SOE in the News
Recent news coverage of School of Education faculty, students, alumni and programs
Featured:
Dr. Trena Wilkerson, professor of mathematics education
Dr. Wilkerson is quoted in this national story, in which she notes the importance of viewing mathematics from its connectedness to help students, as well as teachers, understand more deeply.
Excerpt:
“It’s about access and equity in mathematics. You can’t wait for geometry and statistics until students get to high school, or only a select few can take it,” Wilkerson, the Baylor University professor, said. “You have to integrate the geometry, the statistics, etcetera, from pre-K through elementary and middle school, so that students are getting a deep understanding of what they need in order to be able to make choices about the mathematics that they take in high school and that they pursue post-high school.”
Waco Tribune-Herald
Featured:
Dr. Sandi Cooper, professor of mathematics education
MELA (Math for Early Learners Academy)
Baylor athletes
KWTX-TV
Featured:
Dr. Sandi Cooper, professor of mathematics education
MELA (Math for Early Learners Academy)
SOE student Dominique Rendon
Excerpt:
”When you think about math for early grades a lot of times people just think of counting,” MELA director Dr. Sandi Cooper said. “It really is more than that, and that’s the kind of thing that we do.”
Math really is fun and games at MELA as students learn number sense through dice and domino games. The program is based out of the Mayborn Museum and in between lessons the students get to explore the exhibits.
The four-week-long summer program is for incoming kindergarten and 1st grade students from La Vega, Waco and Midway ISD.
Baylor Proud
Featured:
Dr. Erik Carter, the Luther Sweet Endowed Chair in Disabilities and executive director of the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities
Excerpt:
“We are eager to collaborate with churches across the country to learn together what it looks like to do this work well and faithfully,” says Carter, the Luther Sweet Endowed Chair in Disabilities and executive director of the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities. “The Scriptures are clear that we are to be lavish with our invitations and our love. Indeed, our faith communities are incomplete without people with disabilities and their families.”
Featured:
Dr. Mar Magnusen, Sport Management
Sam Esparza, 2023 Sport Management MSEd grad
Before the Guiness World Record attempt, the sport management students and Dr. Magnusen raised enough money to buy the sleeping bags, which will be given to homeless veterans in the fall through Waco One Stop and Baylor VETS.
With 1.203 sleeping bags lined up, the group beat the previous record of 550 by more than double!
KWTX-TV
Featured:
Dr. Suzanne Nesmith
STEM+ Camp Launch
Transformation Waco Students
Waco Tribune-Herald
Photos and Video by Rod Aydelotte
Featured:
Baylor SOE STEM+ Camp Launch
Mayborn Museum
Transformation Waco
Dr. Sandi Cooper
Dr. Suzanne Nesmith
Lead Teacher Di Copeman
Julia Morrison, BSEd ’23
Anne Blackaby, BSEd ’23
Featured:
Dr. Mar Magnusen, Dept. of Educational Leadership, Sport Management
Sport Management MSEd student Sam Esparza
Baylor VETS director Kevin Davis
HOT Behavioral Network Veterans One Stop's Meagan Noranbrock
School of Education doctoral student Traniece Brown-Warrens and adjunct professor Dr. Bobby Ott went viral in March!
KXXV-TV
Featured:
Dr. Bill Sterrett, Professor and Chair, Department of Educational Leadership
Waco Tribune-Herald
Featured:
Dr. Bill Sterrett, Professor and Chair, Department of Educational Leadership
Dallas Morning News
Featured:
Dr. Eric Robinson, Associate Professor of School Psychology, Department of Educational Psychology
Excerpt of Op-Ed by Dr. Robinson:
"School psychologists are recognized nationally as mental health experts for school-age children. Their education, according to the National Association of School Psychologists, focuses on 10 domains of practice, two of which are mental and behavioral health services, and services to promote safe and supportive schools.
Unfortunately, most, but not all, Texas school districts severely limit the role of the school psychologist, employing them almost exclusively as testers for special education. School psychologists are well-trained to evaluate students for special education placement, but this is just one of their many roles."
