Cohort 2 2012-2016 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warley Williams III | Lisa Whelan |
Soraya deBarros | Chad Argotsinger | David Chandler | Melissa Hammond | Oksana Jackim | Elizabeth Janson | |
| Isaya Odiembo | Greg Sethares | Carmelia Silva |
Joel Singer |
Halley Zanconato | Eva dos Santos | |||
Cohort 1 2011-2015 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amy Darling | Benjamin Parsons | Dominique Branco | Gary Marden | Jennifer Pacheco | Joseph daSilva | Kate Warren | M. Teresa Mascarenhas | Thad LaVallee |
Melissa Hammond
Both my BS and MS degrees are in the field of biology. I have been working as the laboratory coordinator for the sciences at a local community college for the past six years. Working at a community college and being involved with various college committees has exposed me to the many problems facing students, instructors, staff and administrators. After listening and taking part in many conversations outlining the issues, I realized that I wanted a more active role in education. This led me to the graduate program in educational leadership and public policy at UMASS Dartmouth. This program allows me to earn a PhD while working full time and involves face-to-face interactions with faculty and students in my cohort. My research interests are continually changing but I believe that this program will help me become a transformative leader so that I can do more than discuss the current issues in education, I can be part of the solutions.
Watch Melissa's Video Interview
Back to Top
Halley Zanconato
I have always loved to read and write. I earned my bachelors degree in English and Creative Writing from Mount Holyoke College, and I taught 10th and 11th grade English for a couple of years in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. During that time, I pursued my Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) with a specialization in Digital Libraries through Rutgers University. I became a Library Media Specialist at Egremont Elementary School, the largest elementary school in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, while also working for the Reference Department of the Berkshire Athenaeum. My husband and I have recently relocated to the South Coast, and I am excited to begin my new position as Library Media Specialist at Dartmouth High School. I am honored to be a part of the second cohort in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program at UMass Dartmouth. When I originally discovered the program, I knew that it would be an ideal fit with immense possibilities for broadening my knowledge and experiences in this important and ever-changing field. I am specifically looking to consider the interplay between libraries and the larger landscape of education in terms of impact, effectiveness, and growth.
Watch Halley's Video Interview
Back to Top
David Chandler
My name is David Chandler. I received my Masters of Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2009, and I am a graduate of the Leadership South Coast Program in 2008. I have been employed with the Department of Youth Services since 1998, and have been actively involved in initiatives to improve positive outcomes for court involved youth and other vulnerable populations. My research interests involve social justice in the juvenile justice system including; Positive Youth Development, Disproportionate Minority Confinement, Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, Workforce Issues for juvenile corrections employees, and use of Social Impact Bonds.
Back to Top
Elizabeth Janson
Since I was a child, I have had the opportunity to simultaneously view the educational system from the eyes of a student and also through the voices of the many teachers within my family. I attempted to break from the family tradition of teaching and explored psychology and criminal justice as an undergraduate. However, the stories of the youth that I worked with pulled me back to teaching as I realized the need to help them within high school, not just afterwards. As a teacher, I continue to reflect on this system of which I am now a part, as well as the hegemonic power relations authenticated through the accepted curriculum and pedagogy. Education is changing, drifting even further from a democratic vision of participation and critique and towards a culture of standardization, which disempowers youth from surpassing expectations and creating a society linked with humanity. Through this program, I hope to analyze how schools play a role in the development of identities, discourses, and hegemony within a globalizing and technologically advancing society.
Watch Elizabeth's Video Interview
Carmelia P Silva
I am currently a Spanish language and culture teacher. As a secondary public school educator for the past twelve years, I have seen many policies trickle-down from the top that seem to have little to do with the growth and development of every child. My own personal experience as a second-generation Azorean immigrant student, attending one of the largest school districts in Rhode Island, I feel that there was a lack of connection and understanding to appropriately serve the diverse student’s individual needs. My personal experiences have made me sensitive to the complex effects of assimilation into mainstreamed American culture, as well as, the detriment associated with the loss of the minority culture. In this program, I would like to further investigate the affects of hegemonic cultural views and the deficient integration of culture in the formation of the adolescent’s development and academic attainment.
