Professional Biography
Charlotte E. Jacobs, as the director for the Independent School Teaching Residency program (ISTR), leads the design and execution of a residency-based teacher education program that involves close partnership with over 20 schools. Dr. Jacobs also teaches a course on adolescent development in the Urban Teaching Residency program at Penn GSE.
Dr. Jacobs earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish Literature & Language from Columbia University and a master’s degree in Education focusing on middle school humanities from Lesley University and the Shady Hill Teacher Training Course located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Jacobs taught seventh grade humanities at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools in Chicago, Illinois, and was a faculty member of the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference before matriculating to the University of Pennsylvania to earn a Ph.D. in Teaching, Learning, and Teacher education.
Research Interests and Current Projects
Dr. Jacobs’ research interests focus on issues of identity development and gender in education concerning adolescent girls of color, teacher education and equity in schools, and youth participatory action research. Dr. Jacobs is the co-author of Investing in the Educational Success of Black Women and Girls (Stylus) and co-author of Teaching Girls: How Teachers and Parents Can Reach Their Brains and Hearts (Rowman & Littlefield) with retired Penn GSE Professor Dr. Peter Kuriloff and Penn GSE alum Dr. Shannon Andrus. The book focuses on how schools can support the development and educational needs of girls by adopting a gender conscious perspective. Dr. Jacobs has also co-authored and solo-authored journal articles that focus on the development of adolescent girls of color at the intersection of race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Dr. Jacobs’ current research projects involve understanding the experiences of students with marginalized identities in independent schools as well as systems-level analyses of how schools are engaging in anti-racism work.
In addition to her role with the Independent School Teaching Residency program, Dr. Jacobs consults with schools about diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice issues through the EnGenderED Research Collaborative, a research organization that she co-founded with Dr. Katie Clonan-Roy, a Penn GSE alum. Dr. Jacobs also serves as a board member of Christina Seix Academy, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, and the Girls Justice League, a non-profit organization supporting the social, educational, and economic rights of girls in Philadelphia.