Our Impact

Imagine it. Believe it. Be it: Today's Dreams, Tomorrow's Reality. 

2018 Annual Report

The Loyola Marymount University School of Education is proud to present its 2018 Impact Report – Imagine It. Believe It. Be It: Today's Dreams, Tomorrow's Reality

Today, we stand at a crossroads in PK-20 education, with the futures of our children and our society depending on leaders to dream, advocate and act for transformed classrooms and communities where all students are engaged in learning and realizing their full potential.

At the LMU SOE, we prepare leaders and change agents who partner with all stakeholders to turn these dreams into realities. We are a part of a university firmly rooted at the nexus of imagination and innovation, dedicated to both dreaming and doing. And we are producing results — whether it’s offering new programs that meet the demands of educators, finding new ways to engage students in STEM or working globally to share our knowledge and learn from others. As this year's Impact Report attests, these efforts are changing the equation for public, charter and Catholic education in Los Angeles, and across the globe.

Highlights from the 2018 Impact Report Include:

  • In U.S. News & World Report’s latest “Best Graduate Schools” listing, LMU moved up four spots to place 58th in the country out of approximately 1,500 schools, colleges and departments of education nationwide, and among the top two Jesuit institutions nationally.
  • New STEM-focused Initiatives
    • We continue to lead and enhance STEM education in K-12 settings and have expanded our STEM-focused initiatives this year. One of these is the debut of an Upward Bound Math and Science program, which prepares traditionally underrepresented high school students for STEM-focused studies in college. The program is made possible by a $1.3 million U.S. Department of Education grant awarded to LMU.
  • SOE Faculty and Alumni Advance Education Around the World
    • We strive to be globally engaged educators. This year, we expanded our reach internationally, which includes great success in Fulbright awards that have sent faculty and alumni to Colombia, Indonesia, Laos and Spain.
  • Ensuring a Diverse and Skilled Education Workforce through Outstanding Programs
    • Our nationally ranked and accredited programs, led by distinguished faculty, prepare world-class professionals who embrace diversity, excellence and care in their work in PK-20 schools. This year, we established and expanded several programs in response to the needs of today's educators.
  • The SOE and university’s education unit secured more than $7 million in sponsored research and contracts.

Elevating Education: Innovation and Impact in Communities

Two students walking up a staircase made of books with the title Elevating Education

2017 Annual Report

The Loyola Marymount University School of Education is proud to present its 2017 Impact Report – Elevating Education: Innovation and Impact in Communities. As the 2017-2018 academic year marks its 25th anniversary, the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University celebrates its rich history and legacy with a special edition of the 2017 Impact Report, which is now in a dashboard format online.

The establishment of the LMU School of Education in 1992 signified its expansion as a professional learning community, although education courses were offered at Loyola University as early as the 1930s, and LMU’s first teacher education program was established in 1948. Through the merger of Loyola University and Marymount College in 1973, the LMU School of Education became the comprehensive school that it is today, which joined secondary and elementary education programs.

As a learning community that is grounded in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions, the LMU School of Education is a different type of school of education – one that integrates theory and practice, is committed to social justice, engages the real world of schools in a tri-sector approach, and prepares the next generation of leaders for schools, communities and the common good of society.

The 2017 Impact Report has been awarded with the Bronze award in the category of Institutional Relations Publications: President’s Reports and Annual Reports on behalf of the CASE District VII Board of Directors and the CASE VII Awards of Excellence Committee.

Jump to Inclusion: Educating to Ensure Success for All Learners

A young wearing an LMU shirt jumping in the air and smiling with the title Jump to Inclusion

2016 Annual Report

Guided by the centuries-old Jesuit/Marymount tradition, the Loyola Marymount University School of Education continues to seek new ways to advance inclusive education while striving to promote social justice and the education of the whole person. We remain steadfast in our resolve to prepare the next generation of leaders in PreK-20 education – leaders who will create inclusive environments where all learners can thrive.

