The American University School of Education is currently accepting graduate applications!
Admissions
Teacher shortages, lack of diversity, outdated policies, inequitable access - learn how to be a part of the evolution of the education system at the American University School of Education.
In the world of education, some of the most passionate teachers find their calling through unexpected paths. Juilenne Townsend-Sanders' story is a testament to the power of perseverance, lifelong learning, and the profound impact of discovering one's true purpose. After teaching for 32 years,"I'm still in the honeymoon phase of this job!" she exclaims. READ MORE
Dixon witnessed firsthand how a positive educational environment could transform the lives of his family members with special needs. This experience, coupled with his own academic and athletic journey, shaped his path to becoming an educator.Imagine going from tackling opponents on the football field to tackling learning disabilities in the classroom. That's the remarkable journey of Charles Dixon, a former Division I football star now pursuing a Master of Arts in teaching (MAT) special education with a concentration on learning disabilities. READ MORE
The Institute for Innovation in Education (IIE) takes an interdisciplinary approach in its pursuit of conducting educational and translational research and administering research-informed professional development initiatives with the goal of improving teaching and learning in Washington, DC, and beyond. Projects support and engage educators as they affirm, benefit, respect, and value traditionally underrepresented student groups (including students who experience racialized marginalization and students with disabilities). Researchers partner with practitioners to study educational policies and interventions using a wide-ranging set of methodological and analytical approaches. It is our belief that the complex contexts of learners, schools, and communities call for cross-disciplinary research by investigators....[dgs to edit]
In the fall of 2019, the IIE was awarded a $1 million grant from the US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs to support the Early Literacy Intervention Leads Program (ELI Leads).
This conference is for any oneinterested in working with community-based heritage language schools.
ProfessorJennifer Steelewas quoted in thisBig News Networkabout the prominence education is playing in this year's presidential election. Read about the options American voters had. [January 22, 2025]
Dr. Jasmine Rogersappeared in The Colorful Classroom Podcast episode 15,Black Language & Structured Literacy with Dr. Jasmine Rogers."Dr. Rogers shares insights from her research, discussing how recognizing and celebrating Black Language—rather than correcting it—is essential to honoring students’ identities and supporting their academic growth." Listen to the.[January 22, 2025]
American University's School of Education is mentioned in thisMaryland Mattersabout the Science of Learning and how it has been proven to shrink achievement gaps while increasing test scores. SOE is "breaking down the longstanding barrier between teacher training and research science, teaching future educators about how learning happens long before they step into a classroom."[January 22, 2025]
Dr. Amaarah DeCuir, senior professorial lecturer,at the's "Lessons from the Field Webinar - Student Religious Expression in Public Schools."[January 22, 2025]
Dr. Jacque D. Patterson, Sr. (EdD ’22)has been re-elected to the DC State Board of Education as At-Large Representative.Dr. Patterson's biography here.[January 22, 2025]
Assistant ProfessorLiana Petruzzi, a founding member of the Community Health Worker and Social Worker National Workgroup, launched their“Essential Strategies for the Effective Integration and Collaboration of Community Health Workers and Social Workers in Health and Social Service Systems.” The event and report shared best practices for community health and social workers collaboration and integration at the individual, organizational, and system levels, along with policy recommendations.[January 22, 2025]
Dr. Amaarah DeCuirpublished "" inEducation Week,part of a three-part series. Learn how you can help defend Muslim, Arab, and Sikh students against bias and hate.[January 22, 2025]
"Identifying Sources of Preservice Teachers’ Dyslexia Knowledge to Guide Teacher Education" inFrontiers in EducationbyProfessor Alida Andersonpresentsfrom an exploratory descriptive qualitative inquiry of preservice teachers' self-reported dyslexia knowledge sources.[January 22, 2025]
Assistant ProfessorDr. Robert Shandpublished aon the presidential candidates’ positions and histories regarding education policy leading up to the election inThe Conversation.Dr. Shandwasin thePolitiFactarticle "Promise Kept: Biden Rules on For-Profit Schools Are on the Books, but Delays Make Effects Unclear" on the rules for persistently underperforming for-profit colleges.[December 5, 2024]
