Lola Muldrew

Education

Ph.D., Math Education, University of California, Davis, December 2012
Dissertation Title:  The Meaning of Adversity within Traditional K-12 Math Classrooms in the United States from the Perspective of African-American Individuals
Advisor: Dr. Rebecca Ambrose, School of Education

Master of Arts in Teaching Mathematics (M.A.T.), University of California, Davis, June 2007

M.A., Pure Math, University of California, Davis, 1997-99
Degree not attained. Completed all units for Masters in Pure Mathematics.

B.A., Mathematics, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, June 1993

High School Diploma, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH, 1979-82
Graduated with Honors.

Administrator Experience

Summer Institute Principal, The Harker School, 2016 – 2019
Work closely with school administration to coordinate all aspects of the US Summer Institute Program, including: admissions and placement exams, emergency management, human resources and communications. Collaborate with academic departments to ensure summer offerings meet the needs of approximately 500 students and 40 faculty/staff members while complementing the school curriculum. During the summer session, manage integration of the summer program with the school at-large.

Planning: Create a supportive and responsive instructional climate for faculty and students. Develop forms and criteria to clarify summer program administration for families.  Coordinate logistical details of operating the summer program.

Implementation: Organize and deliver teacher training on a variety of subjects. Present a welcoming, solution-oriented environment. Communicate consistent and well-defined learning expectations for students, examine teacher pedagogical styles, and provide supportive and meaningful feedback on instruction. Ensure parents are kept informed. Work closely with teachers in the case of student/parent issues related to academics and discipline.

Summer Institute concludes with end-of-summer duties: Attend to gradebooks and reports to schedule/provide/file student grades, credit, and transcripts for completed coursework; review and evaluate the success of institute; strategize goals and innovate procedures to improve the following summer plan.

Mathematics Program Manager, Houghton Mifflin Company, Sacramento, CA, 2002 – 2003
Managed professional development institutes, editorial and product development, and marketing/sales support as part of the Calabash Professional Learning Systems subdivision.

Professional Development Institute Management: Recruited and trained trainers for five K-12 math programs; scheduled institutes and communicated with school districts to customize trainings; assigned trainers and communicated institute details and special issues; secured facilities for institute and worked with logistics coordinator to send training materials; supervised institutes throughout California and nationally, troubleshooting as needed; reviewed success of institute with district contact person; analyzed performance evaluations and provided feedback and coaching to trainers; worked with accrediting university to make available course credit to institute participants.

Editorial/Product Development: Identified customer professional development needs and corresponding state/federal legislation requirements; developed and refined seven math training packages (including scripts, agendas, overheads, research articles, handouts, supplies, videos, PowerPoint presentations and participant materials); prepared product for submission to approval Boards when necessary; maintained product vision to meet or exceed market needs.

Marketing/Sales Support: Communicated content of institutes to sales personnel; developed and delivered training sessions for professional development at national and state sales meetings; developed content for marketing materials and drafted promotional materials.

Summerbridge Director, Brentwood School, Los Angeles, CA, 1995 – 1997
Summerbridge is a nationwide, tuition-free, two-year academic program targeting public (usually under-represented) middle school students with two primary goals: (1) to enroll 7^th and 8^th grade students in an academic enrichment program aimed at supplementing their education, preparing them for rigorous high school academics, and improving their chances of pursuing college careers; (2) to provide an opportunity for high school and college students to teach and act as mentors for these middle school students, and thereby gain valuable career experience in the field of education.

Summerbridge Director responsibilities: Developed, coordinated, and oversaw summer and after-school programs; recruited, interviewed, and evaluated 150+ staff applicants and 80+ student applicants yearly; built and implemented staff/teacher training sessions; advised staff on administration of course curricula; created and managed student course schedules; maintained dialogue with student families and provided advocacy; counseled students/staff and monitored their progress; wrote letters of recommendation; assisted with fund-raising.

