June 2025 Newsletter

What Do Juneteenth and Math Education Have in Common?

Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, marks the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the emancipation of enslaved people—more than two years after it was declared. Just as freedom was unjustly delayed for enslaved people, many Black students today are still waiting for access to meaningful, empowering math education. What can teachers do to remove systemic challenges from the classroom? Prof. Charles E. Wilkes and his colleague recommend using the Rights of the Learner framework to return power and agency to students. Learn more about using Juneteenth as a model to transform math education for all learners.

Statewide Study Taps 3,000 Students to Research Thiamine Deficiency that Sets Salmon Spinning

When researchers from UC Davis and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife observed juvenile salmon swimming in spinning patterns and dying at increased rates, they turned to the Center for Community and Citizen Science (CCCS) and GEAR UP STEM Rural Valley Partnership to create a student-centered research study. Read how CCCS and GEAR UP’s efforts enabled more than 3,000 students across five California counties to become climate stewards to their local ecosystems.

School of Education Faculty Members Ambrose and Ramirez Retire

Professor Rebecca Ambrose and multiple subject credential supervisor Drina Ramirez will retire on July 1. We extend our deepest appreciation to them for their outstanding contributions. Their commitment to teaching, scholarship, and service has profoundly shaped our community and enriched the lives of countless students and colleagues.

Rebecca Ambrose dedicated 23 years of research, teaching, and service to UC Davis. She spent 10 years as a junior high mathematics teacher before earning her Ph.D. in 1998 from University of Wisconsin—Madison. Ambrose joined the UC Davis School of Education in 2002 as an assistant professor, served as Chair of Teacher Education from 2014-18, and was promoted to the rank of professor in 2015. Her research examines the math conversations teachers have with their students and the ways math teachers can better support English language learners. She has been part of a movement to make mathematics instruction more equitable, so all students see themselves as thinkers, capable of figuring things out for themselves and using math to make their worlds a better place. Read more about Ambrose’s contributions to the education field.

Drina Ramirez served as a UC Davis teacher education supervisor for nine years. She received her multiple subject/bilingual specialist teaching credential from UC Davis in 1976 and her M.A. in bilingual cross-cultural education from CSU Sacramento in 1985. Ramirez began her career as a Title I reading teacher before transitioning into roles as a migrant education teacher and bilingual/bicultural teacher, while simultaneously working as a lecturer and supervisor at CSU Sacramento. Ramirez later served as Even Start Family Literacy Coordinator, Early Childhood Education Coordinator, elementary school vice principal, and elementary school principal. She has been honored by the Even Start Program, Soroptimist International, and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Learn more about Ramirez’s career in education.

2024-25 Teacher Education Mentorship Awards

Each year the School of Education’s Teacher Education program gives a mentorship award to two resident teachers who demonstrate extraordinary support of our students. This year’s awardees are Nick Bua, a chemistry teacher at Monterey Trail High School, and Cate Dayan, a kindergarten/first-grade teacher at Fairfield Elementary School. Learn more about the impact resident teachers like Bua and Dayan have on credential students.

Watch a Tribute to Graduates’ Support Networks

Friends, parents, children, relatives, and faculty members: School of Education graduates share their gratitude for the people who supported them throughout the degree process. Visit us on YouTube or Instagram for more student and alumni stories.

EVENTS

Register for Teacher Education Supervisors Annual Conference

The sixth annual Supervisors of Teacher Education Network Team (STENT) conference will be held virtually from July 30-31. This year’s theme is “Building a Community of Supervisors for Equity and Justice,” and there will be 12 workshops focused on equitable practices in teacher education. Betina Hsieh, Endowed Professor of Teacher Education and Teacher Learning for Justice at the University of Washington, will deliver the keynote address. Visit the STENT project page to register for the conference and learn more about the upcoming event, organized by Dr. Lisa Sullivan.

Congratulations to Our 2025 Graduates

On Wednesday, June 11, the School of Education celebrated the accomplishments of our newest teaching credential, M.A., Ed.D., and Ph.D. alumni at the Mondavi Center for the Arts. “Please remember that we’re here for you,” said Dean Tom Smith in his address to the graduating class. “We look forward to working alongside you, our newest colleagues, towards our collective goal of a more just society.” View a photo gallery to see more graduation highlights or watch the livestream recording.

STUDENT AND ALUMNI NEWS

Ph.D. candidates Jadda Miller and Jaime Ramirez-Mendoza were named 2025 National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellows. This highly competitive fellowship supports candidates whose dissertation research brings innovative and insightful approaches to the history, theory, analysis, or application of formal and informal education. Read more about the work of Jadda Miller and Jaime Ramirez-Mendoza.

Monica Chahal, Ed.D. ’23, was named president of Diablo Valley College. She has held faculty and administrative roles for over three decades at colleges including Clovis, Yuba, and Woodland, most recently serving as interim president of Clovis Community College. Chahal will be the first Sikh American president in the California Community College system.

Kimberlee Messina, Ed.D. ’08, was named chancellor of City College of San Francisco. She has nearly 30 years of experience working in the California Community College system, starting as a Spanish professor at Santa Rosa Junior College. She has taught and led at Foothill College and Clovis Community College, and has served as the president of Spokane Falls Community College since 2019.

Ed.D. student Amal Issa presented preliminary dissertation research at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education.

Jenna Gebhart, Cred. ’24, M.A. ’25, received the Los Angeles Unified School District “Rookie of the Year” teaching award. Gebhart just completed her first year as a fourth-grade teacher.

PUBLICATIONS

Alzen, J.L., Buell, J.Y., Edwards, K., Griesemer, C.D., Zhang, Y., Passmore, C., Penuel, W.R., and Reiser, B.J. (2025). Developing Science Classroom Expectations That Encourage Risk-Taking for Learning Science Together. Science Education.

Harwell, T.A., Meyer, R.M., and Ballard, H.M. (2025). How establishing a marine protected area network has shaped community and citizen science along California’s coast. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12.

Jackson, K. J., Cobb, P., Ing, M., Ahn, J., Smith, T. M., and Kochmanski, N. M. (2025). Developing and Using Practical Measures to Inform Instructional Improvement in Mathematics at Scale. In P. G. LeMahieu & P. Cobb (Eds.), Practical Measurement for Improvement. Harvard Education Press.

Jiménez-Silva, M., Martin, R., Restani, R., Abdelrahim, S., and Albano, T. (2025). Supporting Multilingual Students’ Mathematical Discourse Through Teacher Professional Development Grounded in Design-Based Research: A Conceptual Framework. Education Sciences, 15(6).