The 2016 Impact Report has been honored with the Silver award in the category of Institutional Relations Publications: President’s Reports and Annual Reports on behalf of the CASE District VII Board of Directors and the CASE VII Awards of Excellence Committee. This is the third consecutive year the SOE Impact Report has received a CASE District VII Award of Excellence:

2016: Silver
2015: Gold
2014: Silver

Connections: Linking Educators to Build a Brighter Future for Schools

A student wearing an LMU branded shirt holding up a cut out piece of paper of several figures holding hands with the title Connections

2015 Annual Report

In the highly competitive 21st-century global society, equipping youth with the knowledge and skills required for success is essential to their future, and to ours as a nation. Everyone has a stake in the outcome of our system of PreK-20 education: teachers, principals and superintendents; public officials and policy makers; the business community and nonprofit organizations; and, of course, parents and their children. But too often, these groups fail to unite in their common purpose – to identify opportunities and discuss challenges, as well as to share ideas and work together to find solutions. At the LMU School of Education, we reach across the divides.

Unlike traditional university programs, we are grounded in the real world of schools and communities, with authentic partnerships in all sectors and a reputation for bringing together stakeholders to produce the types of changes our schools need and our children deserve. This collaborative, can-do approach has attracted national attention – in U.S. News & World Report's latest survey of graduate schools of education, our SOE ranked 59th out of 357 surveyed and among the more than 1,500 schools, colleges, and departments of education nationwide; we have now climbed 72 positions since 2011. We continue to build on this momentum, leveraging our reputation toward the types of connections that will lead to better schools and stronger communities while securing our nation's future.

  • Leading by Convening
  • Innovation and Change Through Technology
  • Linked with Alumni Success
  • Working Together: Centers & Partnerships
  • Program & Faculty Highlights
  • Development & Alumni Corner

Reshaping Schools & Society: Together in Partnership

Two students wearing LMU branded clothes painting shapes with their hands with the title Reshaping Schools and Society

2014 Annual Report

Everyone agrees on the importance of reshaping our educational system, but where to start? To successfully tackle the daunting challenges we face, those of us who are working to transform PreK-12 schools and communities must recognize that we are all in this together – and must join together in partnership.

Universities have long championed partnering with communities. But at the LMU School of Education, we practice a different type of partnership. Ours are about directly engaging with schools and communities where they are to learn about their needs firsthand. They're about bringing diverse stakeholders – teachers, administrators, parents, community leaders, philanthropists – to the table in an atmosphere where everyone has an important perspective to contribute, and everyone is heard. They're about embracing diversity, understanding context, and applying research and theory toward practical solutions.

Through these types of partnerships we are making a difference, and people are taking note. LMU continues to climb in U.S. News & World Report's annual survey of "Best Graduate Schools" – up four more spots from last year, to No. 70 out of 356 graduate schools of education surveyed. Since 2011, we have climbed 61 positions. But this is far from a solo effort. It's only through authentic partnerships like the ones we have forged that real innovation occurs. Working together, we are triggering the kind of change critical for the future of our schools, and our society.

  • Ed.D. in Educational Leadership for Social Justice: 10 Years of Impact
  • Rethinking Teacher Prep
  • Los Angeles Catholic Schools: Creating Opportunity
  • Partnering for Excellence in the Diocese of Orange
  • Faculty: Leading the Way in Education
  • Partnerships & Grants
  • Alumni Change Agents

Trailblazers: Leading the Way in Education

Children wearing LMU branded clothes running through Ballona Discovery Park with the title Trailblazers Leading the Way in Education

2013 Annual Report

Finding the best paths to educational success requires new ways of thinking. It requires collaboration among all stakeholders and bold, visionary leadership that looks beyond the status quo to develop and implement effective courses of action. At the LMU School of Education, we continue to build a reputation for trailblazing efforts that are transforming classrooms, districts and communities. In the past three years we have jumped 57 places in U.S. News & World Report's annual survey of "Best Graduate Schools" – this year moving up nine spots to No. 74 out of 278 graduate schools of education surveyed.

From our educator programs that blend theory with real-world practice in preparing the next generation of leaders, to innovative partnerships and research initiatives that are establishing new models for success in public, charter and Catholic education, our SOE is breaking new ground. We blaze new trails because the old ones won't suffice. And in doing so, we pave the way for the opportunities our children deserve, and our future demands.