Watch Carmelia's Video Interview
Isaya Odiembo
I am currently serving as an Assistant Manager at Justice Resource Institute. Worked at Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (Canton) for 8 years in various capacities - residential coordinator, teacher assistant, Monitor, Quality assurance among others. An Alumnus of Salve Regina University (Newport) and University of Nairobi (Kenya). Learnt about Educational Leadership program when I was at cross roads - and managed to turn to SEPPCE - UMass Dartmouth, where I saw my dream. I embrace social justice and the fight for equality and equal opportunities. My research interest is in education systems in developing countries with special interest in Kenyan education system.
Eva C. dos Santos
I am currently the founder and President of Hemingway English Institute in Fall River. At the institute, we teach English as a Second Language, Portuguese, Mandarin-Chinese, and Spanish. I first taught English at local community colleges and then worked as an ESL coordinator for Catholic Social Services, designing and coordinating a number of programs for the local immigrant community. My research will focus on psychosocial issues that are associated with achievement disparities among second language learners.
Greg Sethares
I have been a math teacher since graduating with my bachelor’s degree 27 years ago, both in high school and at a community college. Over the years I have found myself involved in a variety of organizations and activities, union, faculty senate, creating and directing academic programs and departments, and advocating for student opportunities and faculty rights. These experiences have frequently caused me to look at my schools and their policies with a critical eye. So when I first read about this program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, it almost seemed as if the program had been created for me. It would allow me to engage in study of issues related to education, leadership, and policy, which would hopefully help make me better able to transform the lives of students in my classes, colleagues at my institution, and even the institution itself. In the future, whether as a faculty leader or as an administrator, I believe the contemplation associated with this program will help me become a better educator and leader.
C. Chad Argotsinger
I currently serve as Director of Alumni Relations at UMass Dartmouth where I celebrate and engage alumni and friends with the University and each other through lifelong connections. I was drawn to the Educational Leadership and Public Policy doctoral program for its blend of theory and practice, the combination of higher education and public policy, and the strong connection to the local educational community. In terms of research interests, I am particularly drawn to the distinctions and similarities between public and private institutions of higher education and college retention/transition including the inequalities of persistence by various minority populations.
Lisa Whelan
My name is Lisa Whelan and I am a student in Cohort II of the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program at UMass Dartmouth. I have been involved in education and working with children for the past 21 years. This has included preschool, teaching Grade 3, as well as Principal and Curriculum Coordinator. I plan to continue my research in Educational Leadership around student attendance and learning, and how socioeconomic factors play a part in this. As we know, when students are not in school, they are not learning. It is my goal to determine significant factors that play a role in this critical issue, and how school leadership can be a primary role model in improving attendance in school.
Warley J. Williams, III
I was born and raised in New Bedford and I am passionate about increasing the strength of my community through educating its youth. Before becoming the principal of New Bedford’s Alternative school, Whaling City Jr/Sr High School, I taught social studies for over three years, and as a lifelong resident of an urban city that deals with high levels of poverty, pollution, homelessness and substance abuse; in the classroom, as well as in the community, I became a delegate for social justice and interwove my philosophy into everyday lessons in order to educate students in thinking critically about conditions surrounding them. I have entered the Educational Leadership Program for the specific reason of equipping myself with the tools necessary for being a transformative leader on New Bedford’s school committee, while serving New Bedford’s students as principal, with the intention of leading by example with cogent, modern, and tried methods through “critical” lenses. Ultimately, I would like to focus my research on compiling engaging, yet rigorous instructional planning and pedagogy that caters to urban teens that have been historically marginalized.
Watch Warley's Video Interview
Amy Darling
As an elementary school teacher I am interested in the educational policies and curricula that impact young students. My research interests include how we are preparing our teachers for their leadership role as they enter a classroom as well as the importance of humanities and character development in education. The courses I have taken so far have allowed me to learn more about the world that surrounds me, the impact it has on the educational system, and how I can affect change. Throughout this program I am developing skills critical to being a transformative leader.
Benjamin Parsons
I currently teach French and serve as Dean of Students at Falmouth Academy, a 7-12 grade independent school in Falmouth, MA. I was drawn to the program for its interdisciplinary curriculum, its commitment to social justice, and its outstanding faculty. In addition, I was interested in the bridge the program could create for me between private and public education. I could never have imagined how rich in interests and backgrounds our pioneering cohort would be, and how supportive they would be to an aspiring school leader like myself. My research interests include the small-schools movement and its impact on ideological transformation, democratic schools and school culture, and alternative forms of assessment.