Committees and Service

Diversity Committee Lead and Challenge Day Coordinator, Harker School, San Jose, CA, 2014 – Present
Highlights:

• Co-Advisor for newly minted Student Diversity Coalition (SDC) at Harker School.This leadership group will be on par with the school’s Honor Council and Student Government. Goals will include acting as the umbrella for student Affinity Groups on campus as well as addressing social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion needs.
• Advisor for Harker School’s first student affinity group, the Black Student Union (BSU).
• Founded the Student Diversity Leadership Gathering (SDLG) featuring Dr. Rodney Glasgow, noted educator, speaker, facilitator, trainer and activist in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. This program is in its second year and is a follow-up to the People of Color Conference’s SDLC in response to a need for additional DEI work with students and school adults in the South Bay area.
• Coordinated school assembly and follow-up student discussion session with Jay Smooth, cultural commentator best known for his Ill Doctrine video blog, and founder of New York’s longest running hip-hop radio show, WBAI’s Underground Railroad.Focus was on impact versus intention of a person’s words when discussing issues of race.
• Co-sponsored Recreate Reading of the set of essays, “We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation” written by Jeff Chang (American journalist, music critic on hip hop music and culture, and Executive Director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford University) and co-facilitated subsequent visit and student-dialogue on-campus by the author.

Designed and facilitated faculty workshops exploring common vocabulary in cultural competency and role-play to reflect on how people engage with DEI issues. Scripted and directed a school-wide initiative pairing faculty with the Diversity Committee in an examination of student/faculty identity using the “I Am From” poem activity. Provided School Meeting presentations addressing Black History month and Harker Academic Pillars and Code of Conduct (kindness, respect, integrity, accountability). Developed and facilitated LIFE/Wellness workshops for each grade level each year on a variety of topics: “Privilege Walk”; Salsa dancing as a metaphor for doing diversity work; colorism and shadism; exploring masculinity and femininity in societal norms.

Dress Code Committee, Harker School, San Jose, CA, 2014 – Present
Co-managed a student/teacher/parent/administrator committee in a three-year process of reviewing the school dress code in close consultation with our school community. Goals included: balancing the rights of individual students and the best interests of the school; promoting respect for identity and school pride; eliminating punitive language that shames or stigmatizes affinity groups. Led efforts to address gender norms and gender spectrum viewpoints, and to examine the cultural norms of the school and student body preferences.

Challenge Success Committee, Harker School, San Jose, CA, 2015 – 2019
Participated in delivering a new block Bell Schedule designed to reduce student stress and focus on healthy academic engagement. Goals included: reducing singular focus on academic achievement; helping students identify other ways in which they might become confident, flexible, accountable, and connected critical thinkers; fostering healthy and motivated learners who feel prepared for the variety of tasks they will face as adults. Attended coaching sessions with the Stanford Challenge Success Program to support the new Bell Schedule roll-out. Assisted with: determining coherent processes for departments to explore pedagogies at other schools; addressing parent and student concerns. Collaborated with LIFE/Wellness efforts to construct workshops targeting student stress/anxiety issues. Communicated information to students and teachers clearly and efficiently.

What’s Next Committee, Harker School, 2012 – 2016
Examined common thoughts about what learning might look like in the future. Pursued an exploration of education “next steps” through: determining central questions on education that deserve investigation; defining the content areas for the questions; breaking these areas up into affinity groups and subcommittees; attending professional development conferences to bring back “next steps” for the school community to investigate. Content areas included: defining success; creating communities of learners; preparing problem-solvers who can adapt to and be resilient within changing worlds; teachers as coaches rather than disseminators of knowledge; using Global Education to develop sense of community and collaboration with other cultures; online classrooms; flipped classrooms; homeschooling and individualized student learner methods.

Adult Facilitator, Challenge Day Program, 2004, 2020

Alumni Representative, Off-Campus Interviews, Phillips Exeter Academy, 1997 – Present

Alumni Class Correspondent, Phillips Exeter Academy, 1992 – 1997

Teaching Experience

Upper School Math Teacher, The Harker School, 2011 – 2021
Teach five math classes per year (Calculus; Honors/non-Honors Precalculus and Algebra 2/Trigonometry) to secondary school students at an independent K-12 day school; act as four-year advisor for cadre of students. School committee member and problem-solver: Challenge Success Committee; Diversity Committee; Dress Code Committee; Faculty and Pedagogy Committee; Upper School Information Literacy Committee; What’s Next Committee.

Math Teacher, Summer Institute, The Harker School, Summer 2011, 2015, 2016
Taught Fundamentals & Applications of Algebra, a summer enrichment program for grades 6-10. Wrote curriculum for and implemented a two-week program connecting complex and abstract math concepts to concrete understandings about mathematics. Used problem solving activities as new avenues for examining advanced math ideas.

Mathematics Tutor, Self-employed, 1990 – Present
Individually tutored elementary, middle, high school, and college students in all levels of mathematics through Calculus and Statistics.

