Liberal Studies Program Approved for CSET Waiver

By Michael Klitzing

The pathway to becoming a teacher has just become smoother and more affordable for liberal studies majors at San Diego State University. The Liberal Studies program was recently granted a waiver that will allow eligible students to bypass the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET) by proving their mastery of subject matter through classroom performance.

“I think (students) are excited; it's mainly because they don't have to take the tests, but another benefit I see is that it raises the bar,” said Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan, director of SDSU’s Liberal Studies program. “Students have to do well in their classes and I think our waiver program offers extra incentive for that. I want Liberal Studies to be a competitive and much-sought-after major — as such, I want it to be rigorous.”

Faculty Profile: Dr. Nellie Tran Embraces Disruption

By Michael Klitzing

Dr. Nellie Tran remembers being a new faculty member at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and seeing a Cambodian American student walk down the hallway outside her office, only to stop in her tracks.

“Is this you?” the student asked gesturing to Tran’s name plate?

Tran confirmed that it was.

“I've never seen a professor with this name,” the student marveled. “I get that reaction a lot,” Tran says after recounting the story, “Even here in San Diego where we do have a large Southeast Asian population. … It feels like I wasn't supposed to make it to this level.”

VIDEO: DLE Student is a Star on Stage and in the Classroom

In our Student Spotlight series, Mariela Contreras — a credential student in the Department of Dual Language and English Learner Education — has a passion for music, teaching and keeping the Spanish language alive in schools.

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Regina Brandon

You may know Dr. Regina R. Brandon as an associate professor in the Department of Special Education where she’s the coordinator of the Preliminary Special Education, Mild/Moderate Credential Program. But did you also know she’s a popcorn-loving world traveler who pledges allegiance to Raider Nation? Find out more about Regina in this edition of 7 Things You Didn’t Know About Faculty and Staff!

Ask an Alum: Melissa Navarro Martell ’18

By Michael Klitzing

Dr. Melissa Navarro Martell (’18) began her career as a dual-language educator, inspired by passions to help others and speak out against injustice. These passions were the result of her lived experience — born in Tijuana, Mexico, Navarro Martell was 11 when she moved to Chula Vista, where she said she was “constantly swimming against the current of education” as an English language learner. But as a dual-language teacher, she soon became frustrated with schools’ limited resources available to teach content in Spanish — especially critical science. A desire to find solutions led her to pursue her Ph.D. in the Joint Doctoral Program in Education between San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University.

Opening a Path to Employment for People With Disabilities

From left: ARPE faculty members Sonia Peterson, Marjorie Olney, Charles Degeneffe and Mark Tucker.

Faculty in the Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education received two U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration grants to help SDSU address the need for qualified vocational rehabilitation counselors.

Read the full story at SDSU NewsCenter.

COE News in Brief

Accomplishments, awards, events and more — here’s a glance at a few things you may have missed in the College of Education over the past month:

Alumna Teacher Inspires With Viral Video

A Bay Area elementary school teacher and graduate of San Diego State University has made national news after a video of her singing the hit Lizzo song “Truth Hurts” — modified with inspirational lyrics — with her students became a viral sensation. The video of DorothyHoney Mallari, a 2011 liberal studies graduate and a second grade teacher at Los Medanos Elementary School in Pittsburg, first hit social media in early November. 

EDL Alumnus Honored with Rising Aztec Award

SDSU Alumni has recognized J.J. Lewis, a 2017 grad in educational leadership and superintendent and CEO for Compass Charter Schools, as a Rising Aztec awardee. The award recognizes up-and-coming alumni who make support for SDSU and engagement with the university part of their lives and careers.

Read the full story at SDSU Alumni.

CFD Researcher Leads $3.3 Million Autism Intervention Study

Dr. Sarah Rieth, San Diego State assistant professor in child and family development, recently received a $3.3 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences to test an intervention that coaches parents of toddlers with autism.

Read the full story at SDSU NewsCenter.

Department of Education Grant Strengthens SDSU-Kumeyaay Partnership

Department of Counseling and School Psychology faculty, grad students and partners.

Thanks to a $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs, San Diego State University school counselor and school psychology graduate students committed to indigenous issues will gain experience serving the mental health needs of Kumeyaay youth in eastern San Diego County. The grant was co-authored by professor Carol Robinson-Zañartu, assistant professor Katheryn Leigh-Osroosh and associate professor Katina Lambros in the Department of Counseling and School Psychology.

Read the full story at SDSU NewsCenter.

SDSU Pride—In a Stockton Classroom

SDSU alumna Aimee Islas and her fifth graders from Taylor Leadership academy.

Stockton teacher Aimee Islas (’18, ’19), a graduate of San Diego State University’s liberal studies and teacher credential programs, is using her alma mater to inspire her fifth graders to imagine themselves as future college students.

Read the full story at SDSU NewsCenter.

Yap, Villarreal Undertake New NSF-Funded Study on Women of Color in STEM

Drs. Melo-Jean Yap and Felisha Herrera Villarreal.

By Michael Klitzing

Dr. Melo-Jean Yap acutely remembers the feelings of isolation she felt as young a woman of color studying biology — a discipline that is often very white and very male. The presumptions of incompetence she faced from faculty and peers, and the imposter syndrome that fed, still feel fresh.

One incident sticks out. As a graduate student, Yap took a coding course so she could learn to think like a programmer while working on bio-mathematical models. In the class of 30, she was one of five women and two women of color. And she didn’t just feel like she stood out, she felt singled out.

VIDEO: A Doctoral Student's Dream to Start a School

In our Student Spotlight series, Suparna Kudesia — a student in the Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership — discusses how her passion for justice in education was stoked on the streets of New Delhi.

Watch Suparna's video.

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Tonika Green

You may know Dr. Tonika Green as a professor in the Department of Counseling and School Psychology (CSP). But did you know she’s also a Virginia-born vegetarian with a secret alter ego? Find out more about Tonika in this edition of 7 Things You Didn’t Know About Faculty and Staff!