Curriculum and Instruction News
UW-Madison School of Education Dean Diana Hess is co-chairing a task force that’s designed to help identify how University of Wisconsin System institutions can better meet Wisconsin’s need for more teachers and school leaders. Hess is co-chairing this group with Deborah Kerr, president-elect of AASA, the national School Superintendents Association, and current superintendent of the Brown Deer School District. The UW System Task Force for Advancing Teachers and School Leaders in the State of Wisconsin was announced Jan. 25. The task force will have eight members in all and is to produce a report and recommendations by May 1, 2019, for presentation to the UW System Board of Regents Education Committee in June.
The Capital Times recently published an article headlined, “Artist Jerry Butler is making his mark,” that gives a fascinating look at his career as an artist and educator. Butler received his master of fine arts degree from the School of Education’s Art Department in 1972 and a Ph.D. from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in 1995. He has gone on to enjoy an impressive and multifaceted career.
Sandra Kowalczyk, a reading specialist at Patrick Marsh Middle School in Sun Prairie, received the 2018-19 Wisconsin Global Educator of the Year award in a brief ceremony Jan. 16 at the school. Kowalczyk is an alumna of UW-Madison, having earned a reading specialist license through the School of Education in 2005. Kowalczyk was recognized for her work to bring an international perspective to her classrooms and community.
Brava magazine recently released its “2019 Women to Watch” list, and among those being profiled is UW-Madison student Doua Kha. Kha, who is pursuing a master's degree from the School of Education's Department of Curriculum and Instruction, does important research and volunteer work to help other young people better understand their identities.
UW-Madison’s Gloria Ladson-Billings will deliver the featured keynote at the 2019 Reimagining Education Summer Institute hosted by Columbia University’s Teachers College. Ladson-Billings is a professor emerita with the School of Education and is the current president of the National Academy of Education.The Reimagining Education Summer Institute runs July 15-18 and will explore the opportunities and challenges of creating and sustaining racially, ethnically and socio-economically integrated schools.
UW–Madison has chosen three finalists for a national competition seeking ideas to expand and strengthen the middle class in Dane County and beyond, and the School of Education’s Elizabeth Graue is part of a team that’s moving on in the competition. Graue and her colleagues are collaborating on a project titled, “We Care for Dane Kids.” This initiative will utilize a multi-pronged approach to transforming the early childhood and after school care sectors that would supplement income for workers and child care costs, reduce operating expenses for facilities, and create a child care benefit program.
UW-Madison’s John Rudolph was recently interviewed for a segment on Swiss Public Radio’s “Tout un Monde” program to talk about historical trends in education in the United States. Rudolph is chair of the School of Education’s No. 1-ranked Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Rudolph says “Tour un Monde” was producing a five-part series, which ran all week, that examined various issues related to schools and education. “Tout un Monde” is a daily French-language program that is broadcast by Swiss Public Radio each morning.
A fourth edition of “Ideology and Curriculum,” written by UW-Madison's Michael Apple, is being released for its 40th anniversary. First published in 1979, this work has informed the relationship of cultural and economic power in education. It has become widely recognized for its ground-breaking statements, celebrated as one of the most significant education books during the 20th century. Apple has updated his renowned book, adding a full chapter as well as a new preface.
Carolyn Stanford Taylor was appointed the new state superintendent of public instruction after Tony Evers was sworn in as the new governor of Wisconsin on Monday, Jan. 7. Stanford Taylor, like Evers, is an alum of UW-Madison’s School of Education. Stanford Taylor earned her undergraduate degree in elementary education in 1978, and returned to receive her master’s from the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis in 1979.
Alumna Kim (Hlavacek) Suhr's collection of short stories, “Nothing to Lose,” was released in December. Suhr earned her undergraduate degree in secondary education and English from UW-Madison in 1987. The book was released by Cornerstone Press, a student-staffed publishing company at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. “Nothing to Lose” features characters carved out of the Wisconsin landscape and it showcases a region full of real people who are less than perfect, plagued with doubts and always reaching.