Category: Education Policy

Washington Post Cites Baker’s Research on African-American Student Loan Debt

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In looking at current discussions to relieve African-American student loan debt, The Washington Post reported on debt relief at Morehouse College issued by donor Robert F. Smith.

Dominique Baker, assistant professor of education policy and leadership in Simmons, comments on the need for stronger fixes. She notes problems with the complicated repayment system and labor market discrimination impacting African-Americans. Read more.

Baker’s research focuses on the way that education policy affects the access and success of underrepresented students in higher education. She primarily investigates student financial aid, affirmative action, and policies that influence the ability to create an inclusive and equitable campus climate.

AERA Awards Four in Simmons with Distinctions

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Annie Wilhelm, Ph.D.
Doris Baker, Ph.D.

 

 

Three Simmons faculty members and one doctoral candidate were recognized at the 2019 American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference with awards for their contributions to their fields.

Teaching and Learning  faculty members Annie Wilhelm and Doris Luft Baker received AERA Special Interest Group (SIG) awards.

Luft Baker was recognized for the AERA Technology, Instruction, Cognition & Learning SIG with the International Collaboration Award, and Wilhelm for the Research in Mathematics Education SIG’s Early Career Publication Award.

Dominique Baker, an assistant professor in Education Policy and Leadership, was chosen as an AERA Oustanding Reviewer 2018, and additionally was named to the Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis (EEPA) editorial board.

Dominque Baker, Ph.D.

Also receiving recognition was graduate student Sumei Wu, whose poster proposal, Using Virtual Reality Simulations to Improve Three Novice Mainstream Teachers’ Enactment of Questioning Strategies with English Learners was rated one of the top proposals. As a finalist, Wu will present next year in AERA Division D’s In-Progress Research Gala.

 

 

Sumei Wu, doctoral candidate, pictured at right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gándara receives AERA Grant to Examine Promise Programs

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Assistant Professor Denisa Gándara, Department of Education Policy and Leadership, has received one of three American Educational Research Association (AERA) research grants to study free college or “Promise” programs with co-PI Amy Li (University of Northern Colorado).

Promise programs, which cover college tuition (and sometimes other costs) for all eligible students in a geographic region, have proliferated across the United States, with recent adoptions in New York, California, and Dallas County.

Gándara and Li’s study is the first to examine, at a national scale, which groups of students benefit most from these programs. Specifically, the study examines how enrollments change at community colleges that are subject to Promise programs, and how effects vary by Promise program design features. The study ends October 2019.

Vialogues at Columbia Teachers College Features Pavlakis’ Research on Homelessness

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Assistant Professor Alexandra Pavlakis was interviewed for Vialogues, a video platform designed for Q&A’s, at Columbia Teachers College. The highlighted research was an article published in Teachers College Record, Contextualizing the Impacts of Homelessness on Academic Growth.

She also looks at local implementation of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento), which aims to reduce barriers to school success for students experiencing homelessness. She believes scholars often overlook this implementation but may play an important role in explaining inconsistencies between single-site studies.

Click here for her interview.

Pathways to Success Podcast Highlights Dean Knight’s Mission for Simmons

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In an interview for Pathways to Success, a podcast hosted by Julian Placino, Dean Stephanie Knight discusses her passion for education and what led her to the top administration post at SMU Simmons.

For her, investing in public schools is important, and her commitment to urban schools made her explore what could be possible in Dallas.

During her first year on the job, she was able to forge a partnership with the Dallas Independent School District and Toyota USA Foundation to develop a K-8th grade STEM-focused school  in West Dallas. Listen to her story here.

 

Series on Integrating Berkeley Schools Features Richards’ Expertise

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Meredith Richards, assistant professor of Education Policy and Leadership, provides her expertise in public school segregation for a new, three-part series, Beyond the Buses, by published Berkeleyside.

Her  2012 study and reflections about Berkeley’s integration plans are highlighted in the first article. Read here.

Richards Offers Cautionary Note on Districts of Innovation

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Districts of innovation, which give public school systems more flexibility with policies, don’t require the public’s approval. Consequently, Assistant Professor Meredith Richards says community members may be not be aware of potential changes, such as waivers to teacher certification and class sizes.

For more on her study and observations, read her commentary in the Texas Tribune.

Pavlakis Featured in Podcast About Policies Affecting Education of Homeless Students

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Assistant Professor Alexandra Pavlakis looks at how education and social policies impact homeless students in a podcast conversation, We Talk Different, produced by Ashley Irons, Ryan Holmes, and Elijah Misigaro in Dallas. The full episode can be heard here.

Harris Provides Expertise on Tenure to Chronicle of Higher Ed

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The Chronicle of Higher Education asked Associate Professor Michael Harris to review tenure policies of Concord University for firing a tenured professor.

Harris, who studies tenure, concluded that the university’s policies undermine faculty power to make decisions. Read more.

 

With NSF Grant, Wilhelm and Norris Collaborate To Broaden Math Teacher Pipeline

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SMU Simmons, Dr. Annie Wilhelm

 

Simmons Assistant Professor Annie Wilhelm and Dedman College’s Associate Professor Scott Norris received a $100,273 Noyce Capacity Building grant from the National Science Foundation to increase the math teacher pipeline. The focus will be on secondary math teachers for placement in the Dallas Independent School District.

Dedman College, Dr. Scott Norris

Wilhelm and Norris will be working in partnership with the Dallas County Community College District to create a dual-enrollment recruitment program that prepares student scholars for dual degrees in Mathematics and Educational Studies at SMU.

The project includes collaboration with staff from the Budd Center, a unit in Simmons that brings West Dallas nonprofits and schools together. This collaboration will help immerse students in West Dallas throughout the program.

To hear Wilhelm speak about the project, click here.