Dominique Branco
Having worked in the public sectors of health care, justice system, and education; the issues in which society are faced with such as social, racial, and ethical disparities drove me to inquire and take on this journey towards critical transformative leadership. I am interested in researching the “zero tolerance” policy and the school-to-prison pipeline. Today’s education system is in crisis; as a new wave of administrators enter the field of education, the focus of human growth and need for social justices are essential.
Watch Dominique's video interview
Gary Marden
I am the Civic Engagement Grant Coordinator for the Leduc Center for Civic Engagement at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. I manage numerous grants, including federal, state and foundation grants. My research interests include cultural capital theory, critical social theory and power theory, organizational behavior, and LGBT issues.
Jennifer Pacheco
I am enrolled in the Education Leadership & Policy Studies Doctoral Program because I am passionate about protecting and critically transforming public education, removing the social injustices and making it a more equitable and attainable public good for all. I believe that public education is the core of a democracy and with a distinctive doctoral program as this we can begin the plight to change public education in this region and beyond. My research interests are focused on public higher education in the areas of ethnic studies in curriculum, class issues, and critical race theory.
Watch Jennifer's Video Interview
Joseph daSilva
I am an award-winning registered school architect and a public servant for the Rhode Island Department of Education. I am responsible for the construction oversight of the State’s public school facilities. Under my leadership, the Department’s School Construction Program has been transformed into a nationally recognized “green schools” exemplar. I received myAssociate’s degree from Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA, and my Bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Following my Master’s degree in environmental science with a sustainability focus from the University of Rhode Island; I received an adjunct appointment at Bristol Community College in the Mathematics, Science and Engineering Division. My doctoral work explores hegemonic elements of school architecture and planning to promote student learning and improve educational attainment.
Watch Joseph's Video Interview
Kate Warren
I first entered UMass Dartmouth’s Education Leadership and Policy Studies Program as a Massachusetts licensed administrator and teacher. While I had studied state and federal law, finance, personnel, and other administrative related topics, I was not quite ready to enter an administrative role. Though my prior education had prepared me for a career advance, my soul still struggled with several concepts. In fact, it was those notions that led me to the Education Leadership and Policy Studies Program. With the guidance UMass Dartmouth’s doctoral program provided, I started to address several contentious subjects. It became personal habit to complexify and research standardization, deprofessionalization of teachers, adolescent identity, integrated academics, and best practices in vocational education. Via online discussion, face-to-face interaction, in-depth text analysis, and written discourse, I navigated a path through many education-related positions, and, despite the conceptual strife doctoral all students face, narrowed my own thesis interests to include topics relating to the Common Core State Standards. With the help of my professors and colleagues, I hope to investigate this continuation of standardization and add merit to the field by proving the Common Core to be nothing more repetitive policy practice.
M. Teresa Mascarenhas
My interest and involvement in education date back to 1980 when I started teaching a combined second and third grade bilingual class in South Boston. The experience of helping disadvantaged students led me to pursue a Master’s of Education in School Counseling and Consulting, at UMASS Amherst, where I also worked as a Bilingual Academic Advisor, from 1982 to 1986. Due to an educational project established between the UMASS Amherst Institute of Governmental Services and General Motors, I became Educational Services Coordinator at the GM plant in Framingham, MA. I was responsible for the development and implementation of college classes for plant workers seeking an Associate’s degree as a way of helping them with their outplacement given the fact that the plant was slated to close in 1989. From there I moved to Portugal where I continued I continued my professional work in education but with more fortunate and elitist students by working at the American School in Lisbon from 1989 to 1992, as an Equivalency Advisor, and then at a private international university, first as an Academic Administrator and then as Assistant Dean. After returning from Portugal in 1999, I have been a guidance counselor at Brockton High School, a diverse, comprehensive high school of approximately 4,300 students and am very happy to be helping students in need. In 2011 I embarked on a lifelong goal of pursuing a doctorate. My entry into the UMASS Dartmouth Educational Leadership and Policy Studies doctoral program will further enhance my commitment and dedication to public school education simultaneously leading me to continuously refine my skills, philosophy, and outlook as a critical transformative leader. My interests lie in the areas of assisting disenfranchised students become motivated to pursue higher education and their specific goals, as well as utilizing community programs and agencies to create a triage between school, family, and community to help students overcome the barriers they face and become more resilient in school. This can only be done with alterations to current educational policies and buy in from pertinent entities.
