UF honors local educators, grad students for 'engaged' scholarship that benefits schools, community

April 21, 2006

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida College of Education on Thursday (April 20) honored educators and students from UF and Alachua County public schools whose scholarly outreach activities contribute to improved schools and student learning or address important social and community issues.

The honors are based on the “scholarship of engagement” philosophy, or outreach scholarship done for the public good. The research-intensive concept is a burgeoning movement in higher education that UF education Dean Catherine Emihovich is infusing as a core principle of a faculty-led transformation of the college’s research, teaching and public service programs.

The Scholarship of Engagement Banquet, held at UF’s Emerson Alumni Hall, also was a forum for recognizing this year’s College of Education student scholarship recipients and the donors who funded their endowed scholarships. It’s a rare occasion where scholarship donors get to meet the students who benefit from their philanthropy.

The College of Education, in the midst of its yearlong 100th anniversary celebration, recognized several local teachers, principals, school district administrators, university faculty and UF education students whose scholarly activities are yielding an immediate positive impact on teaching and learning in the classroom or on the community. UF Provost Janie Fouke was the keynote speaker.

Those receiving Scholarship of Engagement Awards were:

• Jim Brandenburg, principal of Alachua Elementary School
  School District Scholarship of Engagement Award

  Brandenburg has used his position as principal of Alachua Elementary School as a vehicle for educational reform — not only at his school, but for schools throughout the county. Alachua Elementary has forged a partnership with UF’s College of Education that fosters school-based teacher education for UF teaching students and in-school professional development opportunities for his own teachers. Brandenburg also has sparked the interest of other area principals in forming “professional development community” (PDC) school partnerships with UF. Teachers at PDC schools mentor UF student teachers in the practice of “inclusive” teaching of schoolchildren with diverse learning needs and abilities.

• Jill Cox, Margie Donnelly and Julie Johnson, the kindergarten teaching team at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School
  P.K. Yonge School Faculty Scholarship of Engagement Award

  Since 2004, this teaching trio has transformed P.K. Yonge’s kindergarten program into a model demonstration site for a statewide, voluntary pre-kindergarten reform effort, with an emphasis on early literacy instruction. Together, they mentored 14 preschool teachers from five rural, low-income public schools in Northeast Florida. Cox, Donnelly and Johnson have helped their preschool teachers implement new curriculums and instructional strategies that are preparing kindergarten children to learn to read successfully in first grade.

• David Lawrence Jr., president of the Early Childhood Initiative Foundation in Miami Community
  Scholarship of Engagement Award

  Since retiring in 1999 as Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence Jr. has worked to strengthen the nation’s commitment to early childhood development so all children will arrive at school prepared for success. Lawrence, a 1963 UF journalism graduate, was a key figure in the passage of the statewide constitutional amendment that, starting this year, provides high-quality, prekindergarten availability for all 4-year-olds. Earlier this year, his many admirers recognized his outstanding accomplishments by establishing a professorship in early learning in his name at UF’s College of Education.

• Jen Jacobs, UF doctoral student in teaching and learning
  Graduate Student Scholarship of Engagement Award

  Jacobs’ doctoral studies at the College of Education focus on teacher learning in school settings, emphasizing unaddressed issues of social justice in the classroom. She has developed a “coaching-for-equity” model with a set of tools that encourage prospective and practicing teachers to reflect on how issues related to race, class, disability, ethnic background and gender influence their beliefs and classroom practices, and to demonstrate equitable teaching practices.

• Carolyn Tucker, UF psychology professor
  University Scholarship of Engagement Award

  Tucker’s reputed research and community service activities have focused on the needs of children and families in marginalized communities, particularly African-Americans. Much of her work is based on improving the academic achievement and self-esteem of black children and adolescents in high-poverty schools and communities using a partnership model she developed. The model takes the best scholarship a research university like UF can offer and connects it with the needs of those who aspire to achieve to their highest potential. She has recently expanded this model to include an emphasis on culturally sensitive health-care indicators among Latino and African-American communities.

• Diane Yendol-Hoppey, assistant professor, UF College of Education
  College of Education Faculty Scholarship of Engagement Award

  Yendol-Hoppey, from UF’s School of Teaching and Learning, has developed a compelling line of research, focusing on improving schools and teacher education programs by building meaningful school-university partnerships. She forged the College of Education’s current partnership with eight local elementary schools, creating a network of “professional development community” schools committed to preparing the next generation of educators to teach diverse learners and pursue ongoing school improvement.

“Many people talk about taking action for change, but very few can document how they made a difference as these outstanding recipients have done. We strongly believe not only in the discovery of new knowledge, but also in applying and integrating that knowledge in productive and meaningful ways to impact practice in the field. This commitment illustrates professional education at its best,” Dean Emihovich said.