SOE Events | Instant Impact

June 11, 2020
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Outstanding Seniors Honored by Baylor School of Education [06/11/2020]

Outstanding seniors for 2020: L-R, Top: Caroline Reid, Jamison Lawrence; Middle: McCauley Fuller, Carley McNelly, Emily Holland; Bottom: Jordan Bringe, Augie Straugh, Interim Dean Dr. Terrill Saxon

Baylor School of Education (SOE) recognized seven seniors as outstanding students at the 35th Annual Senior Recognition Banquet May 14. During the ceremony, held online due to COVID-19, students were recognized for their excellence and their readiness to impact the world. Baylor SOE senior award recipients (biographies below) for May 2020 are:

• Carley McNelly — EDICUT Preservice Educator of the Year Award
• Caroline Reid — Dolores Coker Phi Delta Kappa Outstanding Student in Education
• Jordan Bringe — Lorena B. Stretch Award for Outstanding Student in Elementary Education
• Jamison Lawrence — Award for Outstanding Student in Middle Grades Education
• Augie Strauch — M.L. Goetting Award for Outstanding Student in Secondary Education
• Emily Holland — Award for Outstanding Student in EC-12 Education Programs
• McCauley Fuller — Award for Outstanding Student with Minor in Education

At the event, SOE Interim Dean Dr. Terrill Saxon told the students, “With all that has transpired this spring and what is yet to come, the faculty in the SOE have remained devoted to preparing you for the students who will depend on you to open the doors of learning and opportunity for them. I thank you for your commitment, and I look forward to the careers that are ahead of you.” He added, “Last year at this time, we celebrated what we christened the Centennial Class in the School of Education, in celebration of 100 years as a School. At that time, I did not think there would be a senior class that could possibly eclipse that in terms of being memorable; however, you seniors have earned that title now.” Continue Reading →

June 9, 2020
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor School of Education Honors “Most Memorable Teacher” [06/09/2020]

“Memorable Teacher” Bruce Collamore (center) leading a camping trip for students of Kent Denver, including recent Baylor SOE graduate Caroline Reid (far left), then in the eighth grade.

One teacher was honored at the annual Baylor University School of Education Senior Recognition Banquet on May 14, held online this year. Following tradition, Baylor School of Education seniors had the opportunity to nominate teachers who had been influential in their lives. Students submitted nomination essays about their teachers, and the awarded educator was chosen by a Baylor faculty committee.

This year, Bruce Collamore of Centennial, Colorado, an eighth-grade math teacher at Kent Denver School in Englewood, Colorado, was honored with the Baylor School of Education’s “Most Memorable Teacher” award. Collamore has been a teacher for 43 years, 36 of them at Kent Denver. Continue Reading →

September 17, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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School of Education History Exhibit Open at Mayborn [09/17/2019]

SOE Centennial Exhibit at the Mayborn Museum

A public exhibit outlining the history of the Baylor School Education has been extended through March 2020, continuing as part of the SOE’s year-long Centennial celebration in 2019.

The exhibit is located at Baylor’s Mayborn Museum, 1300 S. University Parks Drive, in Waco, immediately to the right inside the Mayborn’s front door. The display is available for visitors to browse during regular museum hours.

“I really enjoyed diving into the rich history of the School of Education,” said Museum Studies and Curriculum & Instruction graduate student Meg Tucker, who curated the exhibit. “I am impressed by the School’s resilience and continued dedication to excellence. It was an exciting challenge to use my background in education and museum studies to help curate this exhibit. It was powerful to read about and see pictures of education students and professors working at Baylor more than one hundred years ago.”

Among other things, the exhibit features artifacts specific to SOE history along with items from partner Professional Development Schools in Waco and Midway ISDs. A World War I uniform from Fred M. Hale is also on display. Hale and his wife, Edith, were the first donors to make a gift of $1 million to the SOE.

The exhibit also features vintage photographs, including some by famed Waco photographer Fred Gildersleeve, which outline the evolution of the SOE from its creation in 1919 to where it is today. More current exhibited items include research from SOE faculty members and displays that speak to the SOE’s commitment to research, community service, study abroad, and faith. Continue Reading →

August 2, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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iEngage Civics Camp Builds Students’ Civic Knowledge [08/02/2019]

Students work on their civics project, guided by an iEngage counselor.

With civics education largely disappearing from school curricula, in 2009, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor decided to address the issue by founding iCivics, a free online website that teaches civics concepts using educational games. The retired Justice’s vision for civics education has expanded over the years at Baylor University through the iEngage Summer Civics Institute.

From Aug. 5-9, 100 fifth- through ninth-grade students will learn about civics at the annual summer camp hosted by the Baylor School of Education through a grant from the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation.

iEngage is directed by education faculty members and camp co-founders Brooke Blevins, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the department of curriculum and instruction, and Karon LeCompte, Ph.D., associate professor of curriculum and instruction.

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July 23, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor Beginning Teacher Institute Provides Professional Development, Creates Community [07/22/2019]

Dr. Barbara Purdum-Cassidy, clinical assistant professor and director of the Beginning Teacher Institute, greets the graduates.

Second-grade teacher Katelyn Hamilton described her first year of teaching as a “complete whirlwind.”

“When you work with kids there are no dull moments, and being a new teacher is like dodging 100 baseballs at once while being blindfolded,” Hamilton said. “Whether it’s avoiding someone’s puke or bathroom accident, comforting a crying student during your class yearbook photo or chasing a rogue child around the school in your favorite pair of shoes, each day is an adventure. But for every challenging moment I encountered, it was all worth it for the spontaneous hugs, the strange knock-knock jokes, the handmade cards and the ‘aha’ moments that all teachers love. For every hard moment, there was a moment of clarity.”