Watch Teresa's Video Interview
Thad LaVallee
The SEPPCE Educational Leadership and Policy doctoral program is the ideal venue to become critically engaged with current "reform" movements effecting everybody who has a stake in education. As an ardent defender of public institutions and democratic spaces, the program is equipping me with the analytic tools and complexificity to become a leader in the move to progressively transform and shape education policy on the local, state, and federal levels to help create learning environments that are more just, equitable, and authentic. Within the program, my lens is focused on "commonsense" - exploring such oft neglected questions as what is commonsense, why did it become commonsense, and how is commonsense maintained or altered at various cultural levels. Inquiry into commonsense is at the heart of understanding why things are the way they are in society and why the things we take for granted go critically unchallenged, namely, in reference to education, why data-driven accountability is now the commonsensical means by which to assess students, teachers, and school districts. My aim is to dissect commonsense so as to grasp how it effects the public's view of policy and then use that knowledge to help progressive initiatives become desired by the public and thus become politically mandated.
Jason Cervone
My main goal for entering the Educational Leadership and Policy studies program is to increase my knowledge in the political factors that determine school management and my ability to take a leadership role in transforming and redesigning education. We are at a point in today's education system where we have become saturated with ideas about improving schools and personalizing education. Many of the same ideas are being recycled over and again with an inconsistent impact. I believe this is not due to a lack of ability or knowledge on the part of administrators, most educators know what good practice and proper instruction is. The issues instead lie on external factors such as political, economic, and cultural forces on the district. As someone who has worked for several years in research and evaluation, I feel I have a strong understanding of the statistical side of education, that is, data collection and analysis. However, that information is not helpful if I do not know the proper way to use it. Therefore, this program in Leadership and policy would help me to understand the dynamics of education and to use my current knowledge and ability in a more direct and meaningful way.
Teresa Cruz
I am seeking application to the Educational leadership and Policy Studies PhD program in order to enrich, strengthen and broaden the skills and practices that I bring to the role of educational leader. I believe that my resume and recommendations provide evidence of the growth and attainment of leadership and administrative skills, an understanding of community relationships, a commitment to equity and student achievement and the ability to manage numerous professional responsibilities. As Principal of Abington High School, I have learned the valueof collaboration bdetween administrators, teachers and suport staff in the development of a shared vision and the improvement of instruction and student achievement. I have been actively engaged in numerous initiatives to improve student performance and achievement across the curriculum. Under my leadership, professional development has focused on teaching and learning, reflects current research and best practices and uses assessment data to inform instruction. Significant restructuring of our Special Education service delivery model and student support team protocols, have provided a stronger and more effective program for our struggling students. The creation of leadership teams, faculty work groups, and the effective paradigm utilized throughout the NEASC self-study, curriculum review, and labor negotiations are all examples of models in my everyday practice that have supported a professioanl learning community in which teachers and administrators meet regularly to assess the impact of instructional practice on student learning.
Irene De Amaral
My ultimate goal is to complete my doctorate so that I can teach future teachers, conduct research within and out of the classroom, and make a contribution to the improvement of education. Over the past twenty-three years, my journey toward this goal has been circuitous at best. It has carried me through many roles and across the ocean, presenting opportunities to work within every grade from high school to college. My compass has guided me to discover methods to improve my craft as a teacher and the role that research plays toward that end. Collaboration with teachers resulted as a continuous effort to better understand education within its many contexts. By completing this doctorate, I plan to improve my own proficiency in leadership and policy in education so that I can help bridge the gap between research and practice. I am applying to the PhD. in Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth motivated not only by a need to connect with previous professional development processes but also because I want to engage in a new academic project. As I see it, this particular doctoral program complements my first doctorate in Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies and Theory, which I have completed in Setember 2011, and my master in Pedagogical Supervision of 2000.
