May 2026 Newsletter

UC Davis Team Wins Major Grant to Teach Participatory Science to Incarcerated Persons

Science education is growing in an unexpected place: the prison yard. Drs. Laci Gerhart, Heidi Ballard, and Ryan Meyer received a $1.9 million National Science Foundation grant to develop a statewide curriculum that trains incarcerated people to become certified California naturalists. In collaboration with the nonprofit Land Together, researchers will work with participants to conduct biodiversity monitoring, permaculture gardening, and other environmental stewardship efforts.

“It’s huge to have this STEM content facilitated by UC Davis professors to give the men connection and access to higher education, as well as the California naturalist certification they can take with them after release,” said Land Together partner Calliope Correia.
 

New UC Davis Research Examines the Future of California Education

A new body of research provides greater insight into local and statewide educational realities ahead of the 2026 elections. Getting Down to Facts III, a research effort led by the Stanford SCALE Initiative, brings together leading experts across California to examine the biggest challenges facing schools. Sixteen UC Davis researchers contributed eight of the 55 total technical reports, exploring topics that span chronic absenteeism, teacher retention, and student equity.

Prof. Lawrence “Torry” Winn delivered the lunch keynote address at the Getting Down to Facts III 2026 Conference and California Education Lab Executive Director Sherrie Reed presented on the panel “Education Workforce & Instructional Improvement.”
 

Join Us for the School of Education Graduation

Watch the Graduation Livestream

Congratulations to the class of 2026! The School of Education graduation celebration will be held on Wednesday, June 10, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis. Registration for the in-person event is closed, but you can still watch it via livestream. Learn more about the 2026 School of Education graduation celebration.
 

Meet the Graduation Speaker

Learn more about Jaime Ramirez-Mendoza, who is graduating with a Ph.D. in school organization and education policy. His dissertation research examines how financial aid systems can create additional barriers for students of color as they navigate the path to college. Following graduation, Ramirez-Mendoza will continue this work as a senior policy analyst at EdTrust-West, focusing on college affordability and educational equity.


 

Celebrating AAPI Leaders in Education

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Prof. Kevin Gee joined Chancellor Gary S. May to celebrate Kam Wai Lau, an advocate who sparked a Supreme Court case on bilingual education. Visit us on YouTube or Instagram for more faculty, student, and alumni stories.
 

Faculty and Staff News

Cuellar Receives Ewing Marion Kauffman Grant to Advance HSI Research

Prof. Marcela Cuellar received a $475,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for the study “Mobilizing Opportunity: Examining How Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Advance Social Mobility for Historically Underserved Students.” Her research will explore the role HSIs play in supporting students and shaping equitable economic mobility. The grant builds on Cuellar’s longstanding work on higher education equity and Latinx student success.
 

Lindstrom Invited to Serve as Foreign Expert in China

Prof. Lauren Lindstrom has been invited to serve as a Foreign Expert for Changchun University in China, where she will provide lectures, consultation, and research collaboration focused on inclusion for children with disabilities. Beginning in September, Lindstrom will work with university faculty and schools both virtually and through in-person visits funded by the regional Chinese government.
 

School of Education Study on Chronic Absenteeism Earns Best Paper Award

Prof. Heather Rose, California Education Lab Executive Director Sherrie Reed, and Wendi McCaskill, Ed.D. ’25, received the 2026 International School Choice and Reform Conference Best Paper Award. Their study, “It is a Matter of Choice: Chronic Absenteeism in California Charter and Traditional Public Schools,” examines patterns of chronic absenteeism across California charter and public schools.
 

New Research and Funding at the Center for Community and Citizen Science

At the Center for Community and Citizen Science, Executive Director Ryan Meyer has co-authored “Recommendations for Social Science Research and Monitoring of the California Marine Protected Area Network.” Meyer, with co-PI Prof. Heidi Ballard, also received $150,000 from the Resources Legacy Fund to continue a long-running project focused on the role of community and citizen science in dam removal and watershed restoration.

Youth Education Program Manager Peggy Harte received a $14,000 contract from the California Department of Water Resources to support the evaluation of Project Water Education for Teachers.
 

California Education Lab Examines Math Course Trends

The California Education Lab partnered with Policy Analysis for California Education to publish a new report “Subtraction and Substitution: Shifts in High School Math Course-Taking” and policy brief “Subtraction and Substitution: The Role of Schools in Math Course-Taking.” Their research examines enrollment changes in advanced math classes, highlights differences in access and participation across schools, and offers new insights into how math pathways can shape students’ opportunities.
 

Student and Alumni News

Ph.D. candidate Anna Peñaloza co-hosted a nature journaling event at the UC Davis Arboretum through Hermanas Escritoras, a women-led UC Davis student organization focused on science writer identities.

Ph.D. students Mariana Olivo-Urbina and Mariana Carrola Flores hosted the inaugural EdGSA Research Symposium. The one-day event “Emerging Scholarship, Shared Futures” invited UC Davis graduate students interested in education research and practice to gather, present, and network. Dean Tom Smith delivered the opening remarks and Ph.D. candidate Analisa Brown presented the keynote.
 

Ed.D. student Shanine Coats, Sacramento County Office of Education Executive Director, and her colleagues received the Golden Bell Award for their Career Pipeline initiative. The project builds a diverse mental and behavioral health workforce by offering paid, supported pathways from high school through licensure.


 

Publications

Hill, M., and Hart, C. (2026). Going Online: Decision Processes of Community College Students Enrolling in Online Degree Programs. Online Learning, 30(1).

Rusoja, A. and Riley, K. (2026). “Each and Every One of Us:” A Comparative Study of Coalitional Literacy Praxis in Community Organizing and School Spaces. Reading Research Quarterly, 61(2).

Zunino-Edelsberg, V., Welsh, M.E., Jimenez-Silva, M., Santelices, M.V., and Albano, T. (2026). Exploring Chilean Teacher Candidates’ Assessment Literacy. Education Sciences, 16(3).