AERA DIVISION A NEWSLETTER
SPRING 2024
What's New in the Spring Newsletter?
The 2024 Spring Newsletter includes:
The 2024 Spring Newsletter includes:
- A message from our new Division A Vice-President, Dr. Detra Johnson;
- Information regarding a Division A panel on mid-career mentoring;
- A photo collage highlighting moments from the Division A Business Meeting and Mentoring Event;
- Celebrating the Division A and Foster-Polite 2024 Award Winners;
- A new Scholar Share Blog about what Division A members have recently published;
- Information regarding the 2025 AERA Annual Meeting, featuring graduate research perspectives and words of advice for graduate students interested in AERA and submitting a proposal; and,
- Updates from the Equity, Inclusion, and Action Committee and the Graduate Student Committee.
SPRING 2024 Newsletter Features
Vice President's Message
Our new Division A Vice-President Dr. Detra Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the College of Education at University of Houston.
Hello Division A Colleagues,
Thank you to all who participated in the 2024 AERA Annual Meeting and joined us for the Division A Business Meeting. I do hope that your AERA 2024 experience was productive and joyful. First, I would like to extend my greatest appreciation to Dr. Mariela Rodríguez, outgoing Vice President, for her dedication and support to our Division’s membership. And I would like to thank Drs. Melissa Martínez and Kimberly Kappler Hewitt, our Program Co-Chairs, for creating and organizing such a wonderful program with their section chairs.
It was exhilarating to see so many people in attendance to help celebrate the many honors and awards that were shared during the meeting. Thank you to all the nominees, nominators, and to the award committee members. Congratulations to the AERA Division A 2024 Award Recipients!
Thanks to all of you who provided your service throughout the conference by sharing your time, service, and support during the many Division A sessions and events. Your commitment to the field of education does not go unnoticed. Your dedication to Division A and education is of tremendous value.
More so, much appreciation and gratitude to all outgoing officers and welcome to our incoming officers and new Division A members!
Also, I would like to say that I am looking forward to your continuous support and partnerships to Division A! I look forward to working with you all to keep educational leadership moving forward.
Best,
Detra
Hello Division A Colleagues,
Thank you to all who participated in the 2024 AERA Annual Meeting and joined us for the Division A Business Meeting. I do hope that your AERA 2024 experience was productive and joyful. First, I would like to extend my greatest appreciation to Dr. Mariela Rodríguez, outgoing Vice President, for her dedication and support to our Division’s membership. And I would like to thank Drs. Melissa Martínez and Kimberly Kappler Hewitt, our Program Co-Chairs, for creating and organizing such a wonderful program with their section chairs.
It was exhilarating to see so many people in attendance to help celebrate the many honors and awards that were shared during the meeting. Thank you to all the nominees, nominators, and to the award committee members. Congratulations to the AERA Division A 2024 Award Recipients!
Thanks to all of you who provided your service throughout the conference by sharing your time, service, and support during the many Division A sessions and events. Your commitment to the field of education does not go unnoticed. Your dedication to Division A and education is of tremendous value.
More so, much appreciation and gratitude to all outgoing officers and welcome to our incoming officers and new Division A members!
Also, I would like to say that I am looking forward to your continuous support and partnerships to Division A! I look forward to working with you all to keep educational leadership moving forward.