Dr. Robert Shandco-authored aon the financial impact of cultural conflicts in schools, such as book bans, LGBTQ+, and other issues. The study, “The Costs of Conflict--The Fiscal Impact of Culturally Divisive Conflicts on Public Schools in the United States,” examines the societal and fiscal cost of culturally divisive conflicts that have impacted schools in recent years, estimating the cost to the nation’s public schools at approximately $3.2 billion during the 2023-24 school year.[December 5, 2024]
ProfessorJennifer Steelewas quoted in thisBig News Networkabout the prominence education is playing in this year's presidential election. Read about the options American voters had.[December 5, 2024]
"," written by Senior Professorial LecturerDr. Antonio L. Ellis, inDiverse: Issues in Higher Education,details reasons that closure of the Department poses a grave threat to the well-being of students with disabilities.[December 5, 2024]
In “,” Adjunct Senior Professorial LecturerDr. Altheria Calderaspoke withBOLDabout the influence of adults and false assumptions that kids won’t pick up on adults’ biases.[December 5, 2024]
Assistant ProfessorDr. Liana Petruzziwas awarded a Career Development Award from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities for her project, "Improving Perinatal Mental Health among Latinas through a Culturally Adapted, Multi-Level Intervention." The $613k grant will culturally adapt two evidence-based perinatal interventions, which include health education and psychoeducation, by simultaneously addressing mental health and social needs to improve Latina perinatal outcomes.[December 5, 2024]
Dr. Petruzzireceived afrom the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities for her research on health disparities among Latinas, with a particular focus on perinatal health. This program is meant to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals and researchers, as well as support early career professionals with educational debt. [December 5, 2024]
Dr. Kenjus Watsonspoke at a Penn State College of Education“Black Possibilities as Creative Praxis Series”entitled “The Life, Death, and Afterlife of Apocalyptic Education.”[December 5, 2024]
awarded SOE two AU Career Development Mini Grants, one toDr. Sherita Flakeand the other toDrs. Carolyn Parker,Barbara Balestra,andDhananjaya Katju,to help advance their career development.[December 5, 2024]
Dr. Ocheze Josephrepresented SOE at President Alger’s new initiative,, which promotes civic engagement through events, activities, and learning opportunities.[December 5, 2024]
Dr. Gayle Warmbrodt“Malleable Mindsets Improve Student Outcomes” at the 2024 College Academic Support Programs (CASP) Conference.[December 5, 2024]
Dr. Terence Steward, EdD graduate and Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, will become the president of theof the International Dyslexia Association.[December 5, 2024]
Dr. Alida Anderson"Choice-Based Art Education (CBAE): Engaging K-5 Grade Students in the Art Classroom" as part of the Kennedy Center’s Arts and Special Education series. It showed how CBAE provides support for art educators to design and implement authentic instruction centered on student choice and voice.[December 5, 2024]
Dr. Jennifer Steele"So, Your Colleague Is a Chatbot: Preparing Students for AI in the Workforce” to teach faculty about implications of generative AI that students and faculty will contend with in their careers.[December 5, 2024]
Senior Professorial LecturerDeCuirArticle of the Year Award from theAmerican Educational History Journal, acknowledging her noteworthy contributions to the field of educational history in“Up North, Black Families Walked Out: Counternarratives of Jim Crow School Resistance, 1930-1935.” [October 15, 2024]
AssistantProfessorDr. Robert D. Shandwas quoted incommenting on a recent report on the effects of comprehensive education reforms in Denver.[October 15, 2024]
ProfessorDr.Corbin M. Campbell'sresearchWashington Postpiece about how the quality that matters most to college applicants gets overlooked by current school rankings.[October 15, 2024]
Get to knowDr. Amaarah DeCuirinabout teaching research methods.[October 15, 2024]
Dr. Amaarah DeCuirtraveled to Malaysia to speak at the, attended the, spoke at the Workshop on Prophetic Pedagogy at the International Islamic University of Malaysia, and met with the education faculty at the National University of Malaysia.[October 15, 2024]
Dr. Antonio L. Elliswas thein Bucharest, Romania, at the International Centre for Innovation in Education’s annual conference. His presentation was titled “Navigating Equity: Exploring Perceptions of Fair Treatment among University Staff Members.”[October 15, 2024]
