2021 was another challenging year, but we have a lot to be grateful for as move ahead to 2022 and spring semester. Here are five of our top highlights from the CU Boulder School of Education鈥檚 past year, as聽we look forward to positivity and new possibilities in the coming year.
We hosted an all faculty and staff retreat in August where we were able to come together in person (finally!), learn from youth leaders from聽Project Voyce, shared stories from the old Education Building, explored land acknowledgements,聽paint stones to lay a foundation for our year in the Fleming Building, and more. In November, all alumni and supporters were invited to our first open house during Homecoming Week.聽Learn more about the multiple phases of the Fleming renovations and fundraising initiative.
Our students are at the center of our work. This was a banner year for our School of Education graduates, including the聽inaugural cohorts of bachelor鈥檚 graduates聽in Leadership & Community Engagement and Elementary Education, 14 impressive聽outstanding graduate awardees, and the聽first graduate of the new online Master鈥檚 in Teacher Leadership program.
We welcomed聽Noreen Naseem Rodriguez聽as a new faculty member. Several faculty recieved national honors, for example聽Elizabeth Meyer聽received 2021 AERA award for excellence in gender equity in education research.聽Valerie Otero聽named a 2021 American Physical Society fellow, and聽Michele Moses聽appointed as the president-elect for the Philosophy of Education Society.聽Several faculty members retired, and we sent well wishes to聽Julie Andrew, Bridget Dalton, Kathy Escamilla,聽Bill McGinely, and Jeffrey Writer, who are聽still engaged with聽our community and intertwined with our students鈥櫬爈egacies. Many faculty published new books, with聽several new titles newly released聽or set to publish soon.
Despite its many challenges, this year brought many occasions to convene and support educators in both in-person and hybird online ways.聽The 17th聽Annual Teachers of Color and Allies Summit (TOCA) moved to a virtual format in February to feature聽BIPOC Teacher Panel and Affinity Group Discussions fostering community building and knowledge sharing. In July, A Queer Endeavor hosted the聽Educator Institute for Equity and Justice, engaging more than 500 educators in-person and online. In August and September, a graduate and emeritus faculty member hosted a new聽Climate Change Learning Series聽examining justice, emotion, and action through a series of webinars and a two-day conference. In October, our Teacher Leadership students, who聽are helping co-design and improve the compassion and dignity certificate program, also had an opportunity to learn from and, for some,聽interview聽His Holiness the Dalai Lama聽about dignity and compassion聽in our schools.聽Our virtual聽Children鈥檚 Book Festival聽engaged more than 450 children鈥檚 literature enthusiasts and distributed more than 500 books to聽K-12 classes and teachers over several days in November.
Our ever-popular聽Ed Talks聽series painted a beautifully reimagined picture of what our world and future聽could be with talks like, 鈥淭he Queer Imaginings of a Hopeful Romantic,鈥� 鈥淜eeping Language Arts On The Low: A Low-Key Rap Verse,鈥� 鈥淭ransforming Learning in an Era of 鈥楩ake News,鈥欌�� 鈥淚ndigenous Pathways for Equity and Justice,鈥� and so much more.聽Ed Talks help聽us envision a more beautiful and just world, and 2021's nine聽amazing talks are available for inspiration any time聽online.
It's been a roller coaster year and聽a challenging time for so many, and yet we look back with gratitude for all we were able to accomplish together. We look forward to a new year of new possibilities.