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At the CU Boulder School of Education, we are excited to welcome and announce new faculty members who bring a variety of experiences and enhance our community of educators and learners. Please join us in welcoming them to our school and community: Lizz Tetu is assistant teaching professor for elementary education, Derek LeFebre is assistant teaching professor in EFPP, Kate Baca is postdoctoral associate for the National Education Policy Center and AJ Schiera as assistant professor of literacy studies. We sat down with Scheira, who is new to our community, to learn more about what attracted him to CU Boulder.

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Schiera's research focuses on integrating justice-oriented and practice-based teacher education approaches, democratizing teacher education by including youth and local practitioners and exploring how novice social studies teachers learn to facilitate discussions. Schiera began his career in education as a high school history, government, and psychology teacher in Philadelphia public schools before (and after) earning his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania. He was most recently an assistant teaching professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

Why did you choose CU Boulder and the School of Education? 

• I am coming to CU Boulder for the opportunity to be part of a rich, vibrant, multifaceted, welcoming community of thinkers and doers. As I begin this new journey into the academy, the scholars here at the School of Education are ones whose work have inspired me, shown me how principled commitments and methodological approaches can go hand in hand to learn about learning and do good work in the world. When I interviewed here, I discovered how eager the School of Education community was to converse, collaborate, and explore together. All of this is to say: I am grateful CU Boulder chose me, too! 

What are you excited about this upcoming year? 

• The inseparability of teaching novice teachers and researching how novice teachers learn is what makes me tick. I am excited to get connected to secondary social studies licensure candidates in particular, see their growth from fieldwork to coursework and build on the work others have done to create rich learning experiences for them in social studies methods. 

What do you like to do on a day off? 

• The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped my relationship with walking, and walking reshaped my relationship with my neighborhood. Living in Philadelphia at the time, I got a newfound appreciation for all of the things that made Kensington and Fishtown special and told stories of continuity and change-- all while forcing me to slow down my body and mind and be more present. I am eager to see how this habit deepens as an aspiring but *very novice* hiker, taking in the beauty of the Front Range. 

What’s a fun fact about you? 

• For whatever reason, I acquired a fascination for sports officiating as a kid. That has persisted to today in that watching NBA, NFL, or MLB games involves as much attention on the officials as on the teams. Over time, I'm hoping to find my way back on courts and fields as an amateur official of youth sports.