Leadership Matters
2022 Impact Report
Why Educational Leaders Matter
The disruptions to K-12 education resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have left schools and districts struggling to recover amid evidence of learning loss, staff shortages, and mental health challenges among students and education workers alike. Today, much of the discussion is rightly devoted to ensuring that resources and support are allocated directly to addressing these issues. But what’s often overlooked in such discussions is the critical nature of effective leadership, system-wide. Without it, we risk investing precious resources into an ill-equipped system.
Strong leaders are essential to creating a culture that enables teachers to thrive by providing the support they need to feel effective, along with the instructional feedback and guidance that can help them channel that support into improved instructional delivery. Leaders play a vital role throughout the educational ecosystem—from the teachers who lend guidance to colleagues and the school leaders who support teachers and staff, to the district superintendents and statewide leaders responsible for setting policy, to the community leaders who hold these individuals accountable.
Certain leadership practices transcend professions. The ability to set the right organizational vision and to galvanize team members to work effectively toward that goal are essentials for anyone working in these roles. But those at the helm of schools and districts must possess a formidable toolkit to fulfill their wide-ranging responsibilities as the overseers of teacher development, infrastructure, safety, and social-emotional wellness, to name a few. And, given that the stakes involve the welfare of our children, they have no margin for error in these pursuits.
Stories of Impact
research | educational technology
Simulation Technology Helps Aspiring Educational Leaders Prepare for Challenging Real-Life Scenarios
leadership | alumni | middle schools
Vanessa Garza, M.A. ’10, Founding Principal of Girls’ Middle School, Uses P.E. as a Learning Tool
first to go | equity
Federal TRIO Programs Grant Nearly $3M to SOE to Expand Support for Low-Income and First-to-Go Students
alumni | leadership | high schools
Erin Whalen, M.A. ’20 Leads High School that Reimagines Education for Highest-Risk Students
faculty | English learners | research
Magaly Lavadenz, Ph.D., Shares Hopes for English Learner Education as CEEL Turns 15
leadership | alumni | community
In Role with Pro Basketball Team, Kara Allen, Ed.D. ’14 Stresses Importance of Community Input
Meet Our New Faculty
These scholars share a deep commitment to SOE’s mission: Reimagining and reshaping practice in education and mental health professions through professional preparation; rigorous research; cultivation of inclusive and equity-minded practices; and solidarity with diverse communities. Click on their bio links to learn more.
Key Preparation Partnership Grows Across California
Since 1999, LMU School of Education has worked hand in hand with Teach for America throughout California to offer its teacher preparation curricula to TFA’s corps members, who serve as teachers while earning credentials, authorizations, and master’s degrees that enhance their knowledge and expertise. Through a new expansion agreement with TFA Bay Area, SOE will prepare corps members in that region beginning in summer 2023. The expansion will bolster a shared goal for both organizations: to ensure that every student in California has access to an excellent and equitable education by boosting the number of highly qualified teachers in the state, and by diversifying the teacher pipeline. “Together TFA and SOE have already prepared more than 7,400 teachers in the state,” says Michelle D. Young, dean of LMU School of Education and advisory board member for TFA Los Angeles. “Teachers prepared through our partnership have made a positive impact in their schools, and many have continued their careers in education as administrators, superintendents, and policymakers — together improving the quality of education as well as advancing educational equity. These benefits were the impetus behind this expansion, and we're excited to make more progress on these fronts.”
Professor Appointed to Governor’s Task Force
In June 2022, Victoria Graf, Ph.D., was appointed to the Advisory Commission on Special Education by California governor Gavin Newsom. Graf has been a professor at LMU SOE since 1979 and was the longtime director of its teacher preparation program for special education. She is a member of the Council for Exceptional Children, the California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE), the American Educational Research Association, Kappa Delta Pi, and Alpha Sigma Nu. In October 2022, CCTE honored her with its Distinguished Teacher Educator Award for her years of leadership in the field. “Strong teachers who are prepared well and supported by their schools make a huge difference in the lives of students with disabilities and their families,” says Graf. ”I'm honored to have been recognized for this advocacy, and I look forward to contributing to the state-level discussion about how California can become a leader in this area.”
Principals of Color Preparation Program Expands to Los Angeles
In 2021, in conjunction with the nonprofit Diversity in Leadership Institute (DLI), LMU School of Education launched a fellowship program to prepare aspiring school principals of color. The first cohort of students will be graduating in December 2022—several with jobs already in hand—and the program is now accepting candidates in Los Angeles as well as its original Central Valley location. “More than 60 percent of public-school students in California are Black or Latinx, but only 20 percent of school administrators reflect these demographics. Our program addresses this gap to ensure better equity and representation in our schools,” says Manuel Ponce, Jr., M.A. ’09, Ed.D. ’13, director of ISLA and co-founder of the program with DLI founder Laura McGowan-Robinson Ed.D. ’16.
SOE In the Media
“There is some truth to various mental illnesses or disorders that are characterized by certain presenting symptoms that have this appearance of brilliance or genius… which has led to this ‘mad genius’ that has been normalized.”
—Maia Niguel Hoskin, assistant professor of counseling, ”Should We Be Talking About Kanye?” The Skimm, February 22, 2022
“Because of its versatility and its potential to support independent and collaborative student learning, blended learning can be effective in multiple classrooms, spanning grade levels and across subject areas, learner ability, and instructional level.”
—Greg Akai, affiliate faculty and assistant director of SOE’s iDEAL Institute, “Using Blended Learning to Explore Multifaceted Topics,” Edutopia, June 16, 2022
“We need to make [bilingual] teaching overall a desirable, important, and valuable career. We need to do more promotion of that in K-12 education and in the public sector.”
—Magaly Lavadenz, Leavey Presidential Endowed Chair in Moral and Ethical Leadership and executive director of the Center for Equity for English Learners, “To Find More Bilingual Teachers, California Needs to Cast a Wider Net,” EdSource, April 20, 2022
“Everybody wins when you invest in the health and wellness of athletes. Our mantra is ‘Mental health is mental wealth.’”
—William D. Parham, professor of counseling, “How the NBA Got Serious About Mental Health,” The Washington Post, April 19, 2022
Rankings and Accolades
#2 JESUIT SCHOOL OF EDUCATION IN THE COUNTRY
#2 PRIVATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA
#8 AMONG ALL SCHOOLS OF EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA
Student Demographics, 2022
- ASIAN OR PACIFIC ISLANDER 8%
- BLACK OR AFRICAN-AMERICAN 7%
- HISPANIC OR LATINO 48%
- TWO OR MORE RACES 3%
- WHITE 27%
- OTHER 7%
Faculty Headcount,
2020 to 2023
- SPRING 2020
- FALL 2021
- FALL 2022
- SPRING 2023
Research, Grants and Awards
$8.97M IN NEW AWARDS IN 2021-22
60 FUNDED PROJECTS
Headcount
968 TOTAL STUDENTS
75 ED.D. STUDENTS
38 FULL-TIME FACULTY
13 AVERAGE CLASS SIZE
36% ED.D. ADMISSION RATE
Degrees Awarded
22 ED.D. DEGREES
345 M.A. DEGREES
289 CREDENTIALS
Faculty Accomplishments
9
BOOKS WRITTEN
20
STATE AND NATIONAL OFFICERS
17
KEYNOTE ADDRESSES
47
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Scholarships and Aid
$18.5M
IN SCHOLARSHIPS AND AID
ACCEPTED BY STUDENTS
$18,313
AVERAGE AWARD PER STUDENT
