Partnerships | Instant Impact

April 21, 2022
by Baylor Instant Impact
0 comments

SOE and Campus Living & Learning Expand Partnership [04/21/2022]

Dawson Hall, along with adjacent Allen Hall, will be the new home of an expanded Living-Learning Center, a partnership of SOE and Campus Living & Learning.

The Baylor School of Education (SOE) and Campus Living & Learning (CLL) have announced an expansion of their partnership in providing residential academic initiatives to Baylor students. The SOE’s Impact Living-Learning Center (LLC) and the LEAD LLC will join forces to form the IMPACT & LEAD LLC, which will be located in Allen and Dawson residence halls. Student residents will participate in renaming the LLC during the 2022-23 academic year.

The SOE’s Impact LLC started in 2015 in South Russell Residence Hall, near the school’s home in Marrs McLean Science Building, and has always served both education majors and other students. The LEAD LLC, launched in 2004, is also multi-disciplinary and all of its residents take a leadership course taught by the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership through its leadership minor program. This new partnership will strengthen the academic bond between the LLC students and the SOE. Continue Reading →

January 13, 2022
by Baylor Instant Impact
0 comments

BCSL Offers “Culture of Joy” Workshop for Educators [01/13/2021]

Baylor Center for School Leaders (BCSL) is hosting an afternoon workshop, combined with a Baylor men’s basketball ticket, for teachers, principals, superintendents, and other school or district leaders. The workshop, titled “Leading a Culture of Joy,’ will be Tuesday, Jan. 25, from 1-5 p.m., and the registration deadline is Monday, Jan. 17. The event is $45 per person, and schools are encouraged to bring teams of educators to attend. Registration is online here: REGISTER

Dr. Matt Thomas, director of the center, said the workshop is focused on learning how to foster a system of effective and broad-based leadership within schools.

“The range of challenges in today’s schools means that a school leader cannot possibly meet the demands on their own, even if they are distributing tasks,” he said. “Leaders need to harness the collective expertise of a diverse range of people to tackle the myriad challenges.” Continue Reading →

December 1, 2021
by Baylor Instant Impact
0 comments

Baylor School of Education Graduate Honored with Statewide Teaching Award [12/01/2021]

Alexandra Ronnenberg received statewide recognition for her teaching as a Baylor senior at Hillcrest PDS.

Alexandra Ronnenberg, who graduated from Baylor University in May with a B.S.Ed. in elementary education, has been named Clinical Teacher of the Year for the state of Texas, honored for her outstanding instruction and interaction with children while a senior at Baylor.

She is the fourth Baylor intern to receive the award in the last five years it has been presented. No award was given in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Ronnenberg received the award that honors senior-level teacher-education students from the Texas Directors of Field Experience (TDFE), the organization of faculty members within university teacher-education programs who supervise field experiences. The award was presented during this fall’s statewide meeting of the Consortium of State Organizations for Texas Teacher Education.

September 16, 2021
by Baylor Instant Impact
0 comments

Dr. Krys Goree served as author of new NAPDS “Nine Essentials” [09/16/2021]

When the National Association of Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) decided to update its foundational “essentials” document, the national organization included representation from the Baylor University School of Education (SOE) to help lead those efforts.

Baylor was one of the first universities to fully implement the Professional Development Schools (PDS) model, a clinically based educator preparation program in partnership with local schools to train preservice teachers.

Krys Goree, Ph.D., clinical faculty and director of the SOE’s Office of Professional Practice, served on the NAPDS committee that spearheaded the three-year effort to update What it Means to Be a Professional Development School (PDS): The Nine Essentials. Originally written in 2008, the Nine Essentials provide guidance for school-university partnerships and PDS campuses who work together to prepare teachers.

READ MORE . . .

July 1, 2021
by Baylor Instant Impact
0 comments

School of Education Autism Research Team Studies Mechanical Horse Intervention [07/01/2021]

The SOE autism research team in the BRIC MiraColt lab (l-r): Ashley Allison, Ryan Coleman, Alex Plank, and Dr. Julie Ivey.

A team of Baylor School of Education autism researchers is helping evaluate the effectiveness of a Baylor-invented mechanical horse that is designed to treat children with autism. A Baylor interdisciplinary team received a grant of nearly $600,000 from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to study the effectiveness of the MiraColt, a mechanical device that simulates the motion of horseback riding.

Dr. Julie Ivey, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, is a co-investigator and is leading an SOE research team that includes one Ph.D. level School Psychology student, Ryan Coleman, and two Ed.S. level School Psychology students, Ashley Allison and Alex Plank.

The team is currently recruiting children ages 6-12 to participate in the project to measure the effects of riding the MiraColt, an invention patented by Baylor mechanical engineering Associate Professor Dr. Brian Garner. Through Baylor’s Lab To Market Collaborative, Garner formed Chariot Innovations, LLC, to develop and market the product. Continue Reading →

June 16, 2021
by Baylor Instant Impact
0 comments

Impact Newsletter Online [06/16/2021]

The spring 2021 issue of Baylor Impact newsletter is now online and in the mail to alumni. If you do not receive a newsletter in the mail soon, please let us know by emailing BaylorImpact@baylor.edu. To make sure you don’t miss any future communications, you can also update your information online at this link: Update Your Information

The Spring Impact issue features the work of faculty, students, and alumni who are making a difference through education. This issue is notable for the number of award-winning faculty and students we are celebrating — people you’ll want to know about!

