M E S S A G E
F R O M T H E D E A N
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 Last Sunday, I was a guest on The Fred & Jeff Show, a radio program on FM 104.1. Co-host Fred Ronstadt is an alum of the College of Education and his brother Jeff Ronstadt is the other co-host. The brothers are strong interviewers and covered considerable education ground. We talked about pressing policy issues and teacher and principal evaluation research, including the two conferences we held at the college about this research and the follow-up article that appeared in Teachers College Record. One of our Teach Arizona students, Mike Cannon, also was a guest. Cannon is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a perfect example of the type of student Teach Arizona reaches. Listen to the interview here. At the end of March, Judith Heumann, an internationally recognized leader in the disability community and a lifelong civil rights advocate, visited the college. As special advisor for International Disability Rights at the U.S. Department of State, Heumann leads the U.S. comprehensive strategy to promote and protect the rights of those with disabilities globally. Heumann served as the World Bank's first advisor on disability and development and assistant secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services under the Clinton administration. While at the college, she discussed the global landscape for disability rights, including the international climate around disability and disability rights, highlighted challenges and opportunities to access around the world, and offered perspectives on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Here's more on Heumann. |
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Gathering of Scholars
Many faculty members attended the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting earlier this month. This is the largest gathering of scholars in the field of education research. It is a showcase for groundbreaking, innovative studies in a diverse array of areas -- from early education through higher education, from digital learning to second language literacy. Here is a list of lectures our faculty presented.
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TVT Searching for an Executive Director
The College of Education collaborates often with Tucson Values Teachers (TVT), a regional initiative determined to prove that we should not just talk about the importance of improving education, but must unify in action to retain, recruit, and reward our K-12 teachers who play a central role in our region's economic and civic prosperity. TVT is searching for a new executive director. If you or someone you know is interested, please review this job posting (pdf).
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THE TEACHER IN ROOM 22
One of our favorite alums, Ernie McCray, celebrates his 76th birthday today (April 18) and reflects about being introduced as "the teacher in Room 22, Mr. Ernest McCray" and the standing ovation that startled him. His story in the San Diego Free Press is a must-read. Happy birthday, Ernie!
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THANK YOUR FAVORITE TEACHER
Join our campaign to show appreciation for teachers everywhere.
Take to  and  to say thank you with a note and picture through the month of May because ... #AZTeachersROCK
This is just one way to thank a teacher who has helped you!
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK
Teacher Day at UA has evolved into Teacher Appreciation Week this year. Coinciding with National Teacher Appreciation Week, our event will be a week-long celebration with special opportunities that honor and support all teachers across Southern Arizona. It's an entire week filled with free professional development, events, and discounts just for teachers, from May 3 through May 10.
Find out more at www.tucsonvaluesteachers.org. And don't forget to check back because details on professional development and discounts are updated daily!
Arizona Public Media is offering the training session below as part of Teacher Appreciation Week.
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STARGAZING, CAMPFIRES, AND NIGHT HIKES
AT THE COOPER CENTER CELEBRATION
 Despite the fact there was a UA basketball game at the exact time the Cooper Center for Environmental Learning kicked off its 50th Anniversary Celebration, people still showed up!
About 250 people came out to the beautiful Sonoran Desert setting to enjoy night hikes, stargazing, and campfires. See this story that ran on KOLD-TV.
Stay tuned for details about how we will continue to celebrate this stellar 50-year anniversary. Do you have any favorite memories of Camp Cooper? We want to hear from you! Please contact Cooper Director Colin Waite.
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ANNOUNCING OUR NEW ERASMUS CIRCLE FELLOWS
Please congratulate our 2014 Erasmus Circle Fellows, Professor Jeff Milem of Educational Policy Studies & Practice and Associate Professor Francesca López of Educational Psychology. They were recognized at the Erasmus Circle Annual Reception at the Westward Look on March 27.
Our longtime friend and ardent education supporter Edie Auslander was honored with the Erasmus Circle Award for Outstanding Achievement in Education.
Erasmus Circle Fellows are faculty leaders who have demonstrated excellence in their fields. They are nominated by their department heads and former Erasmus Fellows and are selected by the College of Education Advisory Board. Professor Milem and Associate Professor López have demonstrated integrity in research, teaching, and service, in addition to an ability to inspire their colleagues and students to address problems of practice and the challenges facing schools in America.
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Edie Auslander and Naomi Karp
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Professor Milem and
Dean Marx
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| Dean Marx and Associate Professor López |
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CHILDREN'S LITERATURE IN POLAND
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University of Warsaw
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Join Visiting Scholar Anna Fornalczyk on Tuesday, April 29, 1-2:15 p.m. in Worlds of Words (Room 455 in the College of Education) for a presentation on Polish literary production for children in the 21st century. We will go back in time to the literary depiction of major 20th century political events in Europe, on classics every Pole reads in childhood, and on characters from children's cartoons that emerged in the 1960s and still enjoy pop icon status.
Fornalczyk is a professor at University of Warsaw, where she teaches translation and children's literature. Her research interests are onomastics, translation, imagology, and children's literature.
Native SOAR
 Native SOAR (Student Outreach Access and Resiliency) is a new College of Education project focused on empowering and preparing Native American youth for higher education access and success. While today's globally competitive economy demands a highly skilled workforce with workers who have attained some form of postsecondary education, too few Arizona students graduate high school prepared to succeed in college and a career.
Funded last year by Helios Education Foundation, this three-year partnership takes college access information and resources to high school students and their family members living in Tucson and the surrounding Native American communities.
One of Helios' priorities is to make sure high school graduates in Arizona are prepared to enter the workforce or credit-bearing college courses without remediation. Helios focuses its investments across the education continuum in three key impact areas: early grade success, college and career readiness, and postsecondary completion.
Contact Associate Professor Jenny Lee for more information.
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DISABILITY & PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL STUDIES
Professor Jane Erin is the 2014 recipient of the American Foundation for the Blind's 2014 Corinne Kirchner Research Award. The foundation noted her commitment to the field of visual impairment through her scholarly work.
Doctoral students Candace Gann and Sarah Gaines won the Poster Award Competition at the International Conference on Positive Behavioral Support in Chicago. This is the second time in the last four years that this national competition has been won by UA doctoral students.
 Graduate Matthew Hogel is the consulting editor for the recently released Basic Spanish for Orientation and Mobility: A Phrase Book and Dictionary.
Specialists in O&M work with people of all ages from diverse ethnic, religious, and cultural groups, and many speak languages other than English. This is a valuable tool for communicating orientation and mobility instruction to students who primarily speak Spanish.
EDUCATIONAL POLICY STUDIES & PRACTICE
Professor Jeff Milem's research team of scholars continues to receive coverage on the report on the status of minority education in Arizona.
KOLD-TV
Huffington Post
Department Head and Professor Gary Rhoades was quoted in this Inside Higher Ed article about adjuncts.
TEACHING, LEARNING & SOCIOCULTURAL STUDIES
Marana Middle School Assistant Principal Andrea Divijak, who holds a master's degree from our educational leadership program, will become Quail Run Elementary School's new principal this summer.
Science teacher Jeff Ofstedahl spent two weeks in Russia as part of the State Department's Teachers for Global Classrooms exchange program. He is blogging about his experience at ofstedahl.blogspot.com (and you can find him on Facebook, too). He is a 2012 grad of our Teachers in Industry program.
Next time, we'll already be celebrating our spring 2014 graduates!
Dean Ronald W. Marx
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1430 E. Second Street, Tucson, Arizona 520.621.1462
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