Goucher College receives $397,000 grant for education program to promote access and equity
The grant supports engagement with students, teachers, and families to enhance academic accessibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.