SEEDING SUCCESS in EDIA

By Olivia Schickel

The Diversity Education Committee in the College of Education (COE) awarded seed grants in support of faculty and staff teams organizing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) initiatives. Each team implemented a project that supports a welcoming academic environment across the COE community. As one of the largest and finest colleges that prepares education professionals, we recognize and embrace the importance of diversifying the teaching and administrative pipelines to promote and support equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility.

SED students, Olivia Myers, far left, and LT Hodges, middle right, talk about braillers with high school students during Vision Day.

Dr. Vivian Presiado welcomes high school students to ISU to shadow bilingual/bicultural education students.

Equipping Current and Future Teachers of the Visually Impaired for Success

A Department of Special Education team, including Dr. Derrek Drenckpohl, Dr. Mindy Ely, Lisa Kendall, and Taylor Hochecker, organized Vision Teacher Day to recruit future teachers of students who are blind or visually impaired.

This event:

  • Hosted 14 high school students and their families to learn about the low vision and blindness major (LVB).
  • Brought awareness of visual supports, integration of classroom technology, and instruction of Braille and Nemeth.
  • Funded LVB teacher toolkits for all attendees.

Nurturing Dreams for Blooming Bilingual Leaders

Dr. Vivian Presiado, Dr. Evelyn Baca, and Kimberly Taber, from the School of Teaching and Learning, led the bilingual/bicultural education initiative that increased awareness about becoming a bilingual teacher through school and community outreach.

The team built connections with bilingual/multilingual students at Bloomington High School and Urbana High School by:

  • Connecting current Illinois State bilingual/ bicultural education students with students at both schools.
  • Gifting inspirational and community building bags for high school students.
  • Hosting the Professional Learning Literature circle, where ISU students engaged with raciolinguistic themes in a number of texts in a safe environment, in order to prepare for the high school visits.
  • Welcoming high school students to ISU to shadow a bilingual/bicultural education student during one of their courses.
Vision Teacher Day panelists
Vision Teacher Day panels
Vision teacher day group

From left, ISU faculty, staff, and students host a bilingual book meeting; SED student AJ Gardner connects with a high school student during Vision Teacher Day; panelists speak during an Honoring Indigenous Voices panel.

Welcoming Diversity at University High School (U-High)

University High School faculty associates Amy Reiman, Rebekah Hoffman, Katherine Smith, and Megan Somers are working to better serve the diverse community of Bloomington-Normal by revitalizing the school’s community outreach and marketing strategy. The team is connecting with new students and families by:

  • Increasing advertisements in underrepresented communities.
  • Creating a social media video campaign.
  • Connecting directly and intentionally with prospective families.

Honoring Indigenous Voices: A Panel Discussion

Dr. Xiaoying Zhao and Dr. Irenea Walker in the School of Teaching and Learning created a panel discussion about Native American Studies. The panel discussion:

  • Featured four scholars in Native American Studies and leaders from TRIBE, a local community organization for Indigenous people.
  • Allowed the panelists to speak on their stories, perspectives, and insights into honoring Indigenous history and cultures in the classroom.
  • Promoted recruitment and retention of Indigenous students, staff, and faculty by creating a welcoming and respectful space in the college.

¡A La Marcha! Bringing Together Bilingual Educators

Dr. Elizabeth Skinner in the School of Teaching and Learning and Dr. Apryl Riley in the Chicago Teacher Education Pipeline brought bilingual/bicultural education majors based in Chicago to Illinois State’s Bilingual Advocacy Week programs by:

  • Funding and organizing transportation between Chicago and the Illinois State campus.
  • Connecting Chicago-based students with campus-based bilingual education students and faculty.
  • Increasing the amount of on-campus visibility for the bilingual education program, promoting linguistic and cultural inclusion across the COE community.