WATSON COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
In May, 224 students earned degrees from the Watson College of Education, including 116 enrolled in graduate-level programs. Sen. Howard N. Lee was guest speaker at WCE’s commencement, held May 4 in Trask Coliseum. The Watson College held a reception for graduates and their families before the official commencement ceremony. Earlier in the week, a reception was held to honor WCE’s six new Ed.D. graduates. more...
Public school partners joined Watson College faculty, staff and students to celebrate 25 years of collaboration in service to North Carolina’s children on April 26. The PDS school-university partnership has grown to include 12 school districts, 143 schools and more than 2,200 partnership teachers. Highlights of the event included a signing ceremony and the premiere showing of a mini-documentary about WCE’s Professional Development System partnerships. more...
On April 30, the Watson College welcomed more than 150 education leaders, policy makers and members of the business community to UNCW for a conference designed to promote innovation in schools. Presenters and panelists included NC State Superintendent Mark Johnson, Senator Michael Lee, Best NC President Brenda Berg and School Superintendents Steven Hill, Austin Obasohan and Janet Mason. Keith Poston, President of the Public School Forum of NC, was Presider at the conference. WCE Professor Robert Smith coordinated the event. more...
Ann Goodnight is the recipient of the 2018 Public School Forum of North Carolina Jay Robinson Education Leadership Award. She was honored at a gala event on May 21 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Former Gov. Jim Hunt and UNC President Margaret Spellings were featured speakers at the event. The Watson College of Education was the Champion of Education Sponsor. more...
The Watson College hosted the 26th annual Razor Walker Awards on April 24. More than 200 community leaders, faculty and friends of the Watson College joined UNCW Chancellor Jose V. Sartarelli, Provost Marilyn Sheerer and WCE Dean Van Dempsey to celebrate the achievements of 2018 honorees Cathy Barlow, Ralph Hise, Wayne Lofton and the late James McAdams. more...
Watson College faculty have received an ETEAL Applied Learning Strategic Initiatives Award that will bring students in principal and teacher preparation programs together for enhanced teaching and learning in high school STEM classrooms. A second award, given to faculty members in CHHS, will enhance applied learning experiences for students enrolled in teacher preparation programs in Physical Education and Health. The three-year pilots begin in fall 2018. more...
Watson College associate professor Amy Moody is co-author of the book “Inclusion and Autism Spectrum Disorder, Proactive Strategies to Support Students.” The book was published by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group in April. more...
Lisa Buchanan, associate professor of elementary social studies at the Watson College is co-editor of the book “(Re)Imagining Elementary Social Studies: A Controversial Issues Reader.” Information Age Publishing published the book in January. more...
Tiffany Locklear ’17 Ed.D. was selected to attend a dinner with Bill and Melinda Gates to celebrate the success of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program. The program, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has provided financial support, mentoring and leadership training to 20,000 American Indian, African American, Asian Pacific and Hispanic students since 1999. Locklear was one of 30 Gates Scholars invited to the event, held April 24 at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center in Seattle. more...
“It Begins with Teachers” is part of a long-term effort by the Watson College to promote the teaching profession by sharing inspirational stories about teachers. In April and May, the college ran TV ads on WRAL and WECT featuring Pam Baldwin ’10 Ed.D. and Kathy Ibbotson. Digital billboards celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week and the teaching profession were also on display in Wilmington this spring. more...
The Watson College was host to the UNCW Board of Visitors spring 2018 meeting on April 6. The meeting featured presentations on the work of the college, UNCW’s Lab School slated to open at D.C. Virgo in July and Isaac Bear Early College High School. At a reception preceding the event, faculty showcased WCE’s work in robotics and Plastic Oceans projects. more...
UNCW offers outstanding summer camps for youth of all ages. MarineQuest will offer more than 30 camps this summer for ages 4-17. Engineering Expectations has more than 20 programs for ages 4-14, and Junior Seahawk Academy provides STEM programs for middle school children. Camps begin June 11. more...