Associate Instructor, Education Department, UC Davis, Winter 2011
(EDU 098) Planned and taught as Primary Instructor for Education 098, Elementary Math Prereq, a course addressing the fundamentals of elementary school mathematics for pre-service, credentialing teachers. Created curriculum for and delivered 40+ hours of directed group study, and responded to student work. Teacher candidates examined math content and pedagogy from a variety of perspectives: student, teacher, and observer. Reflective analysis of classroom activities provided candidates with opportunities to articulate what works in a math classroom in terms of how content is presented and how students are engaged.

Teaching Assistant, Cultural Diversity and Education, UC Davis, Fall 2009, 2010
(EDU 153) Mentored preservice teachers. Led class activities in a survey course designed to analyze learning styles among culturally and linguistically diverse student populations; examined secondary education through equity and social justice lenses; investigated ways in which racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, and other forms of discrimination permeate educational policy and practice; identified ways to provide equitable educational opportunities to all students. Provided feedback on class projects and student papers.

Teaching Assistant, The Foundations of American Public Education, UC Davis, Winter 2010
(EDU 120) Planned and led discussion sections in a course designed to introduce important frameworks and foundations of education; applied these frameworks to current issues in domestic education policy; debated the implications of current education policies. Supported student research and writing efforts, created a grading rubric, and aggregated scores.

Mathematics Instructor, Learning Skills Center, UC Davis, 1999 – 2001; 2005 – 2009
Provided academic support for college students of diverse backgrounds and skill levels, with special attention given to the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and the Special Transitional Enrichment Program (STEP), a summer “bridge” program for incoming freshmen. Responsible for developing, teaching, and evaluating programs/courses related to remedial algebra, pre-calculus, trigonometry, and calculus. Assisted in administering the campus-wide Math and Chemistry Placement tests.

Associate Instructor, Mathematics Department, UC Davis, Summer 2007
(MAT 16C) Planned and taught as Primary Instructor for Math 16C, Calculus, during Summer Session II. Held regular office hours; developed problem-solving sheets, study guides, and exams; administered and gave feedback on exams.

CCBI Graduate Fellow, Education, UC Davis, 2006 – 2007
Collaborative Classroom-Based Inquiry (CCBI) is funded by the National Science Foundation. Worked as a graduate fellow with teacher researchers to explore the impact of hands-on activities on spatial-thinking development in Elementary School students.

COSMOS Teacher Fellow, UC Davis, Summer 2005 & 2006
The COSMOS four-week summer program offers high achieving high school students the opportunity to explore advanced topics in math and science in a university setting. Teacher Fellows consult with university colleagues on course design, and serve as a liaison between students and faculty. Teacher Fellows support course delivery and lab work, coordinate/guide student work on final projects, and scaffold student presentation skills.

Teaching Assistant, Mathematics, UC Davis, 1997 – 1999, 2005 – 2006
Acted as academic aide for Calculus courses (16ABC, 17B, 21C) and Introduction to Abstract Math (108). Planned/led weekly discussion sessions and office hours; tutored in the Calculus Lab. Wrote practice exams and problem-solving sheets. Proctored/corrected midterms/final exams.

Math Teacher, Brentwood School, Los Angeles, CA, 1995 – 1997
Taught mathematics (Pre-Algebra and Geometry) to middle and secondary school students at an independent day school.  Acted as Academic Advisor for ten students each year.

Math Teacher, Cate School, Carpinteria, CA, 1993 – 1995
Taught mathematics to secondary school students at an independent boarding school. Additional duties and achievements: (1) Advisor to the student-run Cultural Awareness Club; developed and coordinated events focusing on diversity and current cultural issues. (2) Initiated and oversaw Cate School’s sponsoring of the “Yes I Can” Program, a local organization promoting increased educational opportunities for young African-American males. (3) Developed and implemented Cate School’s first Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration, a day of activities focusing on such controversial and germane issues as Affirmative Action, Proposition 187, discrimination vs. reverse discrimination, and the California Civil Rights Initiative. (4) Assistant Choreographer and Stage Manager for school theatre productions. (5) Coach for Fitness/Weight Training.

