Bilingual Education Program Earns National Honor

By Michael Klitzing

San Diego State University has been honored by a Latinx education and policy consortium for its success in meeting community needs for bilingual educators.

The National Latino Education Research and Policy Program (NLERAPP) — a consortium of universities and community-based organizations — selected SDSU as one of four National Grow Your Own Model of Education sites. The designation recognizes the work of SDSU’s Department of Dual-Language and English Learner Education (DLE), which has recently grown into the largest bilingual credential program in the nation.

Project FORECAST Trainings Build Connections Between Faculty, Partners

SDSU faculty and partners take part in a Project FORECAST trauma-informed training. Photo by Nolan Voge.

By Michael Klitzing

During the first week of spring semester classes, several San Diego State University faculty members — along with their community partners — were the ones receiving an education. The topic: trauma-informed child advocacy.

Sixty participants from across SDSU and other local agencies gathered at the Chinese Cultural Center Jan. 22-24 for the Project FORECAST trauma-informed learning collaborative. The free training — brought to campus by Dr. Audrey Hokoda, Senate Distinguished Professor at San Diego State University in the Department of Child and Family Development (CFD) — provided three days of interactive problem-based learning simulations designed to build the skills needed to effectively work with children and families exposed to traumatic stress.

Six Things I Learned Studying Abroad in Nepal

Obed Morales Betanzo (left) with classmates and local students in Nepal.

From Jan. 4-18, Obed Morales Betanzo was one of 20 San Diego State University students who visited Kathmandu, Nepal as part of a College of Education study abroad program. Led by Dr. Jacki Booth and Dr. Alyson Shapiro from the Department of Child and Family Development (CFD), the program explored both the Nepalese school system as well as historic and cultural sites. Below, Obed provides six observations on his perspective-altering experience in the Himalayas.

Community-Based Block Alumna Makes Difference at SDSU as EOP Counselor

As a graduate student at San Diego State University, Michelle Cadena (’11) immersed herself in multicultural community counseling and social justice education through COE’s Community-Based Block program (CBB). Today, she’s still at SDSU — and still committed to making a positive difference.

Since 2017, Michelle has been a counselor in Educational Opportunity Program and Ethnic Affairs (EOP), providing academic, career and personal counseling to SDSU students from low income backgrounds and historically underserved communities. She’s part of a team that recently won a Presidential Staff Excellence Award for their work to support students in the Guardian Scholars Program, which serves current or former foster youth, wards of the court, individuals under legal guardianship or unaccompanied homeless youth. We chatted with Michelle about what motivates her work and how her COE experience shaped her.

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 since our last issue:

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Manny Uribe

You may know Manny Uribe as COE’s web and multimedia specialist — and all-around Swiss army knife. But did you know he’s also a San Diego-raised Trekkie who nearly became a teacher? Find out more about Manny in this edition of 7 Things You Didn’t Know About Faculty and Staff!

PODCAST: President's Fireside Charla Features Autism Research of Dr. Jessica Suhrheinrich

Dr. Jessica Suhrheinrich, assistant professor in special education, was featured in a Fireside Charla podcast with San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre. Listen to learn more about Suhrheinrich's work to improve learning environments for children with autism.

Listen to Fireside Charla.

Program to Advance Latinx Leaders in Community Colleges Finds a Home

Members of the NCCHC Leadership Fellows Program's 2019 cohort.

The San Diego State University College of Education is the new home of the National Community College Hispanic Council (NCCHC) Leadership Fellows Program. The program, which aims to help Latinx community college administrators advance into leadership positions, will be hosted in our Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education.

Read the full story at SDSU NewsCenter.

COE’s Online Programs Ranked No. 8 by U.S. News

The San Diego State University College of Education’s online master’s programs ranked No. 8 in the nation according to the new 2020 Best Online Programs rankings from U.S. News & World Report. The ranking, which factored in SDSU’s M.A. programs in educational leadership and teacher elementary and secondary education, represented a significant jump from 2019, when SDSU placed No. 25.

Read the full story at SDSU NewsCenter.

Study Shows Promising Results for Toolkit Designed to Help Parents Receiving Home Visits

Dr. Rachel Haine-Schlagel adapted a toolkit for use in child welfare home visits.

By Michael Klitzing

While pursuing her Ph.D. in clinical psychology, Dr. Rachel Haine-Schlagel worked with children and families as a full-time clinician. She remembers being particularly struck by parents who didn’t seem engaged in treatment sessions. Some would text on their phones or ask to wait in the lobby. And she remembers how powerless that made her feel.

“It felt like heating the house with the windows open,” said Haine-Schlagel, now an associate professor in the Department of Child and Family Development at San Diego State University. “I was there and I was working with them, but I didn't think anything was going to be any different after we left that room. And that's really what it's all about. It's not what happens in that one hour as a therapist that you're with that family. It's what happens in those other 23 hours, times seven, until you see them again."

Perseverance and Perspective: In Wake of Adversity, Vasquez Finds Meaning in Fellowship

By Michael Klitzing

Tears were flowing as Dr. Marissa Vasquez read the acceptance letter.

The assistant professor in the Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education (ARPE) learned last month that she was named to the Faculty Fellows of the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE). It’s a great honor and opportunity bestowed by an organization that once helped instill Vasquez’s belief that she could become a professor.

But that wasn’t the reason for her tears.

Drs. Chizhik, Brandon Work to Bring More Students of Color into Teaching

By Michael Klitzing

For much of her childhood, Dr. Estella Chizhik attended predominantly white schools and was taught by exclusively white teachers. That was until her father, a U.S. Army officer, was transferred to Fort McPherson in Atlanta. He decided to send Estella to attend 7th grade at Sylvan Elementary, a public school in the predominantly black neighborhood near the base.

“The whole time I was growing up, from kindergarten through 6th grade, I thought I wasn't very bright,” said Chizhik, who is black. “Ms. Maribel looked at me and she asked what reading level I was in. I said, ‘I don't know, I guess I'm in the low.’ She said, ‘Let’s give the high reading group a try. I think there's something more there.’”

Placed in the high reading group, Chizhik said she was positive she would fail. Instead, she excelled.

Joint Doctoral Program Students Funded for Innovative Projects

From left: Terry Sivers, Reka Barton, Darielle Blevins and Asha' Jones.

By Michael Klitzing

Editor’s note (Dec. 23, 4:40 p.m.): An earlier version of this post included a list of proposed speakers for a student-led program providing a critical exploration of slavery and reparations. The student has since opted to revise the program. The following article has since been revised and will be updated if new information becomes available.  

Four students in the Joint Ph.D. Program in Education (JDP) offered by San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University recently received $170,000 in funding from the Office of the Provost to bring programming designed to improve the experience of Black students to SDSU during the spring semester.

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:

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Luke Duesbery

Dr. Luke Duesbery is an associate professor in the School of Teacher Education and co-directs the online master’s in teaching and directs our college’s Center for Teaching Critical Thinking and Creativity. But there is more to him than just that. Find out more about Luke in this edition of 7 Things You Didn’t Know About Faculty and Staff!