Amanda Donovan
A fascination with the leadership that shapes higher education and more importantly how higher education operates collectively within the frameworks of Public Policy is what led me to apply to the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies doctoral program at your institution. Without leadership or policy, education would not be effective nor would it even be in existence. A concrete structured system is what allows institutions such as education to operate efficiently and effectively. I hold a BA in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and a Master of Public Administration from Bridgewater State University. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you a few of the assets I believe I will bring to the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Margaret Drisko-Johnson
I came to non-profit management by accident, as did most of my colleagues. I studied Educational Policy, Eesearch and Administration at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and had begun a promising career in Student Affairs. I was the Director of Housiing and Judicial Affairs at a small college less than five miles from Boston. My Dean was brilliant and accomplished. She was a pleasure to work for and learn from. The college began to reel from a financial scandal. Heads rolled and my boss left in sheer frustration. She took a leadership position at Pine Street Inn, New England's largest program for homeless men and women. She asked me to join her there and manage the in-kind donation program. Initially, I though it preposterous that I would consider giveing up life on a leafy college campus to work in a dreary homeless shelter in a Boston neighborhood that most people, at that time, would not consider visiting after dark. After much convincing on her part, I took a six-month temporary appointment at Pine Street Inn, figuring it would be a good experience while I looked for my next college administrator position. That job search never happened, as working at Pine Street Inn turned out to be the most satisfying thing I had ever done.
Marian Fattore
The seed was planted in the garage of a ranch home located on Benjamin Drive in North Providence, Rhode Island. When I was a very young child, I would often play "school" with my neighborhood friends. Of course, I always wanted to be the "teacher", but sometimes had to compromise with my friends and take-on the role of "pupil". I remember fondly those days of playing "school" and now realize that many years ago, in my garage, my love for all things "school" was born. As I progressed through elementary school, my essential "essence" was born and nurtured. An "essence" is an essential characteristic of something-this essential characteristic makes the person who he/she is. Therefore, my "essence" of curiosity led to my "yearn to learn" mantra. I was always interested in learning new things, exploring new ideas and undertaking and understanding new concepts. This yearning was with me throughout my elementary years and grew stronger with each passing academic year. Not only was I excited and curious about learning, but I also wanted to share my knowledge and enthusiasm with anyone who would listen. Looking back, I now know that I have always been a teacher at heart. Hence, my "essence" of curiosity fed my desire to become an excellent educator.
Jason Hebert
Graduate school is an important responsibility. Collegiate study and scholarly work set the foundation for a life devoted to one's passion. I have spent the past eight years in the field of financial management focusing specifically within the area of not-for-profit accounting and business management. This experience has, in turn, lead to a decision to pursue a long-term career in higher education administration. The first step in realizing this long-term professional goal came to fruition in late September of 2011 as I secured a position as an accounting manager at Bridgewater State University in the Advancement Services division. As an integral member of the university advancement team, I am now able to partner the skills and experience that I acquired at the genesis of my professional career with the long-term strategic goals of the advancement division as well as the broader strategic goals of the university. Obtaining a PhD in Educational Leadership will mark the beginning of what I expectto be a loong journey in the field of education as I traverse the inner workings of the University while simultaneously pursi=uing collegiate work and scholarly research. The ultimate goal in partnering my professional career with continued academic graduate work is ultimately to establish myself in the educational community and foster the skills necessary to become a successful scholar.
April Lavoie
I earned my Master of Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in January 2011. Prior to earning my MPP, I graduated from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in May of 2007 with my Bachelor's Degree in Dental Hygiene Science. Following graduation from MCPHS, I was awarded the Online Bachelor of Science Degree Completion Award for Professional Achievement. I felt an enormous amount of personal achievement upon reaching those goals. Earning my MPP allowed me to teach beyond dental hygiene clinical skills at Brostol Community College, enabling me to create three medical loanguage courses. Teaching these courses has given me great satisfaction. I truly enjoy being in the classroom with students, helping them learn medical language, human anatomy and physiology, and human pathology. Currently, I am an adjunct faculty member. I have been teaching par time for almost five years at the college. My future goal would be to teach full time and become mor active in the college community. I have realized that earning a Ph.D. would be beneficial in order to achieve my future goals. I recently heard about the Doctorate program in Educational Leadership from a student currently earning her MPP at the University. Once learning this information I immediately researched the program online and scheduled a meeting with Dr. Paraskeva. Following the meeting, my curiosity was ignited and my determination to apply for the program became reality. I realized my need to immediately apply for the program. I do not feel as though my intellectual desires have been truly fulfilled. Being out of the classroom, as a graduate student since January 2011, has made me realize how much I wish to to become a student again. Dr. Paraskeva mentioned the possiblity of studying the link between Portuguese-Americans and education. Being Azorean Portuguese, I find that extremely interesting. I am te first person in my family to have earned an undergraduate degree. I am the only person in my family with a graduate degree. I truly feel that this program would be of great interest to me.
