Instant Impact – News from Baylor University's Moody School of Education

January 23, 2026
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor Announces $30 Million Moody Foundation Gift Naming School of Education

L-R: Baylor Vice President of University Advancement Jason Diffenderfer, Baylor Provost Dr. Nancy Brickhouse, Moody School of Education Dean Dr. Shanna Hagan-Burke, Baylor President Dr. Linda Livingstone

Baylor University today announced a $30 million gift from the Moody Foundation of Galveston, Texas, to the University’s School of Education, supporting scholarships, expanding faculty research and providing resources to grow academic programs.

In recognition of their transformational gift and enduring commitment to the University, the School of Education will be renamed the Moody School of Education. Today’s announcement recognizes the largest single gift to Baylor’s School of Education in the academic unit’s 107-year history.

Read the full story at the Baylor Media website.

January 22, 2026
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Center for School Leadership Celebrates Gift to Endow Catalyze

Group photo featuring Jack and Linda Tinsley

Jack and Linda Howard Tinsley (center) have created an endowment to permanently support Catalyze, an annual event that brings together teams of teachers and administrators to develop a plan of action using improvement science tools.

The Baylor Center for School Leadership (BCSL) celebrated a significant gift on Monday, Jan. 19, establishing the Dr. Linda Howard Tinsley Endowed Fund for the Baylor Center for School Leadership, which supports the long-term sustainability of Catalyze, an annual retreat experience for educator teams.

Read more at the Baylor Center for School Leadership website.

January 14, 2026
by Baylor Instant Impact
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SOE Department Chair Helps Connect Baylor Leaders

Chairs of the Chairs (L-R): Dr. Bill Sterrett, Dr. Emily Hunter, and Dr. Jamie Van Eyck

Dr. Bill Sterrett, chair of the Department of Educational Leadership, has just completed a two-year term as the co-chair of a new initiative launched by Baylor’s Office of the Provost.

Baylor University’s Chair Leadership Training initiative is an effort designed to connect and support the university’s 70+ academic leaders — primarily department chairs but also leaders in roles such as associate deans and directors. Sterrett described the group’s mission as “connecting silos” across campus academic units. Continue Reading →

December 12, 2025
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor School of Education Graduate Honored with Statewide Teaching Award

Bella Buncher posing on the steps of Pat Neff Hall at Baylor, wearing a graduation stole signed by her third graders

Bella Buncher, BSEd ’25, is the seventh Baylor intern in nine years to be named Texas Clinical Teacher of the Year. (Photo courtesy of Bella Buncher)

Bella Buncher, a May 2025 Baylor University graduate with a BSEd from the School of Education (SOE), has been honored as Clinical Teacher of the Year for the state of Texas for excellence in classroom teaching during her student-teaching experience while a senior at Baylor. Buncher is the seventh Baylor School of Education teacher-intern to receive this award in the last nine years it has been presented.

Certified in elementary education, Buncher was a student teacher at Hillcrest Professional Development School in Waco ISD and taught in two third-grade classrooms with Jessica Washington for English, language and reading arts and Alexandra Ronnenberg for science and mathematics. It was a full-circle moment for Ronnenberg, B.S.Ed. ’21, who received the statewide award in 2021 for her student teaching, also at Hillcrest.

READ MORE at the BAYLOR MEDIA WEBSITE.

November 19, 2025
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Dr. Elizabeth Harrelson Magill Receives Baylor Outstanding Dissertation Award

Dr. Liz Magill

By Gabriela Garcia

Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Harrelson Magill, a 2025 Baylor School of Education PhD graduate, received the Baylor University Graduate School’s 2024-25 Outstanding Dissertation Award for her groundbreaking doctoral research exploring a new approach to teaching K-12 history. Magill earned her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in social studies education and is now a Clinical Assistant Professor and secondary certificate coordinator in Baylor’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

The Graduate School’s Outstanding Dissertation Award recognizes exceptional scholarship, research, and writing by doctoral students. The awards help raise the profile of doctoral students and are presented annually in Humanities, Sciences, and Social Sciences. Magill won the Social Sciences award for her dissertation, Problematizing the Present and Possibilizing the Future: Designing a Critical Historiography ‘History of the Present’ Framework for Social Studies Education. Continue Reading →

November 12, 2025
by Baylor Instant Impact
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EdD-LOC Students to Embark on First-Ever Global Mission Trip to Costa Rica

Students in Baylor University’s online EdD in Learning and Organizational Change (EdD-LOC) program will soon have the opportunity to extend their leadership and service beyond the virtual classroom. This inaugural trip marks a new chapter for the EdD-LOC program, expanding its reach and reaffirming its commitment to preparing leaders who serve with vision and integrity.

