EPSA students win 2013 NAEd/Spencer dissertation fellowships
Terrenda White is a Ph.D. candidate in the sociology and education program. She earned her B.A at Northwestern University, 1998-2002 at the School of Education and Social Policy. Her dissertation work focuses on urban charter school reform in NYC, particularly the role of teacher autonomy and professional development, teacher political identity and power, and school policies that impact the development of socially and culturally transformative pedagogy. At Teachers College, Terrenda has served as a research associate in the Center for Understanding Race and Education (CURE), as well as student coordinator for the Critical Race Studies in Education Conference hosted at Teachers College in Spring of 2012. Terrenda is a former elementary school teacher and continues to work as a part-time instructor in various schools and youth development programs across Harlem. She is also an instructor and teacher coordinator for the Prison Education Initiative (PEI), providing evening classes for detained women on Rikers Island in NY. She is a native of Decatur, Georgia.
Travis Bristol is a Ph.D. candidate in the leadership, policy and politics program. Prior to starting his doctoral program, Travis taught English and Global Studies at two New York City public high schools. Also, during that time, he created curricular and extracurricular programs to address the academic and social needs of male students within each school. As a Ph.D candidate in leadership, policy and politics, his research interest focuses on the intersection of race and gender in organizations; in particular he examines how the various policy levers used by local, state, national and international actors influence outcomes within schools. Specifically, his dissertation will explore how within school organizational conditions affect the experiences of Black male teachers. At T.C., Travis has had the opportunity to expand his understanding of organizational theory, policy, and curriculum and teaching. Through course work in education and economic development in his first semester, he was well prepared for his summer internships with the World Bank where he worked in Washington D.C. and Georgetown, Guyana for its ministry of education. His projects included developing a male teacher recruitment campaign, surveying teachers, students, and principals to create a strategy to reduce teacher and student absenteeism, providing a needs assessment for the distant teacher training program, and, in line with his research interest, designing a curriculum for teachers on engaging boys in the classroom. Currently, Travis serves as a clinical teacher educator for the Boston Teacher Residency Program.