Best,
Detra
Mid-career mentoring opportunity
HIGHLIGHTS FROM AERA 2024
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AERA DIVISION A 2024 AWARD HONOREES |
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Excellence in Research Award: Dr. Meredith I. Honig (co-awardee)
Meredith Honig is a Professor of Education Policy, Organizations, and Leadership at the University of Washington, Seattle, where she is also the Director of the District Leadership Design Lab (DL2, dl2.education.uw.edu) and an Adjunct Professor of Public Affairs. Her research, teaching, and district partnerships focus on disrupting inequities in school district central offices and transforming core central office work to ensure equitable teaching and learning—that which centers, values, and elevates the knowledge, cultures, and success of students identifying as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, students of color, or living in low-income circumstances. Her work recognizes that barriers to educational equity are fundamental and systemic, that school district central office leaders are in strategic positions to lead fundamental, systemic change for equity, and that research and particular design approaches can support their leadership. Meredith’s findings have been published in such journals as Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Journal, Educational Administration Quarterly, and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and funded by The Wallace Foundation The Spencer Foundation, the W.T. Grant Foundation, and other sources. Her books include Supervising principals for instructional leadership: A teaching and learning approach (2020) and From tinkering to transformation: How school district central offices drive equitable teaching and learning (2023), both published by Harvard Education Press. |
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Excellence in Research Award: Dr. Muhhamad Khalifa (co-awardee)
Dr. Muhammad Khalifa is a professor of educational administration and Executive Director for Urban Education Initiatives at the Ohio State University. His latest book, Culturally Responsive School Leadership (2018, Harvard Education Press) is a top-seller and is being used in leadership preparation programs across the US and Canada. Through the Culturally Responsive School Leadership Institute, he and colleagues have developed academies, equity audits, and learning modules that will help schools and leaders and systems become culturally responsive (crsli.org). He recently launched a non-profit that recruits and trains teachers primarily in the communities in which they serve (teeching.org). Dr. Khalifa has served as an educator and administrator in Detroit and has engaged in school leadership reform in African and Asian countries, including a recent U.N. project in East Africa. Dr. Khalifa is currently writing on culturally responsive instructional leadership. |
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Excellence in Research Award: Honorable Mention: Dr. Sarah Diem
Dr. Sarah Diem is a professor and chair in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri. She is also a Faculty Affiliate in the Harry S. Truman School of Government and Public Affairs and the Qualitative Inquiry Program in the College of Education & Human Development. She researches the social, political, and geographic contexts of education, focusing primarily on how the politics and implementation of educational policies affect outcomes related to racial equity and opportunity within public schools. She is also interested in the ways in which school leaders are prepared to address racism in their school communities. Dr. Diem received her Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning from The University of Texas at Austin. Her most recent co-authored book (with Anjalé D. Welton, University of Wisconsin–Madison), Anti-racist Educational Leadership and Policy: Addressing Racism in Public Education, challenges school leaders to question the racial implications of the policies they design and implement. In 2020, their book received the Taylor and Francis “Outstanding New Textbook” Award in Behavioral Sciences and Education, and in 2021 it received the AESA Critic’s Choice Book Award. |
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Emerging Scholar Award: Dr. Osly J. Flores (co-awardee)
Osly J. Flores is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research agenda focuses on two strands of inquiry: (1) race-conscious leadership in K-12 schools and (2) the persistence of graduate students of color in navigating higher education. In the race-conscious leadership strand, he examines three themes: (a) equitable leadership practice, (b) leadership ethics, and (c) school leaders of color. Overall, his work examines how school leaders’ decisions to center or ignore race influence their actions and practices. Specifically, spotlighting asset-based procedures while also interrogating deficit-oriented routines has been the guiding principle of his racial equity inquiry. His research has been published in journals such as The Urban Review, Urban Education, Teachers College Record, Journal of School Leadership, AERA Open, and International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. |
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Emerging Scholar Award: Dr. Jeff Walls (co-awardee)
Dr. Jeff Walls’s (he/him/his) is an assistant professor of educational leadership at Washington State University, and prior to that worked as a school district administrator and high school math teacher. His research is focused on the intersection of organization and ethics in education, and particularly on the tensions, tradeoffs, and contradictions experienced by leaders and educators as they try to build educational spaces characterized by care and belonging. His research has been published in Educational Administration Quarterly, Journal of Educational Administration, Educational Policy, AERA Open, and other outlets. In 2022, he was recognized as the Fullan Emerging Scholar in Professional Capital and Community. He earned his PhD at the University of Minnesota. |
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Outstanding Dissertation Award: Dr. Meghan Comstock
Meghan Comstock is an Assistant Professor in Education Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. Using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodologies, she studies the implementation and politics of equity-oriented K-12 education reforms related to teaching, leadership, and cultural responsiveness. Her current work examines implementation of district-level curriculum and professional learning initiatives, state-level teacher licensure and teacher diversity policies, and district-level equity leadership. Comstock earned her PhD in Education Policy in May 2023 from the University of Pennsylvania. |
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Outstanding Dissertation Award: Honorable Mention: Dr. Racquel Armstrong
Dr. Racquel Armstrong is a Presidential Postdoctoral Scholar at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. She formerly served as a school administrator in both urban and suburban schools at the elementary and secondary levels. Her research focuses on self-care as a leadership practice as well as the intersection of carceral logics and schools. She is a 2021 Barbara Jackson Scholar and the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Excellence from The Ohio State University. She holds a B.A. from Wellesley College, a M.S.Ed. from the University of Pennsylvania, a M.B.A. from the Fisher College of Business, and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. |
Outstanding Dissertation Award: Honorablre Mention: Dr. Kimberly M. Sterin
Kimberly M. Sterin, Ph.D., has worked as a public school teacher, researcher, and policy analyst within and in partnership with school districts, higher education institutions, and advocacy organizations. As a Post-Doctoral Researcher at Drexel University, she coordinates the qualitative data collection for a large-scale mixed-methods longitudinal study, and as the Research Operations Manager for the Justice-Oriented Youth (JoY) Lab, she supports multiple community-university project teams through the research process. Her research interrogates the ways power is leveraged across the K-12 school finance and resource landscape with a focus on educational justice for historically marginalized groups.