From April 23-28, 2026, a team of select EdD-LOC students will travel to San José, Costa Rica, for the program’s first-ever mission trip. The experience is designed to integrate students’ unique professional expertise with hands-on service opportunities. Applications are open through Nov. 19, and sign-up is through the BearsAbroad website.

September 25, 2025
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor School of Education Graduate Celeste Sodergren Wins Top National Dissertation Award in Gifted Education

Dr. Celeste D.C. Sodergren

Dr. Celeste D.C. Sodergren, who earned her PhD in educational psychology with a specialization in Gifted and Talented Education from Baylor in 2024, claimed the 2025 National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Dissertation Award. The prestigious honor recognizes high-quality dissertations relevant in gifted education, creativity, and talent development; supports the development of emerging scholars; and provides a forum for the dissemination of research by leaders among emerging scholars.

Sodergren is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Connecticut’s National Research Center for Gifted Education, working with Project EAGLE, a federally funded Javits Grant initiative that identifies math talent in underrepresented student populations. Continue Reading →

July 16, 2025
by Baylor Instant Impact
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iEngage Summer Civics Institute Emphasizes Active, Engaged Citizenship

Student plays iCivics video games on the computer to learn about government.

Middle schoolers at iEngage Civics Institute day camp learn about the structures and functions of government by playing computer games from iCivics, an organization founded by the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

More than 100 rising middle school students are attending Baylor University’s nationally recognized iEngage Summer Civics Institute July 14-18 on the Baylor campus.

Founded in 2013 and the recipient of the 2022 Sandra Day O’Connor Award for the Advancement of Civics Education, Baylor’s iEngage Summer Civics Institute is led by iEngage co-cofounder Karon LeCompte, Ph.D., associate professor of curriculum and instruction in the School of Education. iEngage is co-directed by associate professor Kevin Magill, Ph.D.

“iEngage focuses on the structure of government and what it means to be an active and engaged citizen and how to work with communities and organizations,” said LeCompte, who specializes in social studies education. “The iEngage program is designed to help middle school students learn how to make a difference in their schools, neighborhoods and communities, even as young people.”

Read more on the BAYLOR MEDIA WEBSITE.

July 9, 2025
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor Hosts Mathematics for Early Learners Academy (MELA) Throughout July

School of Education master’s candidate Sarah Bertelson instructs students from Bell’s Hill Elementary in Waco ISD in early math concepts at the Math for Early Learners Academy (MELA). A Baylor 2024 graduate with a BSEd in elementary education, Bertelson will be a teacher at Bell’s Hill after her master’s graduation in August. (Photo by Gaby Garcia)

Baylor University’s Mathematics for Early Learners Academy (MELA), sponsored by the Baylor School of Education (SOE), is underway now at the Mayborn Museum on the Baylor campus through July 24 for students ages 4 to 6.

Dr. Sandi Cooper

The four-week summer program, designed for students who have just finished PreK or Kindergarten and directed by Sandi Cooper, Ph.D., professor of mathematics education, aims to establish a solid foundation in “number sense,” especially for students who could benefit most from this summer experience in mathematics. According to Cooper, research shows early math skills are a better predictor of academic success than reading skills. However, many preschools don’t focus enough on math, and students often don’t receive interventions in math until later grades.

Faculty in addition to Cooper include SOE clinical assistant professor Tracey Jones, Ph.D., providing English as a Second Language (ESL)/bilingual support, and clinical assistant professor Mandy Dunphy, Ph.D., who is leading the MELA research team.

Read more on the BAYLOR MEDIA WEBSITE.

June 27, 2025
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor Hosts Gifted Students for Immersive Summer Camps

Baylor TIP gifted students in engineering class

High-ability students in grades 8-12 experienced college life, including challenging academic courses in engineering and other topics, in the second year of Baylor Talent Identification Program (TIP) residential camps. (Gabriella Garcia/Baylor School of Education)

More than 350 K-12 students from seven states, Mexico, and Colombia are on the Baylor campus this summer for enrichment courses and immersive learning experiences at summer camps through the Baylor University Talent Identification Program (TIP) in the School of Education.

Baylor TIP, a program of the Baylor Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, identifies pre-collegiate students with exceptional talent and provides them with world-class learning opportunities that match their exceptional potential.

“As the only Christian university that hosts a Talent Identification Program for adolescent students, Baylor TIP challenges students to fully develop the academic gifts that God has given them and to use those gifts for the greater good,” said Cheryl Taliaferro, Ph.D., director of pre-collegiate programs for Baylor TIP.

In addition to the TIP residential program, the Center is hosting three other camps – a TIP Intermediate day camp, Baylor’s long-running University for Young People, and as a site for Texas-based DECATS (DeBusk Enrichment Center for Academically Talented Scholars).

READ MORE AT THE BAYLOR MEDIA SITE…