Teacher Education Experience

Trained Assessor for PACT Submissions, Education Department, UC Davis, Spring 2011
Reviewed and scored the math-focused submissions for UC Davis elementary credential candidates. The State of California requires that all California candidates for preliminary teaching credentials pass a state-approved teaching performance assessment, such as the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT). PACT draws from artifacts created while teaching, accompanied by commentaries that provide context and rationales needed to understand and interpret the artifacts. Teacher candidates demonstrate that they have the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of a beginning teacher in California public schools by assessing their own work: (1) planning lessons with consideration for English learners and other learning challenges; (2) teaching lessons to the K-12 students in public school classrooms; (3) preparing/giving student assessments based on the lessons; (4) reflecting on/adjusting their own instruction; and (5) examining student work/assessment results as evidence of the effectiveness of their instruction.

Instructing Mathematician, Math Project, CSU Sacramento, Summer 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008
Served as a team member with a summer in-service program designed to build K-12 teacher understanding of the logical development of the California State Standards using “HAVE-WANT”: teachers identify a mathematically logical progression of ideas which can connect a concept a student knows, the “HAVE”, with what the teacher wants the student to learn, the “WANT.” Modeled a Socratic, large-group teaching method that used questioning strategies to help students reach higher levels of mathematical reasoning and demonstrated supportive peer coaching techniques.

Other Professional Experience

Freelance Writer/Editor, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, Evanston, IL, 2008 – 2009
Developed and edited units for interactive Reader/Writer textbooks for use with English Language Learners in grades six through eight.

Associate Admissions Director, Cate School, Carpinteria, CA, 1993 – 1995
Assisted in recruiting, interviewing, and evaluating approximately 400 student candidates, including under-represented students through the A Better Chance Program (ABC). Planned and implemented orientation activities for new students.

Fellowships and Grants

Summer Research Fellowship, UC Davis, CA, 2010
The School of Education at UC Davis offers this funding opportunity to a qualified graduate student to make progress on scholarly work.

NSF Fellow, Collaborative Classroom-based Inquiry, UC Davis, 2006 – 2007
National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellowship offers graduate students the opportunity to gain knowledge about student learning and effective teaching practices in their disciplines through the application of educational research methods and classroom interactions.  The grant provides each Fellow with an annual stipend of $30,000 and graduate fees up to a maximum of $10,500.

GAANN Fellowship, UC Davis, 1997 – 1999
The Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program provides fellowships through academic departments of institutions of higher education to assist graduate students of superior ability who demonstrate financial need.

Research Experience

Education Research

Doctoral Research, UC Davis, 2010 – 2012
Dissertation Title: The Meaning of Adversity within Traditional K-12 Math Classrooms in the United States from the Perspective of African-American Individuals
Advisor: Dr. Rebecca Ambrose, School of Education

Graduate Student Research Assistant, UC Davis, Spring 2010
Research Topic: Using Technobiographies to examine how people position themselves now in terms of past experiences with computers and technology
Researcher: Dr. Cynthia Carter-Ching, School of Education
Analyzed research participant essays, developed coding, and entered data.

Collaborative Classroom-based Inquiry (NSF Fellow), UC Davis, 2006 – 2007
Advisor: Dr. Rebecca Ambrose, School of Education
A study of 2^nd – 5^th grade students interacting with a physical math object (Polydrons^TM) that is part of a conceptual domain. Collaborated with elementary school teacher-researchers to develop tasks based on the assumptions that building promotes spatial thinking, describing increases vocabulary and knowledge of geometric classification, and drawing deepens understanding of relationships within shapes. Examined how students were motivated by the creative aspects of the tasks, how students were able to link geometric concepts with vocabulary given the social context of the activities, and how students became more willing to take risks in learning math.

Master of Arts in Teaching Math (M.A.T.) Research, UC Davis, 2005 – 2007
Specialization Discourse Title: The Classroom as a Community of Practicing Mathematicians
Advisor: Dr. Thomas Sallee, Mathematics Department

Presentations and Publications

Diversity, Inclusion & Equity Faculty Retreat Workshops, Harker School, 2015, 2016, 2017

LIFE/Wellness: Diversity, Inclusion & Equity Student Workshops, Harker School, 2015 – Present

Ambrose, R. and Muldrew, L., 2007-10-25, Building A Teaching Community through Building 3D Geometry Lessons. Presented at the 2007 annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, University of Nevada, Reno, NV.

Muldrew, L. (2006). Book Review: Escaping Our Soul Cages: A Review of Jump At The Sun (by Kim McLarin). The Exeter Bulletin, Fall, p. 20-21.

Professional Affiliations

National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)

People of Color in Independent Schools (PoCIS)

American Mathematical Society (AMS), member of Special Interest Group supporting mathematical research and scholarship

National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)

The Association for Boarding Schools (TABS)