Senior Associate DeanDr. Rodney Hopsonwas awarded a National Science Foundation supplemental grant with theproject, intended to empower underrepresented students from Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands “to pursue their interest in marine and environmental sciences through scientific and professional development training and mentorship."[October 15, 2024]
Dr. William Thomas IV,Director of the EdD Program,on responsive lesson planning and reflection that centers the motivation of both teachers and public school students, inPerspectives on Urban Education.[October 15, 2024]
Dr. Rodney Hopson"'That Does Not Apply': Graduate Students' (Mis)Perceptions of the Racial Climate in STEMM" in the journalStudies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education,andthe bookTheories Bridging Ethnography and Evaluation: Making Transformative, Intersectional, and Comparative Connectionsfor the Emerald Book series Studies in Educational Ethnography.[October 15, 2024]
Dr.Eugene Pringle,Senior Professorial Lecturer, wasofTeacher Preparation as Social Activism at Historically Black Colleges and Universities,part of the Teacher Education Series, with SOE’sDr. William N. Thomas IV, Dylan Ravdin(MEd '23),Brianna Nargiso(EdD '25),Keyana Terry(EdD '25), andDr. Ocheze Josepheach co-authoring a chapter.[October 15, 2024]
ProfessorDr.Jennifer Steele"JD Vance Knows Better" regarding the power and importance of education subsidies inSalon.[October 15, 2024]
Dr. Robert Shand"The Relationship Between Teacher Collaboration and Instructional Practices, Instructional Climate, and Social Relations” in the journalEducational Policy.[October 15, 2024]
Dr. Jenni Torres,EdD ’22, wasExecutive Director of WIDA, an educational services organization housed in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Education. [December 5, 2024]
Dr. Jasmine Rogers(EdD '23 and SOE adjunct faculty) was a guest on the Leading Literacy Podcastabout her time in AU's Doctorate in Education program. [October 15, 2024]
Julie Corbett(EdD '25) was alsoChicago Tribuneabout a the resignation of the entire Chicago Public School Board of Education.[October 15, 2024]
Julie Corbett(EdD '25) presented at thein Salt Lake City, UT, discussing(the foundation of her doctoral dissertation).[October 15, 2024]
Dr. Nara Nayar,EdD '27, published “” in theAmerican Institutes for Research,examining data about the education of Indigenous people.[October 15, 2024]
MEd studentCarlos Gamez’spaper, “Student Growth on a Statewide Progress-Monitoring Assessment System by District,” was accepted by theFlorida Journal of Educational Research.[October 15, 2024]
Education studies minorFelicity Chapman,SOC/BA ’26,the prestigious 2024–26 Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship and up to $50,000 in financial aid. [September 16, 2024]
Carl Felton, III, MEd '23, policy analyst at EdTrust,a blog post promoting tutoring, extending learning time, and teachers building relationships with students.[September 16, 2024]
Teaching FellowsTatiana Ellis, BA '26, andLuis Paredes Alvizurez, BA '27, taught DCPS Generation Teach (GT) STEAM Academymath and engineering as part of their GT Summer Teachingpromoting teaching in diverse communities.[September 16, 2024]
The Black Code, a documentary by EdD program alumDr. Sharice Lane, '24, is a Student Film categoryfor the 2024 Lane Doc Fest. The film analyzes the cultural responsiveness of English language arts (ELA) instruction.[September 16, 2024]
Pamela Harris, CAS/MEd '73 and SOE/EdD '25, with husband Tyrone, SOC/BA '72 and WCL/JD '75, won the 2024 Volunteer Impact Award at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Ebony Eagles of Excellence, for their dedication to advancing the global Black community.[September 16, 2024]
EdD alumDr. Dia L. Jones, '22, willa workshop at STEMNoire 2024: Black Women Leading the STEM Renaissance Conference which willattendees with tools to build their belongingness capacity in STEM spaces. She will also present research to support increased participation of Black girls and women in STEM at this summer's Black Gaze Symposium.[May 28, 2024]
EdD studentJulie Corbett, '25, was one of the subjects of aThe Hour, "Chalk Talk: A Diverse Group of Norwalkers Are Being Trained to Be Civic Influencers," which detailed ashe designed enabling diverse citizens of Norwalk, CT, to participate in a civics lesson on local government.[May 28, 2024]
EdD alumDr. Iris Bond Gill,'24, has been named aFellow. The program invests in thinkers who generate big, bold ideas that have an impact and spark new conversations about the most pressing issues of our day.[May 28, 2024]
EdD studentDarla Davenport-Powell, ’24, plays the role of the family matriarch Lucy Bell in the slavery-centered live-animationThe Bell Affair, which explores freedom lawsuits of US slaves and recently beganon Amazon Prime.[April 24, 2024]