Cypress Fairbanks ISD
Featured:
Kia Willis, BSEd ’01
Office of the Texas Governor
Governor Abbott Appoints McFarland to State Board for Educator Certification
December 20, 2022
Featured:
Dr. Michael McFarland, EdD ’05
Superintendent, Crowley ISD
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Educational Leadership
Clear Creek ISD
Longtime CCISD Leader Named Lone Finalist for Superintendent
November 15, 2022
Featured:
Dr. Karen Engle, Baylor BSEd graduate
ABC Eyewitness News, Houston
Texans Rookie, Houston Native Jalen Pitre Has Jersey Number Retired at Alma Mater Stafford HS
October 15, 2022
Featured:
Jalen Pitre, MSEd ’21
Latexo Messenger
Latexo Elementary Challenges Students with iEngage Program
September 30, 2022
By Greg Richie
Featured:
iEngage Summer Civics Camp
Dr. Karon LeCompte, iEngage Director & Associate Professor
Excerpt:
Latexo Elementary School students partnered with Baylor University’s iEngage Civics Camp. For two weeks, program director Dr. Karon LeCompte was on campus leading the students in learning how to be better citizens by working together to solve different community issues.
Fortune/Education
Is an Ed.D. Degree Worth It?
September 29, 2022
Featured:
Dr. Laila Sanguras, Graduate Program Director, Ed.D. in Learning & Organizational Change
Excerpt:
“When we talk about research, we don’t talk about it theoretically,” explains Laila Y. Sanguras, graduate program director of the Ed.D.-Learning and Organizational Change program at Baylor University’s School of Education. “It’s all about using it in practice and applying it in their professional fields in order to create change.”
KXXV-TV
Local School Districts Work to Reverse Pandemic Test Score Trends
September 2, 2022
Featured:
Dr. Trena Wilkerson, Professor of Mathematics Education
President, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Waco Tribune-Herald
Waco-Area Schools Work Through Teacher Exodus
August 27, 2022
By Kourtney Daavid
Featured:
Dr. Rachelle Rogers, Clinical Professor of Mathematics Education
President, Association of Teacher Educators
Skye Thomas, BSEd ’19, Teacher at River Valley Middle School, Midway ISD
KXXV-TV
Managing Millions, School Districts Making Moves to Finalize 2022-2023 Budgets
August 8, 2022
Featured:
Dr. John Wilson, Clinical Professor, Department of Educational Leadership
Former Superintendent
KWTX-TV
Baylor Hosts Camp where Kids Work to Address Community Issues
August 5, 2022
Featured:
iEngage Summer Civics Camp
Dr. Karon LeCompte, iEngage Director & Associate Professor
Waco Tribune-Herald
Baylor iEngage Empowers Local Students with Civics Education, Wins Sandra Day O'Connor Award
August 4, 2022
By Kourtney David
Photos by Rod Aydelotte
Featured:
iEngage Summer Civics Camp
Dr. Karon LeCompte, iEngage Director & Associate Professor
KXXV-TV
Baylor Civics Summer Camp Help Middle Schoolers Tackle Big Community Issues
August 3, 2022
Featured:
iEngage Summer Civics Camp
Dr. Karon LeCompte, iEngage Director & Associate Professor
Waco Tribune-Herald
Baylor School of Education Camp Teaches "Number Sense" to Youngest Students
July 20, 2022
By Erianne Lewis
Photos by Rod Aydelotte
Featured:
Dr. Sandi Cooper, Professor of Mathematics Education
Director of MELA (Math for Early Learners Academy)
KWTX-TV
Baylor Education and Research Program to Help Young Learners Improve Math Skills
July 18, 2022
Featured:
Dr. Sandi Cooper, Professor of Mathematics Education
Director of MELA (Math for Early Learners Academy)
KWTX-TV
Teacher who Mentors Waco Spelling Whis is Named Scripps National Spelling Bee Teacher of the Year
June 6, 2022
Featured:
April McAdams, BSEd ’02
Midway ISD Teacher, South Bosque Elementary
Baylor Lariat
Baylor Professor Assumes Presidency of Association of Teacher Educators
March 2, 2022
By Jenna Fitzgerald
Photo by Camryn Duffy
Featured:
Dr. Rachelle Rogers, Clinical Associate Professor of Mathematics Education
Excerpt:
After 16 years of membership in the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), clinical associate professor and Baylor alumna Dr. Rachelle Rogers has taken the gavel and assumed her new role as the organization’s president.
