November 2021 Newsletter

California Education Lab Releases Research on College Course-Taking and High School Students

Researchers from the California Education Lab have matched high school and community college datasets to provide a clearer picture of college course-taking among California public high school students statewide. The research has been published in a new brief from Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research. 

A Foot in the Door reveals that college course taking by high school students in California is more prevalent than previously understood: 18.2% of high school graduates from the 2018-19 cohort took a course at a community college at some point during their high school experience.

Participation has grown in recent years among all racial and socioeconomic groups of students, but disparities in participation, while shrinking, persist. While a growing type of structured dual enrollment—courses that exclusively enroll high school students—appears to have more equitable participation across racial/ethnic subgroups, whether or not students will have the opportunity to take community college courses often depends on the high school they attend. 

Interested in learning more? Prof. Michal Kurlaender presented on this research at a recent webinar, now available online. See details under Events. 

Quarter at Aggie Square Features Transformative Justice Studies in Sacramento

Quarter at Aggie Square is offering its first in-person classes this fall, including Transformative Justice Studies in Sacramento, led by Prof. Maisha Winn and Assistant Prof. of Teaching Torry Winn. The fall cohort is meeting with community leaders such as Mother Rose, owner-operator of Underground Books in Oak Park, to explore how businesses dedicated to building and serving communities can make change. Quarter at Aggie Square provides an immersive experience for UC Davis undergraduate students through themed curricula that combine classes, internships and community engagement. Read more about Transformative Justice Studies in Sacramento.

Wheelhouse Receives Grants from College Futures Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research has received two grants. College Futures Foundation awarded $600,000 to expand the center’s support to community college leaders, support a research scholar community and deliver key research on equitable student success, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded $500,000 for general operating support.

Car Mun Kok Appointed Executive Director of College Opportunity Programs

Dr. Car Mun Kok has joined the UC Davis School of Education as the Director of College Opportunity Programs, housed in the REEd Center. Kok will lead the federally funded GEAR UP, Educational Talent Search and Upward Bound programs, which serve approximately 7,000 middle and high school students throughout Northern California.

Kok most recently served with the University of California’s Agriculture and Natural Resources as the 4-H Youth Development Advisor for Lake and Mendocino counties, and has a decade of experience in applied research on family and youth development. She earned her PhD in Human Sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

How Your Gifts to the School of Education Benefit Faculty and Students 

Each year, gifts to the School of Education help us support our faculty and students, continue programs that have far-reaching impact throughout our community, and provide high-quality education to the next generation of teachers. This year, generous donors made an impact felt across the School: 

• Jordan Gamez Martinez, a first generation teaching credential student who wants to set an example for his younger siblings so that they can see “that our futures aren’t marginalized by the area we grew up in,” received one of our School of Education Annual Fund scholarships.
• The Transformative Justice in Education Center, recognized for its impact in imagining just futures for children and their families by addressing harm caused by racial inequities and creating restorative, transformative and humanizing learning communities, received support for its equity-oriented, justice-seeking education projects.
• A former foster youth in our Teacher Education Program received a scholarship to pursue her dream of becoming a middle school teacher through our Guardian Teacher Scholarship Fund.

The gifts that supported these students and faculty as well as others made a direct impact on their education and research. Help us continue to create new opportunities with a year-end gift to the School of Education fund of your choice. For assistance or questions, please email Jennifer Martinez, Senior Director of Development, or call (530) 220-2776.

ALUMNI NEWS

LeAnn Fong-Batkin Named Director of EdInsights

LeAnn Fong-Batkin, EdD ’11 has been appointed to be the new Executive Director of the Education Insights Center at Sacramento State University. EdInsights informs and improves policymaking and practice within and across higher education to help educators and policymakers create better, more equitable experiences and outcomes for students. Most recently, she has worked on the planning and implementation of the Cradle-to-Career Data System at WestEd and has held prior positions at the California Department of Education.

EVENTS

“Face to Face with Chancellor May” Hosts Maisha Winn and Torry Winn

The November edition of the “Face to Face with Chancellor May” podcast features Prof. Maisha Winn and Assistant Prof. of Teaching Torry Winn, who discuss their Transformative Justice in Education Center, this fall’s Quarter at Aggie Square experience, the coolest spot on the UC Davis campus, and much more. Watch the podcast on YouTube.

Maisha Winn Featured in Women & Philanthropy Speaker Series

On November 3rd, the UC Davis Women & Philanthropy’s Speaker Series presented “Histories and Futures: Restoring Justice and Transforming Education,” moderated by LeShelle May and featuring panelist Prof. Maisha Winn, who discussed the intersection of justice and education and how her background has informed her career and her mission. Watch the recording.

Michal Kurlaender Presents Research on Dual Enrollment

College Futures Foundation, the Public Policy Institute of California, and the School of Education’s Wheelhouse Center hosted an in-depth discussion of new research by PPIC and Wheelhouse that reveals promising early evidence about the potential of dual enrollment, where high school students enroll in college courses and earn college credit. The event featured Prof. Michal Kurlaender. Watch the webinar here.

Kevin Gee Addresses Post-Pandemic Data Collection in MAEC Webinar

Associate Prof. Kevin Gee was a featured speaker in the webinar “Data Collection After COVID-19: What Needs to Change?” hosted by the education nonprofit agency MAEC. Among other topics, the panelists addressed how schools can change past data collection practices that may not have been providing a complete picture, and instead collect data that reveals structural challenges and uncovers lost and newfound learning opportunities.

Show Off with School of Education Gear

Looking for a way to show off your School of Education pride? You’ll find shirts of all styles, as well as mugs, hats and more with the School of Education logo at the online UC Davis Store. Proceeds from all store sales benefit UC Davis Athletics.

PUBLICATIONS

• Prof. Jamal Abedi authored the chapter “Accommodations and Universal Design” in the book The Routledge Handbook of Language Testing.  
• Prof. Marcela Cuellar and PhD student Alicia Bencomo Garcia published “Reaffirming the Public Purposes of Higher Education: First-Generation and Continuing Generation Students’ Perspectives” in The Journal of Higher Education.
• Prof. Darnel Degand authored the paper “Traditions, Graffiti, Identities, and The Future: An Interview with Comic Artist Dawud Osaze Kamau Anyabwile,” published in the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics.
• Prof. Kerry A. Enright, Joanna W. Wong, PhD ’14, and PhD Candidate Sergio L. Sanchez co-authored “Gateway Moments to Literate Identities,” published in the Journal of Literacy Research.
• Prof. Kevin Gee authored the chapter “The Consequences of Food Insecurity for Children with Disabilities in the Early Elementary School Years,” published in the book Food Insecurity in Families with Children, part of the “SpringerBriefs in Psychology” book series.
• Prof. Jennifer M. Higgs co-authored “Interpreting Old Texts with New Tools: Digital Multimodal Composition for a High School Reading Assignment,” published in English Teaching: Practice & Critique.
• Prof. Alexis Patterson Williams co-authored “(W)holistic Science Pedagogy,” published in Connected Science Learning.
• Prof. Maisha Winn published the research article “Futures Matter: Creating Just Futures in This Age of Hyper-incarceration” in the Peabody Journal of Education.