Alexandra Moniz
As scope to my purpose of matriculation to the doctoral program in Educational Leadership, I would like to provide some lamilial background. My great aunt was the second teacher of Portuguese heritage to teach in the New Bedford School System, graduating from Bridgewater Normal School in 1918 and contributing to the education of Portuguese immigrants for nearly fifty years in the South End of New Bedford, Massachusetts. My grandmother, who received her BA from UMD and then earned her doctorate at Brown University wrote a dissertation which provided seminal understanding of the Portuguese political communities in New Bedford and in Providence, RI. her dissertation "The Portuguese of New Bedford, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island: A Comparative Micro-analysis of Political Attitudes and Behavior" has impressed me with the importance of education as well as the importance of the Portuguese community in New Bedford.
Pedro Reis
I want to become a solid advocate for those who are more in need of an encouraging hand. The theme that emerges more often about education challenges concerns the grading system modification that reflects the overall improvement working in my classroom as the backbone to establish motivation and equity. This issue has always been a concern and priority of mine. I have come to a realization and believe, and I propose that teachers base their student evaluations on criterion-related and progress. Thus, equity is implemented because individuality, identity, and culture are the core of my vision as an educator. Another concern of mine is social justice in schools. I am an eighth grade Spanish teacher at Plouffe Academy in Brockton MA. This IB school offers the Middle Years Program which is based on a challenging standards-based curriculum. The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.To this end the organizatino works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop cvhallenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment.
Michael Savaria
Throughout my college career, I have been trained and immersed in biology and research. I now stand at a crossroads of where I am to take my life, either by continuing on with my education, or by entering the work force, each containing another set of endless options. The decision becomes clear through the fact that biology and research are not just subjects I learned, but have become a part of who I am. Through attaining a Master's degree at UMass Dartmouth, I have finely tuned my focus onto something greater, something that inspires me to integrate my experiences in my own education, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. I entered UMass Dartmouth with the initial thought of becoming a professor, and i chose a field that I loved, biology. I continued on with the major, and duringmy senior year I was presented with the lopportunity to undertake in a research project under Dr. Kenneth Oliveira. This project entailed both field and lab components, collecting migrating American eels and performing artificial maturation techniques on them, which is a vital step in studying a fish that is under review for becoming an endangered species. This project provided me with an in depth glimpse of research methodology, from data collection and statistical analysis, to presenting the data in two posters at a national conference, the American Society of Ichthyologists (2010). After attaining this basic research foundation, I was ready and yearning to continue on into graduate school.
Brandon Strickland
This program of study will best suit my future career goals as an administrator in urban public schools. The university's proximity to and collaboration with, my current employer, the Fall River School District, make this program the best choice for my education. Currently, I am pursuing my Master of Arts in Teaching with a concentration in middle school mathematics at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (anticipated graduation in May 2013). I am also currently in my second year of teaching at the Stone Therapeutic Day Middle School, a public alternative school for students with behavioral and social-emotional needs. Working with these students has helped me realize that a child's education is impactedby a number of factors both in and out of the classroom. An urban educator must not only deliver the curriculum, but he or she must also be attuned to the socioeconomic issues and family stressors also impacting the student's education. If I am chosen as a doctoral student in this program, I plan to focus my research on urban schools' efforts to strengthen family engagement in deucation as well as increasing educators' investment into the community.
Robert Thibault
This program of study will best suit my goals of becoming an administrator in the Fall River Public Schools. The university's proximity to and collaboration with, my current employer, the Fall River School District, make this program the best choice for my education. In 1999, I started my career at St. Vincent's Home (residential program) for Children with a range of four to twenty one year old clients. This experience of working with students and families has been invaluable as I continue my Educational career. Starting with a job on third shift as a residential counselor, I was quickly promoted to first shift as a substitute teacher. From that point onward, all of my jobtitles have involved working in a classroom. I have worked as a high school teacher, while functioning as a part of the management team; as well as a teacher in the community based acute treatment program.I currently am employed by the Fall River Public School system, and I have been employed by Fall River since 2010. I currently teach science at the Stone Therapeutic Day Middle School, a public alternative school for students with behavioral and social-emotional needs. As an educator, I must not only deliver the curriculum, but also be accustomed to the socioeconomic issues of family stressors that can impact a student's education. If I am chosen as a doctoral student in this program, I plan to focus my research on underperforming schools with efforts to strenthen family engagement in education as well as increasing educators' investment into the community.
