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By the Numbers

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 17:43:44 +0000

By the Numbers Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/06/2018 - 11:43

Learn about our latest rankings, growing undergraduate degrees and research report.

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By the Numbers

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 17:43:43 +0000

By the Numbers Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/06/2018 - 11:43

Learn about our latest rankings, growing undergraduate degrees and research report.

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Watch the latest Ed Talks

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 17:20:46 +0000

Watch the latest Ed Talks Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/06/2018 - 11:20

The CU Boulder School of Education hosted its inaugural Ed Talks in May at the Dairy Arts Center. These presentations led by CU Boulder education professors explored topics such as teacher walkouts, hate speech on college campuses, distrust in education, and more. Watch all of the Ed Talks videos.

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Miramontes Doctoral Scholars honor and extend a legacy

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 15:17:37 +0000

Miramontes Doctoral Scholars honor and extend a legacy Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/06/2018 - 09:17

With three university brochures in hand, then-16-year-old Adriana Alvarez went to her high school guidance counselor's office eager to discuss options for college. To her dismay, the counselor suggested she explore options for vocational school instead of applying to college. Alvarez, a teacher for 11 years, a doctoral alumna and former Miramontes Scholar, is now at the CU Denver School of Education and Human Development. Throughout her teaching, she has dedicated her work to bilingual and culturally diverse students and families.

Created a decade ago, the Miramontes Doctoral Scholars program offers fellowship funding and a supportive, family-like cohort for doctoral students and graduates like Alvarez. The program was created by Bill and Connie Barclay, and it was named in honor of his late wife, Ofelia Miramontes, a beloved education professor and CU Boulder’s first associate vice chancellor for diversity and equity.

“The Miramontes fellowship has given me the life-changing opportunity of holding on and achieving a dream beyond what I could have ever imagined,” Alvarez said. “I will be forever grateful to Bill and Connie, and I will strive to convey and portray the Miramontes mission and the legacy that Professor Miramontes left.”

Miramontes Scholars and Graduates—Where are they now?

Magda Chia, director for strategy, impact and policy at Understanding Language/Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity in the Stanford Graduate School of Education
Christina Paguyo, director of academic assessment at the Office of Teaching and Learning at University of Denver
Hannah Jones, academic initiatives coordinator at CU Boulder
Elizabeth Mendoza, postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Irvine
Vincent Basile, assistant professor in the School of Education at Colorado State University
Ruth López, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Houston
Edilberto Cano-Rodríguez, assistant principal at Columbine Elementary, Boulder, Colorado
Jaclyn Hernandez, assistant professor of Multicultural Education and Critical Pedagogy at Western Oregon University
Karla Del Rosal, assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning of Southern Methodist University
Michael Domínguez, assistant professor in the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies at San Diego State University
Sam Severance, postdoctoral research associate at the College of Education at Michigan State University
Jessica Alzen, research associate at the CU Boulder Center for Assessment, Design, Research and Evaluation (CADRE)
Adriana Alvarez, assistant professor in bilingual/bicultural education at the University of Texas at Austin
Vanessa Santiago Schwarz, postdoctoral research position at CU Boulder
Paty Abril-Gonzalez, assistant professor in bilingual/bicultural education at the University of Texas at Austin

Current scholars: Ana Contreras, Derek LeFebre, José Ortiz, Jennifer Pacheco, Joshua Prudhomme, Robbin Riedy, Maria Ruiz Martinez, Christopher Saldaña, Ashley Scroggins, Elizabeth Silva and Cecilia Valenzuela.

Photo caption: Current and past Miramontes Doctoral Scholars with BIll and Connie Barclay at the 2018 Miramontes Scholars Celebration.

Supporting students

These fellowships have had a huge impact on students and alumni, but we have a long way to go in supporting all students. Contribute to student scholarships and learn about other areas of highest need at colorado.edu/education/give.