Kimberly M. Sterin, Ph.D., has worked as a public school teacher, researcher, and policy analyst within and in partnership with school districts, higher education institutions, and advocacy organizations. As a Post-Doctoral Researcher at Drexel University, she coordinates the qualitative data collection for a large-scale mixed-methods longitudinal study, and as the Research Operations Manager for the Justice-Oriented Youth (JoY) Lab, she supports multiple community-university project teams through the research process. Her research interrogates the ways power is leveraged across the K-12 school finance and resource landscape with a focus on educational justice for historically marginalized groups.
Congratulations to the 2024 Foster-Polite awardees!
The Division A Graduate Student Committee awards Foster-Polite Scholarships in recognition of scholarly excellence in educational administration, school leadership, or related fields.
Corey Roseth, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Paper Title:
Anti-LGBTQIA+ Language at the School Board Meeting: Implications for District Leaders
Celeste Coleman, Fordham University
Paper Title:
YOU WON'T BREAK MY SOUL: (Re)generative Powers of Black Sisterhood in Academia
Monique Saastamoinen, University of North Carolina Greensboro
Paper Title:
Can We Still Dream? Community Schools and the Potential for Black Freedom Dreams
Virginia Downing, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Paper Titles:
To BE With Black Communities: Possibilities and Visions of Justice
Silent or Silenced?: Naming and Disrupting Institutional Barriers to Community-Engaged Scholarship in Academic Spaces
Joy Esboldt, University of California Berkley
Paper Titles:
Woke Binaries: When Identities and Practices are Labeled in Teaching and Learning
Under a "Torrential Wave of Expectations and Requirements": The Experiences of Uncredentialed California Teachers
Teacher Education's Racial Discourses and Novice Teacher Reflections: Questions Raised for Program's Racial Equity Initiatives
Corey Roseth, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Paper Title:
Anti-LGBTQIA+ Language at the School Board Meeting: Implications for District Leaders
Celeste Coleman, Fordham University
Paper Title:
YOU WON'T BREAK MY SOUL: (Re)generative Powers of Black Sisterhood in Academia
Monique Saastamoinen, University of North Carolina Greensboro
Paper Title:
Can We Still Dream? Community Schools and the Potential for Black Freedom Dreams
Virginia Downing, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Paper Titles:
To BE With Black Communities: Possibilities and Visions of Justice
Silent or Silenced?: Naming and Disrupting Institutional Barriers to Community-Engaged Scholarship in Academic Spaces
Joy Esboldt, University of California Berkley
Paper Titles:
Woke Binaries: When Identities and Practices are Labeled in Teaching and Learning
Under a "Torrential Wave of Expectations and Requirements": The Experiences of Uncredentialed California Teachers
Teacher Education's Racial Discourses and Novice Teacher Reflections: Questions Raised for Program's Racial Equity Initiatives
LOOKING AHEAD: The 2025 AERA ANNUAL MEETING
The 2025 AERA Annual Meeting theme--“Research, Remedy, and Repair: Toward Just Education Renewal”—“calls us to consider how we can work across disciplinary, epistemological, and methodological orientations to forge deeper connections in our field that can speak to the challenges we face in education and in our imperfect multiracial democracy.”