  • The Education Success Project: Sharing What Works
  • TEDxLoyolaMarymountU: New Ways of Approaching Education
  • Faculty: Leading Through Scholarship
  • Center for Catholic Education: Paving the Way Toward Growth and Innovation
  • Center for Math and Science Teaching: Redefining STEM Education
  • Center for Equity for English Learners: A New Language for EL Education
  • Taking An Uncommon Path: One Student's Journey
  • Giving Back: The LMU Scholarship Initiative

Breakthrough: Moving Educators Forward

A young student climbing through a plastic jungle gym tube at a park with the words Breakthrough Moving Educators Forward

2012 Annual Report

For our PreK-12 educational system to flourish, business as usual must give way to breakthroughs. That's why the LMU School of Education continues to do things differently.

We continue our rise in the 2013 edition of the U.S. News & World Report's Best Graduate Schools of Education, vaulting an unprecedented 48 spots in the last two years. Support for the SOE's mission is also reflected in a just-concluded capital campaign that raised $20.4 million – more than double the original campaign goal – to enhance our ability to make an impact in improving educational opportunity and equity for all students.

The challenges are steep but the stakes are too high and the urgency too great to stand by and let others lead. Buoyed by the unprecedented support of our peers, benefactors and partners, the LMU School of Education is better positioned than ever to help generate the breakthroughs that move education forward.

  • LMU Family of Schools: A New Kind of Partnership Drives Change
  • Center for Equity for English Learners: Placing English Learners on the Road to Success
  • LMU/Teach For America Partnership: Building Momentum for Better Urban Schools
  • Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership for Social Justice: Opening Doors in Education
  • Center for Catholic Education: Documenting the Impact of a 200-Day School Calendar
  • Capital Campaign Enhances Impact
  • Faculty Accomplishments: Paving the Road to Progress

Up: Taking Education to a Higher Level

A young student looking up and smiling with the title Up Taking Education to a Higher Level

2011 Annual Report

In Southern California and beyond, the LMU School of Education is taking Pre-K-12 public, charter and Catholic education to a higher level. And as our efforts continue to gather momentum, our reputation is soaring.

This year's U.S. News & World Report listing of the top graduate schools of education provides evidence of our success. The LMU School of Education vaulted an unprecedented 45 positions from the previous year, climbing to 86th nationally.

Our SOE is creating a new generation of leaders who are challenging the status quo in our schools and making a dramatic impact in the lives of youth.

  • LMU Family of Schools: A Growing University-Community Collaboration
  • Center for Math and Science Teaching: Transforming STEM Education Through Teacher Leaders
  • Center for Catholic Education: In Support of a Vital Opportunity for Urban Families
  • Center for Equity for English Learners: Chinese Bilingual Teacher Education
  • New Faculty: Renowned Scholars Drawn to LMU
  • Alumni: Raising Up the Bar
  • Development: Recent Major Gift Highlights

Creating. Growing. Transforming.

A young student focussing intently on puzzle pieces and smiling with the title Now Creating Growing Transforming

2010 Annual Report

With our educational systems – public, charter, Catholic – facing enormous challenges, everyone is looking for leadership. At LMU, we don't look — we lead: through innovative new initiatives that address the needs of teachers, schools and districts; by taking successful programs into new areas to expand our reach; and with bold measures driven by our refusal to accept the way things are.

  • Center for Catholic Education: Strengthening a Partnership, Securing a Tradition
  • LMU/Teach For America Partnership: Going Statewide
  • Center for Math and Science Teaching: A Residency for Transformational Leaders

Imagination. Innovation. Impact.

A ladder leading to a hole in a classroom ceiling with clouds in the sky above with the title Next Imagination Innovation Impact

2009 Annual Report

Today in our country, thousands of classroom teachers stand before their students ill-equipped and unprepared to be successful educators. They enter the profession brimming with optimism only to leave a few years later, defeated because they don't have the skills to manage their classrooms or create exciting learning environments. The Loyola Marymount University School of Education is reversing that trend and bringing positive change to public, charter and Catholic schools in California and around the nation.

  • LMU Family of Schools: Charting the Next Course for Reform
  • Center for Math and Science Teaching: Changing the Equation
  • LMU/Teach For America Partnership: Next-Generation Leaders
  • Catholic School Programs: Raising the Bar the LMU Way
  • Center for Equity for English Learners: Transcending Language, Transforming Schools