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!

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: