News Archives
Planting Seeds of Self-Discovery
How Newbery Medal-Winning Author Renée Watson Connects Story, Identity, and the Classroom
Newbery Medal-winning author Renée Watson believes that stories can help young people understand themselves, imagine new possibilities, and listen to the experiences of others. That belief was at the heart of her February conversations with over 1,000 educators, parents, and students at the UC Davis Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts and the Sacramento Public Library’s Tsakopoulos Galleria as part of the School of Education’s longstanding “Words Take Wing: Honoring Diversity in Children’s Literature” program.
How Teachers Are Building Bilingual Students’ Confidence in Their First Language
A federally funded UC Davis School of Education project is supporting this shift in classrooms nationwide
Bilingual students often live in a context where linguistically minoritized communities are associated with inferiority. Prof. Claudia Rodriguez-Mojica and her colleagues seek to empower bilingual educators to challenge these messages instead of reinforcing them. Through a five-year project, Bilingual/Biliterate Instruction for Bilingual Youth, funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition, they developed a 60-hour online professional development series for K–8 bilingual educators. Two teachers spoke with the School of Education about the insights they’ve gained after participating in the project.
Triple Alumnus Returns to His Roots to Champion Future Teachers
Andrew Hood, Cred. ’14, M.A.
’15, Ph.D. ’25, is dedicated to transforming the math classroom
for students and the teachers who lead them. As a UC Davis triple
alumnus who specializes in mathematics education, he has
committed over a decade of research and practice to building more
equitable learning outcomes.
Noticing What Counts: Rethinking Literacy in Classrooms
UC Davis School of Education Profs. Danny C. Martinez and Alexis Patterson Williams explore the tensions embedded in how disciplinary literacy is defined and enacted in their new book chapter “Noticing for Equity in Disciplinary Literacy Instruction.”
What the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Revealed About Civics Education
New Study Examines How U.S. Territory Teachers Confront Lack of Representation in the Classroom
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 classrooms. Despite the important role that U.S. territories play in American civic life, their histories, political status, and civic engagement often go overlooked in K–12 classrooms.
Waste Audit Brings Science to Life
UC Davis Partnership Shows Students How Everyday Choices Make a Big Difference
At Marguerite Montgomery Elementary
School, the lunchroom has become an unexpected site for science
learning. A waste audit and lesson series led by parent
volunteers and UC Davis School of Education graduate students is
helping children examine how their daily food and disposal
choices affect the environment. By pairing hands-on investigation
with culturally responsive teaching, the program teaches students
how to sort waste and reduce food loss, encouraging them to
identify as environmental stewards who can bring these lessons
home to their families and communities.
Preparing Teachers With Every Student in Mind
How UC Davis Is Advancing Universal Design for Learning
Kindergarten teacher Paige Hendrix marked her students’ cubbies with personalized nametags for the first day of school. But as students arrived, she quickly realized that most of her class couldn’t yet read their names in print. Rather than rushing to teach letter recognition, Hendrix pivoted, taping photos of each child to their cubby.
“I never want my students to feel excluded,” Hendrix said. “My priority is listening to them and using their feedback to guide my decisions. I looked at where I could change my classroom to make it easier for everyone to learn.”
Bird Watching Takes Flight Behind Prison Walls
UC Davis and Land Together’s Citizen Science Collaborative Culminates in Field Guide by and for Incarcerated People
When incarcerated people engage in scientific research, they do more than learn about the natural world: they contribute knowledge to real-world inquiries and learn how to support their communities.
School of Education Webinar Highlights What Students Need to Access Community College Financial Aid
Researchers from the California Education Lab and Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research took a closer look at enrollment challenges during the UC Davis School of Education’s recent webinar, “Untangling the Knot: How Students and Institutions Navigate the Complexities of Community College Financial Aid.” Panelists drew on statewide high school surveys, community college administrative data, and student interviews to shed light on how the financial aid system shapes who enrolls and who finishes.
Emerging Scholars Panel Highlights Role of Teachers in Educational Justice
At the School of Education’s Emerging Scholars Panel “Pushing Boundaries around the Intersectionality of Disability, Race, and Language,” three invited speakers highlighted the important role that teachers play in equitable education. Whether they’re honoring a student’s unique identity in the classroom or shining a light on racialized surveillance practices at school, teachers can bring about just and inclusive outcomes for all learners.
Researchers Turn Burned Forests into Lessons in Climate Resilience
Northern California elementary students are gaining the knowledge and confidence to become the next generation of environmental stewards. Through Our Forests, a program developed and studied by the UC Davis Center for Community and Citizen Science and Sierra Streams Institute and funded by the National Science Foundation, students joined forest managers in the Sierra Nevada foothills to measure tree growth, identify native plants, and observe how forests recover after wildfire. By learning how science works in real time, they’re developing a deeper understanding of ecosystems and the role people play in sustaining them—insights that are essential for informed participation in environmental advocacy.
Ph.D. Student Rebecca VanArnam Named Environmental and Climate Justice Scholar
Read how VanArnam will use her fellowship to make science education more inclusive and accessible to emergent bilingual learners and students from historically underserved communities.
Upward Bound Builds Independence Through College Exploration
Every year, Upward Bound Siskiyou takes over 30 high schoolers on a tour of Northern California universities—a road trip that not only encourages them to start planning for life after graduation, but strengthens their self-efficacy, curiosity, and a lasting sense of independence as well. “These students rarely get to leave Siskiyou County,” said Renee Johnson, director of Upward Bound Siskiyou, a program of the School of Education. “They’re finding a footing beyond their small towns.”
Key Attributes Shaping Success for Postsecondary Women with Disabilities
Postsecondary women with disabilities are achieving high levels of academic success. By leveraging a deep awareness of their disability and a commitment to excel in the classroom, they’re overcoming obstacles that have traditionally limited disabled students’ access to higher education.
Teacher Education Kickoff 2025 Photo Gallery
School of Education Welcomes 2025-26 Credential Cohort
The School of Education welcomed the 2025-26 credential cohort to UC Davis on August 1. More than 100 students, faculty, and staff gathered in the Alumni Center to discuss the upcoming school year, from monitoring degree requirements to navigating unplanned challenges.
Ph.D. Candidate Jaime Ramirez-Mendoza Examines Equity Gaps in Financial Aid
Ph.D. candidate and 2025 National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellow Jaime Ramirez-Mendoza is uncovering how the education field can remove barriers to college for students who have been historically underrepresented at the university level. By studying the ways that the financial aid system upholds racial disparities and the unique assets that minority communities bring to higher education, he believes that colleges can create greater access and inclusion for all students.
Two Resident Teachers Recognized for Mentorship and Commitment to Students
Teachers Nick Bua and Cate Dayan received the School of Education’s Resident Teacher Mentorship Award for their outstanding guidance during the 2024-25 school year. Dayan serves as a kindergarten/first-grade teacher at Fairfield Elementary School and mentored Riya Kumar, a multiple-subject credential student, in her classroom. Bua is a Chemistry teacher at Monterey Trail High School, and hosted Megan Yu, a single subject credential student.
Statewide Study Taps 3,000 Students to Research Thiamine Deficiency that Sets Salmon Spinning
High schoolers' efforts provide model for community-based conservation
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 that enabled more than 3,000 students across five California counties to become climate stewards to their local ecosystems.
Students Prioritize Inclusion at Undergraduate Research Conference
Eleven undergraduate researchers from the School of Education presented studies in inclusivity and representation at the 2025 UC Davis Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference.
UC Davis Addresses Equity at 2025 AERA Annual Meeting
Over 50 UC Davis School of Education faculty, students, and alumni attended this year’s American Educational Research Association annual meeting, addressing topics that included Hispanic-Serving Research Institutions, foster youth, and the use of artificial intelligence in English language learning.
