Selected Events
Southern Connecticut State University.
August 2021. As an Assistant Professor at SCSU (and an instructor at the University of Michigan and an adjunct professor at Harvard University), I support students in developing their knowledge of special education and their understanding of the ways racism and ableism intersect to marginalize students in schools. Some of the courses I have taught are Teaching Students with Exceptionalities in Middle & High School, Teaching in a Multilingual Society (University of Michigan), Curriculum and Methods for Exceptional Individuals, Seminar in Reflective Practice, Introduction to Exceptional Learners, Diagnostic Assessment and Mathematics Instruction (SCSU), and Instructing Student with (Dis)abilities in Inclusive Settings (Harvard University).
Dissertation Defense.
April 2020. I defended my dissertation as a doctoral candidate in the Teaching and Teacher Education Program at the University of Michigan. Below is a description of my dissertation research. Click below to watch my presentation.
Description: Research that documents the challenges within special education continue to demonstrate that students of color experience issues of overrepresentation, restrictive placements, and exclusionary practices despite the re authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act in 2004 and updates to procedural safeguards designed to protect the rights of students identified with disabilities and their parents. General educators are the first-line gatekeepers for students' entry into special education, making approximately 90% of initial referrals for services. This highlights the necessity for general educators to have the collaborative skills, advocacy skills, and racial literacy necessary to make recommendations that disrupt existing inequities. Limited studies exist that document the type and quality of professional development in special education that pre-service general educators receive in their teacher development programs. This demonstrates the need to more closely document and analyze the training pre-service general educators receive to prepare them for the role they will hold in the special education process. Practice-based teacher education pedagogy - particularly simulations of IEP meetings - is one method of supporting general educator collaborative skills, advocacy skills, and racial literacy. This dissertation seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) In a course that addresses issues of inequity in special education, how do pre-service general educators' (PSTs) conceptualization of inequity and their role as a member of the IEP team shift over time? (2) How do pre-service general educators' enactments with a Black parent of a student identified with a disability change between pre- and post-simulations?
Committee members: Dr. Chandra Alston (chair), Dr. Jacqueline Mattis (cognate, Psychology), Dr. Debi Khasnabis, Dr. Deborah Ball, Dr. Troy Mariage.
Embracing Tensions For Equity.
March 2019. I had the unique opportunity to moderate the first keynote panel conducted at the School of Education Graduate Student Research Conference at the University of Michigan.
Conference Focus: As we engage in research, develop policy, and implement practice, we must resolve various tensions in order to create equitable solutions. Negotiating how to apply differing methodologies and navigating our positionalities and obligations to multiple stakeholders are a few of the inherent tensions in our work. Eliding these tensions is problematic—they have consequences for the lived experiences of every stakeholder in education, from students to policymakers. Committed to enhancing students’ academic, social, and professional growth, we look forward to conversations that engage with the ways we, as a community, negotiate the various challenges in our work towards equity in education.
Keynote Panelists: Charles Wilkes, Dr. Maisha Winn, Dr. Maren Oberman, & Dr. Alistair Bomphray
Moderator: Dr. Ebony Perouse-Harvey
Conference Co-chairs: Rosalie Defino, Dr. Laura-Ann Jacobs, Dr. Ebony Perouse-Harvey
DIJE Award
2018-2019. My colleague Dr. Laura-Ann Jacobs and I were presented with the DIJE Award at the May 2019 School of Education Commencement Ceremony at the University of Michigan for our work in planning the Graduate Student Research Conference and founding the group Women of Color and the Academy (WOCATA) at the University of Michigan School of Education.
Description: The dije awards recognize work to advance diversity, inclusion, justice, and equity within the School of Education, as well as within the broader University of Michigan campus and surrounding communities. These awards serve an important function: to spotlight the advancement of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan. They also serve to recognize the individuals whose significant efforts make the advancement of this plan possible.
Photographed: (from left to right) ?, Dr. Laura-Ann Jacobs, Dr. Carla O’Connor, Dr. Ebony Perouse-Harvey
NYU Faculty First Look Scholar.
2019-2020. I was chosen to participate in the NYU Faculty First Look Program which prepares Scholars of Color for their work in academy.
Description: NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development invites talented scholars of color and others underrepresented in the Academy who are completing their PhD, EdD, or other relevant terminal degree to apply to participate in Faculty First-Look (FFL). Faculty First-Look provides a glimpse into what it takes to prepare for future faculty careers, particularly in disciplines and field represented within the Steinhardt School.
Bouchet Honor Society.
March 2020. I was inducted into the Edward A. Bouchet Honor Society for my research, teaching, and service at the University of Michigan.
Description: Named for the first African-American doctoral recipient in the United States, the Bouchet Society recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate.
The Bouchet Society is a network of preeminent scholars who exemplify academic and personal excellence, foster environments of support, and serve as examples of scholarship, leadership, character, service, and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy.
Graduate Student Instructor Award.
April 2020. I was nominated and received the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award for my work with undergraduate and Master’s students at the University of Michigan.
Description: Through the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Awards, Rackham recognizes scholars who have been nominated by their program for teaching excellence. Winners of this award demonstrate superb skill in teaching, mentoring, and advising. They bring creativity, inspirational commitment, and intellectual excitement to the classroom, discussion section, or teaching lab, and communicate this passion with their undergraduate students.
