingual K-12 Programs beyond ‘Alignment’”
  • Rebeca Burciaga, PhD – Associate Professor and Interim Chair, Department of Educational Leadership “Testimonio as an Emancipatory Pedagogy”

Statement from Dean Heather Lattimer | November 4, 2020

Dear Lurie College Students —

It has been a long night, a long election season, a long four years of division and divisiveness.  At this hour several states are still to be called and there is no clear outcome on the presidential election.

One thing is clear, however — there is much that needs to be done for us to become the just, equitable, and inclusive society that we deserve and our children demand. Regardless of who is ultimately declared the winner of this election, these past months have clearly and repeatedly demonstrated how broken we are as a nation.

You may feel discouraged or disillusioned by the electoral process or the election results. Identities and animosities have been inextricably linked with politics and elections can cause us to deeply question the values of our society and our place in it.  If you are experiencing doubt, frustration, anger, fear, or sadness, please know that you are not alone. The faculty, staff and administration in our college and across our university are here for you.  We value you, we care about you, and we believe in you.  If you need support or have concerns, please email us at luriecollege@sjsu.edu – we are here to help.

The academic and professional fields that you have chosen to pursue matter now more than ever.  As future educators, counselors, therapists, school and community leaders, you have the power to make change through your actions and advocacy.  Though the challenge is formidable, I have full confidence in the ability of our students to make a difference and lead us toward a better future.  Lurie College is here to support you every step of the way — Be courageous, be kind, be strong!

In solidarity — Heather

Attend the Lurie College Faculty Research Symposium

Join our Lurie College faculty at our upcoming Faculty Research Symposium events as they present their research related to diversity, social justice and culturally sustaining pedagogy!

SJSU Lurie College of Education Fall 2020 Faculty Research Symposium 1

Thursday, October 29, 3-4:15pm, Zoom

  • Saili Kulkarni, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Special Education
    • “DisCrit at the Margins of Teacher Education”
  • Tammie Visintainer, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education
    • “Empowering Secondary Science Educators as Equity Advocates and Designers of Transformative Justice-Centered Science Learning Environments”
  • Luis Poza, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education
    • “To Be Seen and Heard: Dignity, Language, and Educational Rights in the United States”

Thursday, November 12, 3-3:45pm, Zoom

  • Eduardo Muñoz-Muñoz, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education
    • “The California Schools that are Coming: Towards Multilingual K-12 Programs beyond ‘Alignment'”
  • Rebeca Burciaga, PhD – Associate Professor and Interim Chair, Department of Educational Leadership
    • “Testimonio as an Emancipatory Pedagogy”

Remarks from Dean Heather Lattimer | October 18, 2020

Congratulations!  You have made it more than halfway through the semester!   In a fall that has included a pandemic, remote learning, wildfires, air quality-related campus shutdowns, economic challenges, and intense political animosity, making it this far is an accomplishment.  Your efforts and your success need to be recognized and celebrated.

I want to reach out today with three messages –

  1. We are here for you! In know that many of you are in the midst of mid-term exams and papers.  In our virtual learning space, it can sometimes feel like you are isolated and alone.  Please know that you have faculty, staff, and colleagues throughout this college who care deeply about your success and are here to provide support.  Please reach out if you have questions or concerns.  Your professors, the advisors in our student success center, the staff and chair in your department, and our team in the dean’s office want to hear from you.
  2. We want you to share your experiences! We want to know what is working for you.  Understanding your experiences helps us to grow and strengthen our work as a college.  Share your ideas, successes, and appreciations using virtual sticky notes on our college Jamboard.  Read the posts of others to get ideas for finding balance, managing stress, and accessing resources.
  3. Vote! Election day is coming up on November 3.  Monday, October 19 is the last day to register.  If you are eligible to vote, please, please register and vote this year.  In addition to the presidential election, there are congressional, state, and local elected positions on the ballot as well as multiple ballot propositions that can have a direct impact on your life.  For more information on how to register and where to vote, please visit vote.org.   Your voice matters and voting is critical to determining our future.

