Reflector Summer 2010

Can the achievement gap in education be bridged? A look at factors contributing to this seemingly intractable problem. Read More

The rural achievement gap must deal with issues relating to distance as well as poverty. Read More

Peabody alumnus Chris Barbic is reversing trends with his charter school network in Houston, Texas. Read More

Peabody student Jamie Graham and alumnus David Pérez have risen above circumstances to create a better life through education. Read More

Pre-K students at Ross Elementary School in Nashville work with colors and shapes prior to leaving school for the summer break. Research suggests that students from disadvantaged schools are more likely to experience a “summer dip” in achievement that can aggregate so that children can become at least two… Read More

Illustration by Amanda Warren Visit Peabody College’s Web site at http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/ Bonnie Arant Ertelt, Editor Donna Pritchett, Art Director Michael Smeltzer, Designer Lew Harris, Assistant Editor Nelson Bryan, Class Notes Editor Contributors: Kurt Brobeck, Lisa DuBois, James Hogge, Camilla Meek, Melanie Moran, Elizabeth Older, Jan Read, Cindy Thomsen Web… Read More

With the Obama administration highlighting school choice as a likely reform strategy, interest in how parents choose a school is more intense than ever. “School Choice and School Improvement: Research into State, District and Community Contexts,” was hosted by the National Center on School Choice in late October. The conference… Read More

On May 1 and 2, Nashville received almost 14 inches of rain. The flooding that came with this historic precipitation was widespread and will affect Nashville for years to come. More than 3,000 houses were submerged, and at least 10 people in the Nashville area drowned, either in their… Read More

A number of visually impaired girls were on my floor [in Gillette Hall]. Because of meeting and knowing those ladies, I realized that a visual impairment was not going to stop them from doing what they wanted to do. Read More

We are trying to counteract what I call the three main issues of our community—high dropout rates for our population of girls, high gang involvement rates and very, very high teen pregnancy rates. Read More

David Semmel, Jocelyn Bowie, Dorothy Semmel and Mel Semmel, EdD’63. David Semmel and his wife, Jocelyn Bowie, wanted to find a way to honor David’s father, Mel, EdD’63, on his 80th birthday. They decided that a gift to Peabody supporting graduate research would be perfect. When they presented their idea… Read More

Brothers John, BS’88, and Steven Madden, BS’91, credit their successful careers to the training they received in human and organizational development at Peabody. That’s why they, along with their father, John P. Madden, established the Madden Family Scholarship. The scholarship will benefit an undergraduate student majoring in human and organizational… Read More

Stacy Flores, a rising senior, plans a career teaching English to middle or high school students. Mention teaching to senior Stacy Paola Flores and her voice rises with excitement. “I’m really passionate about education,” the Houston native says. “I just love teaching. I want to teach high school English, but… Read More

Employee Engagement: A Roadmap for Creating Profits, Optimizing Performance and Increasing Loyalty (Jossey-Bass, 2009) by Brad Federman, MEd’93. There is mounting evidence that employee engagement keenly correlates to individual, group and corporate performance in areas such as retention, productivity, customer service and loyalty. This book provides a comprehensive framework, language… Read More

Saegert Peabody housing experts think struggling Nashville neighborhoods will get some relief from nearly $31 million in Recovery Act funding awarded to the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “This award is a wonderful opportunity for Nashville and a credit to… Read More

Educators wishing to teach in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) will have the opportunity to earn a Peabody master’s degree designed expressly for them beginning this summer. The new program is focused on improving teaching in urban middle schools and is the result of a partnership between Peabody and MNPS. Read More

Peabody students Alice Bator and Sarah Quirk spent just two months in Uganda during the summer of 2009, but walked away with a lifetime of knowledge in topics ranging from technology, sustainability, diplomacy, community organizing, economic development, women’s rights and much more. Bator and Quirk traveled to Uganda to further… Read More

Dale Ballou, associate professor of public policy and education, has been asked to serve on a committee to advise the Institute of Education Sciences on the strategy to evaluate the use and impact of education stimulus funding (for example, Race to the Top funds), and whether the projects being… Read More

Wyatt Smith Wyatt Smith, Ingram Scholar and president of Vanderbilt Student Government, has been named this year’s recipient of Vanderbilt’s Michael B. Keegan Traveling Fellowship. The goal of the fellowship is to develop future leaders through world travel and experiential learning. Graduating seniors awarded the fellowship have the opportunity to… Read More

Tommie Morton-Young, MA’55, was named distinguished alumna for 2010 for her contribution as Peabody’s first African American graduate as well as her scholarly work and activism during a long academic career. Nashville activist, scholar and author Tommie Morton-Young received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of education… Read More