2021_February
Message from the Dean
Greetings Everyone!
A new year is upon us and with it came some challenging moments over the past month.
Each day seemed to bring a new “breaking story” and the news was seldom positive.
And yet, light emerges in some unlikely places – often where there’s authentic human-to-human
contact as people are able to drop much of the posturing that seems to be at play
in today’s discourse.
This idea of authentic contact was reinforced to me at the website I discussed in
my last newsletter: The On Being Project. As I previously noted, the website is dedicated to seeking ways to engage others
in deeper ways to create a healthier discourse in society. In my last posting, I explored generous listening – the challenge for all of us to be present and open to each other even when we disagree.
As I’m sure you will have experienced over the last 12 months, the challenge to listen
generously has been a difficult task and remains an on-going test of our civility
to one another.
As I thought about authentic contact with people, I realized that this is such a difficult
time to achieve this. I’ve experienced, as I’m sure many of you as well, a dislocation
from people over the last 12 months as we work from home, limitations of holidays
with family, and diminished overall contact with others. Although Zoom has been a
welcomed addition to our lives (for the most part!), experiencing authentic contact
has been difficult to achieve. Consequently, when I reread the On Being website about its grounding virtue of hospitality, I thought a lot about what this
might mean when we return to a semblance of normalcy.
On their website, they provide the following explanation of hospitality:
Hospitality is a bridge to all the great virtues, but it is immediately accessible.
You don’t have to love or forgive or feel compassion to extend hospitality. But it’s
more than an invitation. It is the creation of an inviting, trustworthy space — an
atmosphere as much as a place. It shapes the experience to follow. It creates the
intention, the spirit, and the boundaries for what is possible. As creatures, it seems,
we imagine a homogeneity in other groups that we know not to be there in our own.
But new social realities are brought into being over time by a quality of relationship
between unlikely combinations of people. When in doubt, practice hospitality.
I was struck by the phrase: “(Hospitality) is the creation of an inviting, trustworthy space — an atmosphere
as much as a place.” One of the reasons this resonated is that the phrase brought back so many memories
of environments I’ve stepped into through my life – both ones that were inviting and
ones that clearly were not. For me, the most positive environments have been those
places where as soon as I would walk in, I could sense warmth and welcoming.
My most memorable example of this occurred over 20 years ago when I had moved with
my family to eastern Tennessee. Feeling anxious about the move and trying to ensure
that we were settled into the community, we quickly located a school for my daughter
who was entering Kindergarten – Southside Elementary School, a school that to this
day was the most inviting academic environment I’ve experienced over the years. The
key? It became clear on a rainy fall day.
As we were dropping off my daughter at school, I was becoming increasingly irritated
at the long delay entering the school’s drop-off zone. I was thinking to myself, “What’s
the matter with these people? Have they never experienced rain?” As we inched to the
front of the line, I realized why – as each car rolled to the front, the school’s
principal was there to open the car door, hold an umbrella to shield the incessant
rain, and walk the student up to the building, before repeating it for the next child.
I have shared that memory on multiple occasions through the years because it always
epitomizes for me the selflessness of effective leadership and how it contributes
to the establishment of a thriving community. For although a single act, the principal
demonstrated “the intention, the spirit, and the boundaries for what is possible” within our communities when we care for each other. Perhaps we can do the same in
the new year.
I wish all of you the best and good health,
Mike Hillis
GSOE Vision: Guided by social justice and advocacy, we will reimagine education to disrupt inequities
and to meet the future needs of students and communities
Department Highlights Counselor Education
Catalano, D. C., & Tillapaugh, D. (2020). Identity, role, and oppression: Experiences of LGBTQ resource center graduate assistants. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 57(5), 519-531. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2019.1699104(Cal Lutheran Login Required)
Congratulations to Carolina Hernandez Osorio, Graduate School of Education School student earning her Masters of Science in Counseling and Pupil Personnel Services credential, was awarded the California Association of School Counselors (CASC) 2020-21 Emeriti Foundation Scholarship.
Department Highlights Educational Leadership
Sharla Berry is the interim President of the Black Employee Association (BEA) at Cal Lutheran. She says, "...the group was created to provide networking, camaraderie, advocacy and support for Black faculty and staff and to celebrate and strengthen shared heritage, culture, values and aspirations." Feel free to contact her to learn more. If interested, check out other affinity groups available for faculty and staff.
Department Highlights Learning and Teaching
The National Association for Professional Development Schools is pleased to announce Cal Lutheran Professional Development Schools Network for the Exemplary PDS Achievement Award and the Outstanding Dissertation Award, to be presented officially at the Annual Conference in March.
Cal Lutheran Graduate School of Education Adjunct Professor Hani Youssef, an Assistant Superintendent in Simi Valley Unified School District, is the recipient of the 2020 Administrator of the Year for ACSA Region 13 Leadership Matters.
CRLP News
California Reading and Literature Project Regional Director, Nancy Myers presented on "CRLP-RSD Art of Coaching Institute" at the Virtual 2020 Rio School District's
Thrive Conference on December 2-3. The presentation focused on a two-year collaborative coaching institute with Rio School District. The presentation
explained the process of selecting CRLP-RSD Teacher Leader Coaches for each school
site and who will be learning about the transformational coaching model. These coaches
will mentor their site colleagues using the CRLP Results Foundational Skills assessments
and instructional routines across four levels.
This conference was open to anyone to attend all Thrive sessions (district personnel,
students, community members). In total there were 1000 attendees over the two days
at the conference.
GSOE Application Priority Dates
- Counselor Ed – June 15 (Fall semester start)
- DHH – April 1 (Summer semester start)
- EDD – April 1 (Summer semester start)
EDLD – March 1 (Summer term start) - TPP/SPED – March 15 (Summer semester start)
TPP/SPED –July 1 (Fall semester start)
TPP/SPED – November 1 (Spring semester start)
Student Highlights
Andrea Jacobo, who earned her teaching credential in 2020, was recently hired by Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) as a school counselor.
Triple alum, Alesandria "Ale" Posada '16, M.Ed. '19 and receiving her single-subject credential in 2017, was featured in the Moorpark Acorn article Chaparral Teachers Rise To the Occasionabout how Posada was able to keep her students engaged in classes through Socratic seminar-style teaching in a virtual setting.
Alum, Monica Madrigal Lopez '10, MS '13 in Counseling and Guidance with PPS credential, is the first President of the All-Latina school board in Ventura County as reported in this Ventura County Star article.