Read about exciting and impactful new grants helping children with developmental disabilities like autism and their families and teachers, new leaders in K12 education, national professional roles for faculty, and so much more!

Great news includes:

• The cover story shares the work of Dr. Stephanie Gerow, who has received a prestigious national grant to design a system to help agencies provide effective behavior interventions for children with developmental disabilities.

• SOE faculty members received three of the university’s Outstanding Faculty accolades this spring.

• Dr. Trena Wilkerson is serving is a significant national role as president of NCTM, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, working to bring equity in math education.

• New graduates in the K12 Educational Leadership program are making an impact in schools and districts from Texas to Washington, D.C.

• In our alumni profile, Isaac Gittens, MSEd ’16, tells what it’s like to work in the NFL and how to land a job there.

• SOE news briefs share new books and other news, awards for doctoral students, significant new grants, and a multi-faceted science education project.

• And find out how scholarships are helping future teachers like Lana Brady make their vocational dreams come true.

July 16, 2020
by Baylor Instant Impact
0 comments

Baylor SOE and Museum Studies Offer Informal Education Minor [07/16/2020]

Alex Sudduth (left) of the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler and Rachel Moore or the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco are Baylor graduates with careers in informal education.

Baylor graduate Rachel Moore had somewhat of an epiphany after her junior year of studying education. While working at a zoo, she discovered that education can occur outside of traditional classrooms.

“I had always wanted to be a teacher,” Moore said, “and I thought that meant I would be in a classroom. But after working at a zoo, I became passionate about informal education, and fortunately, two of my School of Education professors were eager to help me become an unconventional teacher.”

Alex Sudduth with Baloo

Alex Farrell Sudduth had a similar experience. In a junior course on elementary mathematics, professor Dr. Sandi Cooper took the class to Baylor’s Mayborn Museum to create a mathematics lesson based on the museum’s exhibits.

“It was so fun and exciting to be creative and craft lessons that related to our TEKS but also kept the students engaged in the topic,” Sudduth said. “I found the museum to be more inspiring than a traditional classroom.”

Sudduth pursued a master’s degree at Baylor SOE, which professors tailored to coordinate with Baylor’s Museum Studies Department, allowing her to develop the expertise for her current job as education manager for the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler. Continue Reading →

May 15, 2020
by Baylor Instant Impact
0 comments

Baylor School of Education Announces Elementary PDS Sites [05/15/2020]

Hillcrest PDS in Waco ISD

After a yearlong application and review process, Baylor University School of Education (SOE) has selected four local elementary school campuses to serve as Professional Development School (PDS) sites for Baylor teacher-education students, with two schools each in Baylor’s two partner districts, Midway ISD and Waco ISD.

The elementary PDS campuses will be:

Bell’s Hill Elementary in Waco ISD
Castleman Creek Elementary in Midway ISD
Hillcrest PDS in Waco ISD
Spring Valley Elementary in Midway ISD

Castleman Creek Elementary in Midway ISD (Midway ISD photo)

Baylor’s PDS program launched in 1993 with an intense partnership at the newly re-opened campus of Hillcrest Elementary in Waco ISD, which changed the school’s name to incorporate “PDS” into the title. Hillcrest PDS has remained a PDS campus for 27 years.

Baylor SOE’s partnerships with Midway ISD and Waco ISD have both won national awards for excellence from the National Association of Professional Development Schools, in 2017 (Midway) and 2018 (Waco). Continue Reading →

April 22, 2020
by Baylor Instant Impact
0 comments

Baylor Career Center Offers Virtual Info Sessions with Schools [04/22/2020]

Baylor Career Center’s regular job fair had to be canceled this year, but that didn’t stop Baylor from helping its students with employment opportunities in education.

For Baylor graduating teacher-education students seeking a job, the Baylor Career Center is offering Virtual Information Sessions with more than 30 school districts beginning this week (today) and continuing next week. The Zoom sessions are designed to help students learn about employment opportunities.

During each Info Session, a school representative will share information about the schools, then answer questions via Zoom chat and video. Just like a regular career fair, this is a chance for applicants to learn about the schools and ask questions about their openings and application/hiring process. Participants may attend any or all of the sessions. The calls are scheduled in 30-minute intervals, and students may come and go. Continue Reading →

April 7, 2020
by Baylor Instant Impact
0 comments

Baylor SOE Doctoral Candidate Wins NAPDS Award [04/07/2020]

Baylor School of Education doctoral candidate Kurt Salisbury, MSEd ’03, won the Emerging PDS Leader Award from the National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) at the annual convention in February.

The award recognizes a student member of NAPDS who shows promising leadership in the PDS movement. Criteria for the award includes service to NAPDS, presentations at the annual conference, publications, and service to a PDS program.

Salisbury is a full-time doctoral student in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction and also a math instructional specialist at Midway Middle School, which is a PDS campus of the Baylor School of Education. Salisbury was a high school mathematics teacher for 12 years and spent two years as an assistant principal in Midway ISD. He earned a master’s at Baylor and his undergraduate degree in mathematics at Texas A&M.

NAPDS supports genuine collaborative, field-based, rich partnerships between P12 schools and colleges and universities. NAPDS was founded in 2005, growing out of an already-established national annual gathering of P12 educators and university representatives. The membership of the organization represents equally the public-school partners along with the higher-education partners. Continue Reading →

Instant Impact

News from Baylor School of Education

Blog Archives