February 2026 Newsletter

Prof. Margarita Jimenez-Silva and her colleagues examine how the U.S. territories are overlooked in civics and history education, Profs. Danny C. Martinez and Alexis Patterson Williams discuss “teacher noticing for equity” and how it can redefine literacy as a culturally and linguistically inclusive assessment, Andrew Hood, Cred. ’14, M.A. ’15, Ph.D. ’25, describes his research and current work as a supervisor for the mathematics credential cohort, and more news and events from the School of Education.

What the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Revealed About Civics Education

When Bad Bunny performed at the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show, he brought Puerto Rico and territorial citizenship to the forefront of national consciousness. As viewers across the country debated who and which regions count as American, they revealed a pervasive knowledge gap that begins in civics and history education: U.S. territories and their political status often go overlooked in K–12 classrooms, even in the territories themselves. Prof. Margarita Jimenez-Silva and her colleagues are committed to shifting how U.S. territories inform and are informed by the nation’s education systems. In a recent study, they interviewed territorial teachers to better understand how their classrooms are shaped by distinct cultural and linguistic contexts. Read how U.S. territory educators’ insights can help broaden and transform civics classrooms nationwide.

Spend an Afternoon Learning from M.A. Teacher-Scholars

Join us for the M.A. Symposium on Saturday, March 7, 2026, from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. in the UC Davis International Center multipurpose room. Our master’s students will present their teacher inquiry projects, which examine how their teaching practices can improve student learning. Topics will range from social-emotional learning to agency and identity in science and math education. No registration is required. For more details, visit the M.A. Symposium event page.

Support CANDEL Students to the Finish Line

Crowdfund UC Davis is featuring the CANDEL Ed.D. program for the month of February, and generous donors have already helped us meet our funding goal! Because of their support, doctoral students will have the resources needed to finalize their dissertations. There’s still time to donate. To support CANDEL students, visit Crowdfund UC Davis by the end of the day, February 28, or contact Brent Sasaki.

Credential Candidates Share What They Love About Teaching

From watching “aha” learning moments unfold to helping students improve their grades, there’s so much to love about being in the classroom. Visit us on YouTube or Instagram for more student and alumni stories.

Faculty News

Noticing What Counts: Rethinking Literacy in Classrooms

Profs. Danny C. Martinez and Alexis Patterson Williams published a new book chapter on “teacher noticing for equity.” This conceptual approach encourages teachers to monitor students’ understanding beyond traditional markers of literacy, and holds deeper implications for educational equity—strengthening students’ sense of belonging and empowering them to take control of their learning. Read the full story on Martinez and Patterson Williams’ new chapter.

Marcela Cuellar to Advise Office of Inclusive Excellence Initiative

Prof. Marcela Cuellar will join the UC Davis Office of Inclusive Excellence as an AVANZA Faculty Fellow. Spanish for “move forward,” AVANZA is a UC Davis Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) initiative that helps diverse scholars to achieve success and develop a lasting sense of belonging. As a faculty fellow, Cuellar will advise and support AVANZA leadership, faculty, and staff on research and best practices to further the initiative.

Megan Welsh Receives UC Davis Faculty Development Award

Prof. Megan Welsh has received the 2026–27 Faculty Development Award from the UC Davis Office of the Provost. The Faculty Development Program is designed to support faculty members with heavy service involvement to give undivided attention to their research over the course of one quarter. Welsh, who serves as Faculty Director of the Center for Applied Policy in Education, focuses on educational assessment and measurement, including test validity analysis, grading and the evaluation of educational programs, and field-based research-practice partnerships.

Torry Winn Leads Discussion with Visiting Harvard Scholar

At “A Conversation on American Grammar with Jarvis Givens,” Prof. Lawrence “Torry” Winn and Harvard Professor of Education and African & African American Studies Dr. Jarvis R. Givens discussed how Black history is celebration, preservation, and protest: a form of Black memory work that sustains cultural knowledge and honors community resilience. The event, hosted by the History Department and co-sponsored by the Transformative Justice in Education Center, the School of Education, and UC Davis affiliates, was held at the Gorman Museum of Native American Art.

Alumni and Student News

Andrew Hood has experienced the School of Education from nearly every angle: as a credential/M.A. student, a Ph.D. researcher, and now as a staff member. His full-circle journey reflects a deep commitment to preparing the next generation of educators for today’s schools and tomorrow’s challenges. Learn more about Hood’s body of work.

Paul Cody, Ed.D. ’17, spoke with UC Davis Magazine about his upcoming role as Picnic Day Parade Marshal on April 18. “It’s an honor,” he said. “I take great pride in serving as the marshal.” Cody, who is a senior research associate in Student Affairs, served as Picnic Day staff advisor in the Center for Student Involvement for 25 years. On Picnic Day, he will deliver a speech at the grandstands and ride in a parade float.

Johanna Vega Garcia, Ph.D. ’25, Ph.D. students Stefano Cantos, Leyna Kataoka, and Cindy Parks, and a team of graduate researchers will lead the 2026 UC Special Education, Disabilities, and Developmental Risk (SPEDDR) Conference. This one-day convening will take place at the UC Davis MIND Institute on Friday, March 13, and will highlight emerging research in special education, disability studies, and developmental science.

Featured Conferences

Charles E. Wilkes II presented “Mathematics and Smartness…Where Do We Go From Here?” as part of the Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science (CAMPOS) 2026 Winter Colloquia.

Other recent conference highlights include: Nicole Sparapani was an invited speaker at the Northern California Neurodiversity & Disability Symposium. Visit our conference page for a complete roundup of recent research presentations.

Publications

Blanco, M.Y., Rusoja, A., and Singh, M.V. (2026). A broad politics of justice: a practitioner inquiry study into Latinidad & Latine/x education at a college education symposium. Race Ethnicity and Education.

DeMitchell, T.A. and Fossey, R. (2025). A Teacher’s Right to a Private Life: Community Control or Professional Autonomy. Bloomsbury Academic.

Pusey, T.S., Patterson Williams, A., Mustafaa, F.N., Brown, A., Young, A.E., Finno, C.J., Roberts, M., and Barragan, J. (2026). Encouraging Culturally Relevant and Engaged Teaching Approaches in a Summer Camp for Students of Color Interested in Veterinary Medicine. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, 0(0).

Roach, E.L., Mauss, I.B., Uchikoshi, Y., and Zhou, Q. (2026). Emotion Beliefs and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese American and Mexican American Parents in Low-Income Immigrant Families. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 0(0).

Rodriguez-Mojica, C., Briceño, A., Torres, A., Lizarrago, E., Joblon Stoehr, K., and Rutherford-Quach, S. (2025). Middle School Bilingual Teachers’ Translanguaging, Biliteracy, and Advocacy Practices. The CCTE Fall 2025 Research Monograph. The California Council on Teacher Education.