News

The newly named office in Catalyst @ Penn GSE merges the expertise and expands the impact of two offices: the Penn Literacy Network and the Center for Professional Learning.

From first-time presenters to seasoned scholars, the Penn GSE community showed up big at AERA 2025 with fresh ideas and powerful conversations.

Arrington aims to inspire students to think independently and be creative while demystifying and critically examining academic institutions’ expectations for writing and literacy.

The Practical English for Daily Living (PEDAL) program at Penn GSE provides an opportunity for TESOL students to practice their teaching with language learners across the University and around the world.

As teachers and researchers, Penn GSE alumni are at the forefront of the movement to educate savvy news readers who can parse fact from partisan fiction.

Nelson Flores’ Becoming the System examines how bilingual education has historically framed Latinx students through a deficit lens, urging new narratives that empower students to define their own identities.

The institutions’ memorandum of understanding is being renewed following a literacy and community engagement research conference held at Penn Oct. 14–15.

Educators face mounting challenges navigating political and social discourse, and this fall will test them. Abby Reisman offers four ways to open classroom conversations.

K–12 and college educators discussed the promise and pitfalls of AI at the conference.

Topics like the upcoming presidential election may lead to difficult discussions in communities and classrooms. Jonathan Zimmerman offers advice on how to facilitate constructive dialogue among your students.

Howard Stevenson promotes racial literacy to address racial conflict, focusing on understanding motivations behind harmful actions and combining accountability with education.

The Philadelphia Writing Project will collaborate with local partners to document and highlight the hidden stories of Black youth, supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation.

Fabiola Lara’s business, tlali•pani, emphasizes providing education to the artisans that they partner with.

Rina Madhani and Sibylla Shekerdjiska-Benatova have each founded literacy nonprofits that put books into the hands of children who need them.

Cortes transforms her office into a dynamic cultural hub, where academic insights and personal touches spark conversations and foster a sense of belonging among students.

Penn GSE’s community reshapes stories for young readers with diverse voices.

Penelope Lusk, a Ph.D. candidate at Penn GSE, has been awarded a 2024 Queen Elizabeth Scholarship for a year of study at the University of Oxford in England.

The CARE Initiative aims to effect change through community members’ own research into the educational issues they face.

Look back with us at some of the stories that defined 2023 for our community.

As schools find themselves at the epicenter of debates surrounding issues like race, gender and sexual orientation, educators must grapple with the challenges of a rapidly politicized classroom environment.

Meresa García, an Urban Teaching Apprenticeship Program student at Penn GSE, has embarked on a mission to promote literacy and education in Philadelphia. Her journey into advocacy was ignited by her lifelong love for books and her realization of the challenges facing public school students in the city.

Organizers are seeking presentations of original curriculum, research, or pedagogy related to re-establishing school and classroom communities as authentic, positive, and nurturing spaces. Submissions are due Aug. 18.

She was selected as one of 25 fellows from a highly competitive pool of early-career scholars.

Jonathan Zimmerman says the political “self-segregation” of students who want to avoid other viewpoints doesn’t help political divisions.

Doctoral student Barrett Rosser and the Philadelphia Writing Project are expanding the notion of literacy to help young Black women express self-love, build community and foster their identities.

Sigal Ben-Porath and Jonathan Zimmerman study the boundaries of free speech and censorship in classrooms and curriculums.

Most adults think Black History Month is integral to the American story — but they disagree over whether it gets too much attention, according to a recent survey focused on polarization around American history and how to defuse the culture wars.

The results mean public schools need to do a better job of teaching both the history of minority groups and “what binds all of us together,” says Professor Jonathan Zimmerman, a #PennGSEExpert in the history of education.

Readers came to the Penn GSE website for practical, easy-to-apply advice that resonated in classrooms and communities around the world.

She pushes back against labels that limit opportunities for bilingual children with dis/abilities.

Penn GSE alumni bring diverse perspectives to their classrooms and make DEI a priority for their students.

Jonathan Supovitz explains why he isn’t surprised by Pennsylvania students’ continuing low scores on standardized tests.

More than 130 local educators came together at a recent writing conference co-hosted by the Philadelphia Writing Project.

Two Penn GSE students share their enriching experiences as interns in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A seven-year project shows that standards-based reform has not lived up to its promise, but it also provides a big-picture perspective of what worked — and didn’t work — in the implementation process. This knowledge holds lessons for education leaders as they undertake future reforms aimed at improving instruction and advancing student achievement.

La India Santos runs a social media profile called Flying Phirst Klass, which encourages young people to travel to less popular destinations and connect with local cultures.

"I’ve spent my adult life studying the ways that human beings imagine education, across space and time," wrote Zimmerman, a leading historian of education. "In a diverse nation, what should kids learn? And who should decide that?"

Abby Reisman joins five other Philadelphia educators to discuss American history, equity and inclusion, critical race theory, and other hot-button issues schools and teachers face in 2022.

The United States has come to an inflection point in our disagreements about what America is and what it means, says Jonathan Zimmerman.

Running the impactful Penn Literacy Network is truly a family affair. Lara Paparo, the program’s associate director, was recently awarded her doctorate of education from Penn GSE, making her the third generation in the family to achieve an Ed.D. here.

Penn GSE's Jonathan Zimmerman and editorial cartoonist Signe Wilkinson are recognized for their contribution to the conversation about free speech. 

GSE Dean Pam Grossman and Lea Principal Aaron Gerwer answer questions about the partnership, its history, and their shared vision for prioritizing the needs and desires of the Lea community.

“Teaching Independence: Bridging the Communications Gap” brought educators from around the area together to discuss the complicated task of teaching race and its relation to America’s founding in a harshly divided political climate.

Struck by her own experience as an educator, Penn GSE alum Rina Madhani is helping promote childhood literacy in the underserved communities of the Bronx through a growing nonprofit.

Sigal Ben-Porath speaks about how information spreads outside conventional news sources. “You have a really open [media] landscape where people like Joe Rogan can hustle,” she says. “The incentive structure is built around rage rather than thoughtful engagement. At the same time, society’s values are changing. Societies are not like atomic clocks. We change and evolve over time.”

Now more than ever, it is imperative that the stories we tell, read, and write are reflective of the histories and experiences of the many different communities that make up our world — communities which are often missing from bookshelves in schools and libraries.

Rabani Garg and Sibylla Shekerdjiska-Benatova discuss what goes into the creation of the Best Books for Young Readers list — and what it means to them.

As 2022 gets rolling, let's take one last look back at our top stories of 2021.

Jonathan Zimmerman proposed a domestic sister city program to alleviate partisan divisions and remind Americans of their commonalities.

While migration research tends to focus on migrants and the countries that receive them, Briana Nichols, a joint doctoral candidate in Education, Culture, and Society, and Anthropology, chose to focus her research on the community members who are fighting to stay.

As a complex era fuels urgent questions about the state of American democracy, faculty and students at Penn GSE are examining key issues of freedom, voice, and dialogue while helping foster respectful discussion within the classroom and beyond.