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Keeping the Dream Alive

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 17:48:46 +0000

Keeping the Dream Alive Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/05/2018 - 11:48

How a musical ’60s activist became a champion of education

By Kenna Bruner

As Tom Windham stood among the 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech galvanized the 19-year-old.

The experience of participating in the 1963 March on Washington propelled him toward a keen interest in facilitating the emergence of talent, of opportunity and achievement for people who for generations have been indoctrinated to believe that they are not deserving.

Known for creating learning and mentoring communities, Tom Windham (PhDPsych’75) is highly regarded as a diversity expert, advocate and educator and an active supporter of CU Boulder’s School of Education.

“Education has always been my passion,” said Windham, a longtime member of the School of Education Development Advisory Board. “It’s in my DNA from my parents and my community.”

Windham grew up in Harlem and the South Bronx during a time of burgeoning political activism when many groups were mobilizing to protest for better schools, jobs and housing. The area was also a recruiting ground for black nationalist groups.

The opportunity to be a part of the March on Washington came from his summer job working as a machinist in an AFL-CIO union shop that was supportive of the march and provided transportation for the employees to attend.

“The significance of that experience grew after the march,” he said. “To see that you’re not alone, that so many people want the same outcomes, was very motivating. Then to come back home and share it with my family and community was incredible. We talked about things that we could not have talked about otherwise. I witnessed a shift in attitudes and behavior from a posture of powerless victims to persons with agency, as legitimate first-class citizens.”

Using music as a foundation for learning

Before his college education started, Windham attended the New York City School of Music and Art. He auditioned on the piano. The school didn’t teach piano, so he was assigned the contrabass, which he still has to this day.

Playing the contrabass wasn’t all that Windham learned at the school. In the charged political milieu of that time and place, he learned about the power of using music and art to protest against inequities.

That emphasis continued during his undergraduate years at New Mexico Highlands University, where he was a member of The Don’t Care Singers, whose repertoire consisted largely of protest and freedom music.

At first, Windham wasn’t interested in college, but from other students he learned about the many doors a college degree could open for making change.

“I said, ‘Wow. Everybody is doing it, doing it, doing it. Let me check this out,’” he said.

He went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from New Mexico Highlands University, and his doctorate in psychology from CU Boulder. He also received a specialist in education degree from CU Denver.

Music continued to be an important theme, as Windham applied musical structures and foundation to his practice of psychology and education.

“Music talks about harmony and interdependence,” he said. “When you’re in an ensemble, jazz in particular, you listen to what other musicians are doing to see how you can complement what they’re doing. You listen so you know that when it’s time for you to do your thing, you can do it in a way they can support and encourage.”

Being prepared for opportunity

Windham draws inspiration from imagining the possibilities of what people can achieve when they are motivated to initiate change.

“I see the potential of what we could be,” he said. “Education is primary to bringing us closer, being credentialed in ways that one can’t dispute the validity of the perspectives you’re representing.”

In fact, education continued to be a common thread throughout his careers as a psychologist, mentor, CEO of a mental health center, director of an undergraduate-to-graduate program and board member.

His advice to students is to go into education with their eyes open and to give serious thought to how to prepare not only for the classroom but also for the social dynamics that influence the classroom, the state and the nation.

“We’re seeing momentum coming from many areas of the country that are pressing upon local, state and national government to raise public education to a higher priority,” Windham said. “I’ve learned to believe even when it’s dark that the sun’s going to rise, and when it does, that new horizon is going to offer incredible opportunities. I’ve learned to be prepared, even when I don’t see the opportunity, but I know it’s there and it’s worth fighting for.”

How a musical ’60s activist became a champion of education. Tom Windham, a longtime supporter of the School of Education, shares his passion for pushing public education to a higher priority, and his advice for students. “I’ve learned to believe even when it’s dark that the sun’s going to rise, and when it does, that new horizon is going to offer incredible opportunities."

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