Goucher College Receives $397,000 Grant For Education Program To Promote Access And Equity

Press release from Goucher College: December 1, 2020

In partnership with Baltimore County Public Schools, Goucher College has secured a
$397,000 grant from the Maryland Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. This
“Innovative Approaches to Connecting with Students” grant is funding project STEADY,
a program to support the college's professional development schools, which are learning
communities where future teachers are mentored during their student teaching internship.
The grant supports engagement with students, teachers, and families to enhance academic
accessibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Administered through Goucher’s master of arts in teaching and undergraduate education
programs, STEADY will focus on four key areas: support, training, equity, and access
to promote an engaged community. The grant will augment Baltimore County’s online
delivery for pre-K-12 students through collaboration and professional development.

The project will target elementary general and special education teachers and Goucher
interns at Wellwood International School and Winand Elementary School. Funding will
provide a support system within the schools, focusing primarily on instructional technology,
equity, and access during the next two years.

“Goucher staff working with the school system will provide an instructional design
team to deliver supplemental training in equity and virtual pedagogy,” says Annalisa
Czeczulin, director of Goucher College’s Master of Arts in Teaching Program. “This
project provides an opportunity for greater understanding and leveraging of virtual
learning environments to promote equity and accessibility.”

The project will focus on interactive teacher training and online instructional design,
technical training for Google Classrooms, and monthly family and educator support
technology webinars. The project also includes an equity component, “Read for Responsibility,”
to encourage more dialogue and understanding about race and equity through shared
reading.

“At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Goucher quickly ramped up its infrastructure
for online pedagogy, and our instructional design team helped facilitate our undergraduate
division’s quick conversion to an entirely online operation in a week,” says Mary
Adkins, associate professor of education. “We will bring additional capabilities and
resources to our K-12 partners, resulting in tangible benefits to student teachers,
mentor teachers, parents, and students.”

Project STEADY organizers hope to replicate the program and expand it to support other
Goucher professional development schools.

Read more about Goucher’s graduate programs in education and undergraduate education studies and secondary education programs.

This press release was produced by Goucher College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.