Baylor School of Education’s inaugural Beginning Teacher Institute brought early-career teachers like Hamilton together for two days in June to provide development and training while connecting them with other educators and friends who are in the beginning stages of their careers.

READ MORE . . .

June 24, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor Freedom Schools Helping to Prevent Summer Learning Loss in Waco Students [06/24/2019]

Baylor’s third annual Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools program has launched at Indian Spring Middle School and J.H. Hines Elementary School, both in-district charters through the Transformation Waco initiative of Waco ISD. The program will serve more than 170 students, providing quality literacy enrichment from June 12 – July 26. The program is free to students and includes field trips, special guests and meals.

Freedom Schools literacy program exposes students to culturally relevant books for maximum student engagement and the prevention of summer learning loss. Freedom Schools also offers curriculum in social action, character building and STEAM activities. Freedom Schools students, called “scholars,” will participate in community service and create a project for the National Day of Social Action focusing on gun violence and awareness.

Dr. Lakia Scott with Freedom School scholars

Lakia M. Scott, Ph.D., assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in the Baylor School of Education and executive director of Baylor’s Freedom School, said the program has successfully prevented summer learning loss in participants. For 2018 participants, who were middle school students only, 100 percent either improved (80 percent) or maintained (20 percent) in independent in-text word recognition skills. And 94 percent of scholars increased or maintained comprehension, based on independent questioning, with 77 percent increasing and 17 percent maintaining. Continue Reading →

June 19, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor’s Center for Christian Education to Host inaugural Academy for Transformational Leadership [06/19/2019]

The Baylor Center for Christian Education (CCE) will host the inaugural Academy for Transformational Leadership conference June 23-25 in Waco. The Academy is a professional development forum for leaders of preK-12 Christian schools who want to explore the philosophical, clinical and theological foundations of Christian schools and the role leadership plays within that environment.

Attendees will include more than 125 heads of public and private schools, including principals, school board members, financial managers and the directors of enrollment, marketing and spiritual life. This year’s theme is “The Essentials of Christian Educational Leadership.” During the course of three days, topics will include collaborative leadership, Christian education and its purpose, developing future leaders, managing institutional change for greater faithfulness, the primary role of the Christian school leader, effective board leadership, and development and fundraising.

Dr. Matt Thomas, Executive Director

“It’s no secret that leading Christian schools has become more challenging than ever before,” said Dr. Matt Thomas, executive director of the CCE. “In fact, today’s Christian school leader faces issues and concerns that weren’t even a thought 25 years ago.”

Keynote speaker for this year is Dr. Michael Lindsay, a Baylor alumnus and the President of Gordon College in Wenham, Mass. Lindsay’s Monday evening topic is “A Legacy of Influence: Developing the Next Generation of Christian Leaders.” Continue Reading →

June 18, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor SOE Hosts Institute for Graduates who are Early-Career Elementary Teachers [06/18/2019]

Early-career teachers who are Baylor SOE graduates will be back on campus June 21-22 for professional development. When they share stories from their first-year teaching adventures, the alumna who set up this classroom will have a tale to tell. She had only been a teacher for seven days when her first classroom was lost to Hurricane Harvey.*

More than 20 elementary classroom teachers who are recent graduates of Baylor School of Education (SOE) will be on campus June 21 – 22 for the inaugural Baylor Beginning Teacher Institute (BBTI).

The free professional development opportunity is offered as a benefit for Baylor graduates who are current elementary teachers and who earned degrees in general education, elementary education, special education, or gifted-and-talented programs in 2016, 2017, or 2018. Only limited spots were available for the institute’s first year, and the program will expand to secondary graduates for 2020.

By supporting early-career teachers, Baylor SOE hopes to improve retention in the teaching profession, said Dr. Barbara Purdum-Cassidy, clinical professor and coordinator of the School of Education’s elementary education program, the School’s largest major. Continue Reading →

June 12, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Local Social Studies Teachers to Explore Cameron Park and Branch Davidian History [06/12/2019]

Baylor’s Texas Collection was the site of one session for the HOT Social Studies teachers’ conference in 2018.

Baylor School of Education (SOE), in collaboration with the Heart of Texas Council for the Social Studies (HOTCSS), will host the Social Studies Academy (SSA) Summer Summit on June 18-20. Launched in 2017, the three-day seminar is one of three annual events SSA hosts to bring together Central Texas social studies teachers and Baylor teacher-education faculty members. Together they share engaging curriculum from their own classrooms while developing professionalism and community involvement. Continue Reading →

June 3, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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University for Young People Launches for 2019 [06/03/2019]

Baylor School of Education’s summer enrichment program for gifted and talented students, University for Young People (UYP), launches June 3, 2019.

Baylor UYP’s program for fourth-twelfth-grade students runs daily through June 21 on the Baylor campus. Classes are offered in three different one-week sessions, and students may sign up for two each week. Students may choose from dozens of courses, taking one class in the morning and one in the afternoon. Courses for 2019 include cooking for nutrition, water quality, robotics, art, poetry writing, improvisational acting, superhero physics, computer game design, and more.

“We are welcoming 104 students in grades 4-12 to the Baylor campus for up to three weeks of courses,” said Dr. Jenny Robins, clinical assistant professor and director of the Center for Gifted Education & Talent Development, which operates UYP. She said that the students thrive by being around other gifted students similar to them. Continue Reading →

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