The Penn GSE Magazine

Dear Alumni and Friends,

This fall has been a time of renewal and reconnection at Penn GSE thanks to our return to in-person operations. I am so pleased that we have successfully welcomed faculty, staff, and students to campus after seventeen months of remote learning and work. Whether you are in circumstances similar to or very different from these, I hope recent months have brought you the opportunity for interactions and experiences you value.

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An important part of our transition back has been to aid in the transitions of our neighboring schools. Our Office of School and Community Engagement and several of our faculty contributed to a wonderful summer program that blended learning and fun to help five public schools in Philadelphia welcome back students and teachers, in collaboration with Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships. Given the disruptions and inequities of our times, there has truly never been a more important time for preparing and supporting teachers, and I am so proud of how our teacher education programs featured in this issue address this crucial need.

While there has been much to celebrate this fall, it remains a very challenging time in our world. A stirring lecture in September by best-selling author Dr. Jill Lepore, who gave the Steven S. Goldberg and Jolley Bruce Christman Lecture in Education Law, addressed deep divisions and a constitutional crisis in our nation. As you will read in our cover story, Penn GSE faculty and students have been doing incredible work to address our nation’s civic challenges by reimagining how to engage young people in the ideals of a democratic society.

This fall has also been a time of loss at Penn GSE. In August, exemplary staff member Betty Deane passed away after a truly remarkable tenure of nearly fifty-five years at the School. I hope that the tribute in this issue will bring back fond memories for the very many alumni whose lives she touched. I was grateful that we could gather in person to remember Betty on campus as a community after so many months apart.

I have also been grateful to get to know the new members of our community in person, from students, to staff, to faculty. Our several new faculty, whom you can read about below, include Professor of Practice Andrea Kane, a former superintendent with strong record of building professional capacity and supporting educational leaders; and Richard Perry University Professor Roberto Gonzales, first Penn Integrates Knowledge professor to hold an appointment at GSE. A world-renowned scholar of the lives of immigrants in the United States, Dr. Gonzales is also featured in the article “Immigration, Education, and Coming of Age.” 

We have been thrilled to welcome Raquel M. Arredondo as Penn GSE’s inaugural assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Arredondo is leading schoolwide efforts with the goal of promoting an inclusive learning and working environment. Diversity, equity, and inclusion work could not be more important or resonant today, as our four stories of alumni illustrate.

We have also begun to celebrate on campus the great success of the Extraordinary Impact Campaign, which concluded as part of the University-wide Power of Penn Campaign. As you will read in our feature, the campaign far surpassed its goal, raising funds for priorities across the School, including our building expansion, for which we will hold a groundbreaking in the spring.

Of course, our community extends far beyond our campus to you, our alumni and friends. Through your commitment to education and your support of the School, you make our mission a reality no matter the challenges and opportunities of the landscape. As always, thank you for being a part of Penn GSE.

Pam Grossman
Dean, Penn Graduate School of Education
George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education

Editor’s note: This issue of The Penn GSE Magazine went to print on May 17, 2021.

Conquering Kindergarten

To help children prepare to start school, Katie Barghaus and Casey Henderson from the Penn Child Research Center’s Conquering Kindergarten initiative offer some tips.

Photo by iStock.com/kate_sept2004

“Don and I support Penn GSE because we believe that education empowers the next generation. Education is the best way to care for our children and communities. Penn GSE’s dedication to excellent field work, research, and policy elevates students, educators, and schools.”

—Kelly S. Suh, GED’96, and Donald D. Suh, M’98
Members, Benjamin Franklin Society