. . .
“I would say the overall purpose and mission is to recruit, develop, support and sustain teachers and to speak against the inequities that we see in education and to advocate that everyone should have equal opportunity for high-quality education,” Rogers said.
Baylor Lariat
Free Job Skills Training Opens Doors for Those with Intellectual, Developmental Disabilities
Feb. 21, 2022
By Jenna Fitzgerald
Illustration by Grace Everett
Featured:
Dr. Tonya Davis, Professor of Educational Psychology
Mackenzie Wicker, doctoral student
Julie Hrabal, doctoral student
Excerpt:
“[Wicker and Hrabal] were really interested in the adult population, particularly preparing adults to get jobs and preparing adults to live independently,” Davis said. “Both outcomes are really poor for adults with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. Very few are getting competitive employment positions, and very few are able to live completely independently. Obviously, those are goals we want for all individuals: to be able to work and to live with autonomy.”
. . .
When getting plugged in with the program, each participant meets one-on-one with a therapist for an initial interview and a preference assessment. Then, they spend their sessions working on skill development — something lasting varying amounts of time, depending on each individual’s skill acquisition rate.
Baylor Lariat
Education Concentrations Offer alternate Pathway to Career in Secondary Education
Feb. 17, 2022
By Jenna Fitzgerald
Featured:
Dr. Madelon McCall, Clinical Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Secondary Education
Dr. Suzanne Nesmith, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
Dr. Jenifer Johnson, Director of Recruitment and First-Year Experience
Excerpt:
No matter what leads students to choose a concentration over a major, McCall said those who are on the path to becoming teachers are united in their desire to serve.
“Baylor students are very mission-minded, so they want to serve, and they find out that the best way to serve is to be a teacher,” McCall said. “There are really no other career opportunities where you get to touch a student’s life every day of the week. Even pastors and youth ministers do not see folks in their flock as often as teachers do.”
KXXV, Channel 25 News
Potential Teacher Certification Requirement Faces Pushback from Texas Teaching Organizations
Feb. 14, 2022
By Andrew Lamparski
Featured:
Dr. Suzanne Nesmith, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
Baylor Lariat
Baylor Professor Teaches Educators to Prioritize Self-care
Feb. 2, 2022
By Jenna Fitzgerald
Featured:
Associate Professor Dr. Bradley Carpenter
Excerpt:
In the age of COVID-19, no one is a stranger to Zoom calls. However, for a group of educators led by Dr. Bradley Carpenter — an associate professor of educational leadership — a click of the “join meeting” button is followed not by a lecture or a conference, but by meditation and discussion on self-care.
“The mantra that kind of surfaced in my mind was, ‘Why do we have to choose between leadership and well-being? Why is that a dichotomy? To be a leader today, do you have to sacrifice your well-being?’” Carpenter said. “That’s what I’m focused on now at Baylor: figuring out, what are the interventions for chronic stress, and what can we do to think about self-care, and how do we educate flourishing education leaders so that it’s not an either-or binary choice?”
Baylor Proud
Baylor Prof (& Alum) Ascends to National Leadership Role Serving Teachers
Feb. 9, 2022
Featured:
Dr. Rachelle Rogers, Clinical Associate Professor of Mathematics Education
Excerpt:
The Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) is a national organization focused on the improvement of the teacher education process, dedicating attention to preparing teacher candidates and promoting quality teacher education. It’s the only organization of its kind — and it’s now led by a Baylor faculty member and alumna.
Dr. Rachelle Meyer Rogers (Ed.D. 2005), a clinical associate professor in Baylor’s School of Education, assumes the role of ATE president this month after serving as vice president last year. She was elected to the role in the Fall of 2020, chosen by her peers to lead an organization that she calls the “protector” of the teaching profession.