Amy Garrett Dikkers is the 2018 recipient of the Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award. James DeVita is UNCW’s new Associate Director of Applied Learning. Dean Heath and Bethany Martin ’18 were featured in We are UNCW profiles. WCE is pleased to share these stories and other news and updates. more...
Join MarineQuest on World Ocean Day to celebrate and honor the ocean! The family-friendly event will feature activities about endangered whales, marine debris, life cycles, coral reefs and ROVs, and a photo with Watson the Whale! The event will be held June 8 from 2-4:30 p.m. at the Watson College. The event is free, but registration is required. more...
UNCW will open Wilmington’s first K-8, year-round school at D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy in July, and volunteers are needed to help get ready for opening day. Planned events include Painting Days on June 29 and 30 and Faculty Move-in Day on July 7. Sign up to help today! more...
UNCW’s Watson College of Education is pleased to announce that STEM SENC has been selected to join the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice, SLECOP, an initiative to improve education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). STEM SENC will now connect with 67 other Ecosystems. more...
Watson College Dean Van Dempsey was a guest on WECT on May 16, the day an estimated 20,000 teachers participated in the March for Students and Rally for Respect event in Raleigh. In addition to the rally, he discussed the current environment for educators and trends in teacher recruitment and enrollment. more...
As a HundrED Ambassador and GTEI Fellow, Elizabeth Crawford networks with educators globally to bring innovation to classrooms, and provides global learning experiences for her students at WCE. This spring, Crawford teamed with Heidi Higgins to introduce the award-winning Finnish-British educational platform Lyfta in local elementary schools. The pilot, the first of its kind in the United States, was featured in a recent article on the HundrED website. more...
WCE professor Linda Mechling joined the faculty at UNCW in 2001. Since then, she has developed the university’s Adapted Curriculum Special Education program, served as the AC coordinator for 15 years and authored 51 publications on her work with children and young adults with moderate to severe disabilities. Mechling will retire from UNCW in July, but plans to continue her work with the Cape Fear Enrichment Program, an organization she founded in 2014 to provide opportunities for adults with disabilities. more...
UNCW will open a K-8 year-round school at D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy in July. The school is the result of a legislative initiative aimed at providing enhanced opportunities for students, and model sites for the preparation of future teachers and administrators. In March, WCE Principal Fellows Amanda Barbour and Justin Fischetti participated in the teacher hiring process, becoming two of the first students enrolled in educator preparation programs at WCE to participate in new applied learning opportunities made possible by the lab school initiative. more...
On April 18, Chancellor Sartarelli, Dean Dempsey and CHHS Dean Hardy participated in UNCW’s first Mobile Yam Jam, helping faculty, staff and student volunteers bag 16,000 pounds of sweet potatoes for local food pantries. The event was one of several projects resulting from a new collaboration between students and faculty in three Leadership Studies courses and the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. A UNCW Community Engagement Grant funded the spring 2018 initiative. more...
Five students enrolled in WCE’s undergraduate Elementary Education program spent spring break in Miami, FL participating in an urban school field experience led by associate professor Martin Wasserberg. Students toured the downtown community, attended a graduate class at FIU, and spent three and a half days partnering with classroom teachers at Holmes Elementary School. The students shared their experiences at a Watson College meeting in April. more...
Twelve students enrolled in WCE’s Education of Young Children program held a Creative Fair at Dorothy B. Johnson Pre-K Center in Wilmington on April 20. Jale Aldemir helped students plan and facilitate the event in collaboration with Johnson pre-school teachers. more...
Twenty-four students enrolled in WCE’s secondary education program completed 500 hours of supervised tutoring at SEA-Tech, NHCS’ new technical high school this spring. The field experience was coordinated by Denise Ousley, Brian Brinkley, David Gill and Angie Reid-Griffin in partnership with SEA-Tech principal Edie Skipper ‘13 Ed.D. and teachers Ashley Wall ‘12 and Christa Tompkins ‘18M. more...