I’ll close with gratitude.  I am so grateful to be a part of the Lurie College family.  The dedication and generosity of our students provides daily inspiration and hope.  Thank you for choosing to be part of our community and for all of the care, creativity, and commitment that you bring to each of your assignments and interactions.

Take good care and stay safe!

Deadline Extended: Student Social Justice Short Film Festival

In recent months, we’ve witnessed a significant amount of advocacy around social justice issues such as addressing racial injustice and systemic racism, greater access to healthcare, home and food insecurity, wealth inequality and unemployment, climate change, and more.  With that in mind, Lurie College is organizing a Student Social Justice Short Film Festival to amplify the voices of middle school, high school, community college, and university students around what social justice issues are significant to them.  Learn more and submit your 1-3 minute film by Monday, October 26, at sjsu.edu/education/film-festival

Lurie College Faculty Featured in Panel About California Prop. 16

Shoutout out to Department of Educational Leadership faculty María Ledesma, who was recently featured on a panel hosted by the UCLA Division of Social Sciences to discuss the context and implications of California Proposition 16.  Watch the panel recording on the LA Social Science YouTube channel.

SJSU Lurie College of Education Fall 2020 Graduation Celebration

SJSU Lurie College of Education Fall 2020 Graduation Celebration

While we at the Lurie College of Education are saddened that we are unable to have an in-person commencement ceremony during the Fall 2020 semester as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, we also realize the importance of continuing to follow our current public health orders for the health and safety of our families, our communities, and society as a whole.  Despite these constraints, we still want to celebrate with all of our Lurie College graduates this semester to recognize their accomplishments and perseverance, even if we must do so in a virtual environment.

Plans are underway for a live, virtual Lurie College of Education Graduation Celebration on Friday, December 18, at 4pm and we will send out an email invitation with more detailed information to our graduates, faculty, and staff in the near future.  Graduating students can still apply to become the graduation speaker by submitting a 3-5 minute video of you reciting your speech by Sunday, October 11, via this Google form.  To nominate a Lurie College faculty member who you’d like to speak at the graduation celebration, please email luriecollege@sjsu.edu with the name of the faculty member and a 1-2 sentence description of why you are nominating them by Sunday, October 18.

More information about graduation and commencement for Lurie College of Education students is available at sjsu.edu/education/graduation.

Read the 2019-20 Lurie College of Education Annual Report

At the SJSU Lurie College of Education, we prepare transformative educators, counselors, therapists, school and community leaders.  We do this through an emancipatory approach across our teaching, scholarship, and service.  While this has been a challenging and tumultuous year, our annual report shines a light on the numerous ways that we’ve embodied these principles and the many reasons for gratitude, pride, and hope in the work of our Lurie College students, faculty, staff, and alumni.  Read the 2019-2020 annual report.

Call for Lurie College Fall 2020 Graduation Student Speaker

Video description: Lurie College student Giselle Arellano – BA, Child and Adolescent Development, speaks at our Spring 2020 ceremony.

Lurie College wants to select a graduating student to represent and speak on behalf of the Lurie College community at the Fall 2020 ceremony.  The date and time for the ceremony are still to be determined, but it will tentatively take place online on Friday, December 18, at 4pm.  In order to be eligible to apply to become the student speaker, you must also be eligible to graduate.  Your speech can take any number of approaches, but should be original and should resonate with the event attendees, which will be made up of Lurie College students of different academic levels and disciplines, SJSU and Lurie College faculty and staff, and family and friends of all ages and backgrounds.

To apply, submit a 3-5 minute video of you reciting your speech by Sunday, October 11, via this Google form.  More information about graduation and commencement for Lurie College of Education students is available at sjsu.edu/education/graduation.

Join us at the Lurie College Deans’ Forum

SJSU Lurie College of Education Fall 2020 Deans Forum 3

Lurie College students, join Dean Heather Lattimer and Associate Dean Marcos Pizarro for a conversation on Friday, September 25, from 3-4pm to share insights about your Fall 2020 semester experiences thus far!  The Zoom link will be emailed to all Lurie College students’ via a Google calendar invitation.