Division A members, graduate students, and colleagues are encouraged to submit proposals to present their work at the 2025 AERA Annual Meeting.
Division A member proposals and reviews
in the following areas:
Division A members, graduate students, and colleagues are encouraged to submit proposals to present their work at the 2025 AERA Annual Meeting.
Division A member proposals and reviews
in the following areas:
- Section 1. Leadership
- Section 2. School Organization and Effects
- Section 3. School and District Improvement
- Section 4. School Contexts and Communities
- Section 5. Leadership Preparation Development
Graduate Student Perspectives and Reflections: AERA 2024
Do you know a graduate student who would like some insight to AERA or may need some additional words of encouragement to submit a proposal? In encouraging graduate students and recent graduates to submit proposals for consideration and/or get involved in AERA, we have included a feature to share three perspectives from those who attended AERA 2024 to share their graduate work.
Scholar Share
The Spring 2024 edition of Scholar Share highlights recent member publications. Please check out the Scholar Share Blog page to learn about these publications, centered around meaningful feedback and detracking in U.S. classrooms.
About Scholar Share: The Division A Scholar Share is intended to highlight new, exciting, and important scholarly endeavors and provide critical insights into relevant topics in the field of educational leadership. Scholar Share offers Division A members opportunities to engage in ongoing learning, professional development, and to connect with other scholars and practitioners in the field. We invite you to share one project, research grant, leadership initiative, publication, and/or other important scholar-practitioner endeavor with Division A members. Please use this link if you would like us to post your work!
About Scholar Share: The Division A Scholar Share is intended to highlight new, exciting, and important scholarly endeavors and provide critical insights into relevant topics in the field of educational leadership. Scholar Share offers Division A members opportunities to engage in ongoing learning, professional development, and to connect with other scholars and practitioners in the field. We invite you to share one project, research grant, leadership initiative, publication, and/or other important scholar-practitioner endeavor with Division A members. Please use this link if you would like us to post your work!
Equity, Inclusion & Action Committee Update
The Division A Equity, Inclusion & Action (EIA) committee has been actively working to bring a series of initiatives to fruition. They are excited to invite you to join them at two special AERA sessions that were collaboratively developed and organized by the committee, the Division A Business meeting, and the fourth Literature in Action series.
Click here to read the details of their work through the EIA blog.
Click here to read the details of their work through the EIA blog.
Graduate Student Committee Update
As we prepare for the 2025 AERA Annual Meeting, we would like to encourage graduate students to follow @AERA_grads and @DivisionAGSC on Twitter, as well as any other SIGs or divisions they belong to, for up-to-date information about planning for the meeting, special receptions, and other gatherings.
Division A Officers
Click here for more information about the Division A Officers.
Check out more about the Program Committee Section Chairs and Equity, Inclusion, & Action Committee members
Check out more about the Program Committee Section Chairs and Equity, Inclusion, & Action Committee members
NEWSLETTER EDITORIAL TEAM
Greetings, Division A! It's our honor to serve as the 2023-24 Division A Newsletter editorial team.
We welcome Dr. Jennifer Watters from UT Tyler to our team to finish out the 2023-24 academic year.
Drs. Darius Stanley and Amie Cieminski are the Co-Editors of the Newsletter, and Drs. Elizabeth Gil and Jennifer Watters are the Associate Editors. We welcome your feedback, input, and ideas! We invite all viewers to share our community newsletter widely! If you have announcements or updates, please email them to Darrius Stanley at dstanley@umn.edu to be featured in our next newsletter.
To learn more about the Division A Newsletter editors, click here.
We welcome Dr. Jennifer Watters from UT Tyler to our team to finish out the 2023-24 academic year.
Drs. Darius Stanley and Amie Cieminski are the Co-Editors of the Newsletter, and Drs. Elizabeth Gil and Jennifer Watters are the Associate Editors. We welcome your feedback, input, and ideas! We invite all viewers to share our community newsletter widely! If you have announcements or updates, please email them to Darrius Stanley at dstanley@umn.edu to be featured in our next newsletter.
To learn more about the Division A Newsletter editors, click here.
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