Fourteen 2018 graduates of WCE’s master’s program in higher education presented and defended their culminating research projects at a symposium, held at the Watson College on May 3. A hooding ceremony followed the research showcase. more...
Georgie Bramley and Christine Liao introduced an ambitious community art project for students enrolled in EDN 414 this year. It began with a discussion of community art like the Minnie Evans Sculpture Garden in Wilmington, included the development of creative lesson plans for elementary school students in New Hanover County, and culminated in the design and production of banners incorporating the children’s artwork. The banners are now on display at DREAMS of Wilmington. more...
WCE’s Watson Student Leaders earned UNCW’s 2018 Dub Award for Outstanding Diversity Program for their Social Justice in Education project. The university’s Campus Activities and Involvement Center and the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement present dub awards annually to student organizations that excel in service to UNCW and the Wilmington community. more...
Stefano Dongowski and Max Stoumen, students at Isaac Bear Early College High School, won first place in the For Profit Track at the third annual Chancellor’s High School Innovation and Entrepreneurship competition. The event was held April 21 at UNCW. more...
WCE’s 2015-18 Master Teachers were recognized at the PDS Anniversary Celebration event on April 26. Master Teachers commit to a three-year term during which they participate in professional development, partner with WCE faculty to implement programs in their classrooms or schools, and mentor beginning teachers. more...
WCE’s First Years of Teaching Support Program, offered through the PDS office, held a professional development day for beginning teachers on April 20. Eighty-five teachers participated in the event, which featured presentations by Promise of Leadership Award recipients and a keynote address by Angela Hewett, NHCS’ 2017-18 Teacher of the Year. more...
The spring 2018 Roy E. Harkin Award for excellence as a partnership teacher was presented to Richelle Dombrowski at the PDS Anniversary Celebration event on April 26. Dombrowski is a social studies teacher at Laney High School. She has hosted 23 Watson College interns during her 20 years as a PDS partnership teacher. more...
The STEM Learning Cooperative held UNCW’s third annual STEAM celebration for inclusive populations on April 13. More than 120 individuals with disabilities attended the event, offered as part of the NC Science Festival. more...
UNCW’s Engineering Expectations was cohost of the 2018 ROCAME Regional Jamboree. More than 200 middle and high school students participated in the event, held April 21 at the Watson College. more...
Janna Robertson and students enrolled in WCE’s secondary education program held a reenactment of events surrounding the 1898 Wilmington insurrection on April 18. English teacher Amanda Smith ‘13 and sophomores from Craven Early College High School participated in the live history lesson. NHHS senior Mary Catherine Farris wrote the scripts and helped Robertson coordinate the event as part of her senior project. more...
Cooking is an integral part of the Ed Lab tutoring experience and children often like to make something fun, like slime. This spring, WCE students Shirley Fowler and Laura Ibbotson conducted research and teamed with M.J. Giammaria to create a Slime Recipe Book for the Ed Lab. more...
Harris Muhlstein was recently recognized by UNCW with a Seahawk Kudos Award for rescuing three young men caught in a rip tide at Fort Fisher Beach on May 10. Muhlstein is MarineQuest’s School Coordinator and a certified ocean lifeguard. Please join the Watson College in a shout-out to Harris! more...
The Watson College held a reception for graduates and their families before WCE’s official commencement ceremony on May 4. More than 300 attended the event, held in the atrium of the Education Building. more...
WCE’s Department of Educational Leadership held a reception on May 2 to honor Ed.D. graduates Michael Cobb, Laura Johnson-Hercula, Karen McCarty, David Mense, Lauren Scott and Doresia Williams. Chancellor Sartarelli and Graduate School Dean Ron Vetter joined Dean Dempsey, Marsha Carr, WCE faculty, graduates and families at the event. more...
Congratulations to Dean and Carolyn Heath! They welcomed daughter Avalyn Michaela on April 7. more...