Phyllis Corrado
I have spent many years of my graduate studies doing research in required areas such as school law, curriculum development, childhood development, and leadership and supervision. I have done significant research and work with respect to the creative approach to curriculum development and adapting educational objectives to the various needs of the students I taught. My teaching experience has been extensive as I have taught 35 years as an elementary school art teacher at Sippican School in Marion and have taught art at a residential program for troubled adolescents for two years. Recently I developed a program of art therapy at Gosnold Treatment Center at Cataumet for patients recovering from addiction and I am experiencing much success as I introduce art into the lives of addicts. My ultimate goal is to obtain a Doctorate Degree as I continue my research in the area of addiction and teaching art to patients who would not have the opportunity to experience their creative abilities. I intend to foster creative expression and encourage their contributions to society as I present problem solving experiences in the areas of the arts and culture.
Colleen Avedikian
In 1996 I was hired to teach as a Part-time Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Crime & Justice Department at UMD. I felt fortunate that the position only required a Master's Degree (which I had earned in 1993). I really enjoyed the experience of being in the classroom and the interaction with students. Education is a transformative experience, not just for students, but for faculty as well! As time passed, I became more involved on campus, volunteering to work directly with students in a variety of capacities, and becoming part of the Faculty Federation Union Executive Board, for example. I played a key role in the successful fight for benefits for part-time lecturers at UMD in 2005. During this period, my interests expanded to include political economy, cultural studies, labor history and education policy. I renewed my commitment to social justice principles during my time here at UMD. (I should add that much gratitude is owed to the Sisters of Notre Dame at Emmanuel College who not only introduced me to liberation theology and social justice, but encouraged activism.) "Theory and praxis!" was the rallying call. In 2008, I joined PHENOM, the Public Higher Education Network of MA, a grassroots organization of all the stakeholders in the state's public colleges. Together we work create an affordable, accessible, diverse and democratic system of public higher education in MA. Presently I am the organizer for UMD's PHENOM Campus Council. This advocacy work involves collaboration with community groups, as well as statewide organizations and political leaders. I was also in 2008 that I became a Full-Time Lecturer at UMD.
Henry Oppong
I grew up in a small town in Ghana, West Africa. My need to serve people, especially children and the vulnerable, is a calling I have answered. My commitment to serving the vulnerable was greatly demonstrated in Ghana where I committed to educate at risk youths. These children were gifted with great potentials, but embraced the tough structures of street life and accepted societal labels as failures, due to lack of support and guidance. One of my students, Kofi, expressed to me and believed that regardless of what happened he was destined to fail in life. I know there was hope and that they were not failures, because failure is an event, not a person. In my role as an educator, I provided leadership and guidance for them, their parents, teachers, school staff and school principals to improve student behavior, reduce violence, and create linkages between homes, school and communities to improve school climate. Coming to America was a life changing experience and a joy. It was a joy because I knew I would be able to accomplish more here for children in need and the vulnerable in our communities because there were more resources here than there were in Ghana. I have decided to further my education by pursuing a PHD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies to better serve the people for whom I educate.
Andrew Twiraga
I am applying to the Educational Leadership doctoral program because it is my ultimate goal to become an educator and to aid others in achieving their own academic goals. This program sounds perfect for what I would like to accomplish in my lifetime; a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership will allow me to take on a leadership role in the realm of education, whether as a teacher or administrator. My career in education thus far has consisted of tutoring and writing assistance. During these times, I was able to successfully impart knowledge unto others, a very rewarding experience. I know now that helping to educate others is a challenge I could happily undertake for the rest of my life, and I will always try to improve my abilities in order to better serve this purpose. My ultimate goal in the field of education, however, is to head an entire college campus, possibly as a Dean or top-tier administrator. I would be eager to be in a position where I would have a strong influence on whom the college would hire as educators; such a proposition would be very exciting for me, and I would work tirelessly to do the very best work I can.
Joel Singer
I graduated from Roger Williams University with a double major in History and Secondary Education. I taught history at Durfee High School and Sandwich High School. I completed my MAT at UMass Dartmouth and am currently a second year doctoral student at UMass Dartmouth in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. My research interests span an array of topics; however, two key concepts I have recently pursued are academic imperialism and democracy's place in discipline. I am currently employed by Wareham Public Schools and within the school community I am an in-school suspension supervisor at the middle school; a high school history teacher for the town's night school program and a member of the district's CARE program.
