March 31, 2025
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Five professors sit behind a table speaking with one another in front of an audience.

Should educators share their political views? Penn GSE hosts timely panel on democracy, discourse, and the classroom

Educators and scholars explored how educators can model democratic engagement while honoring student voice and diverse perspectives.

  • Philadelphia Impact
  • Education Policy & Analysis
  • Higher Education
  • Teaching & Learning
March 27, 2025
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A grid of headshots of the seven alumni award winners

2025 Education Alumni Award Winners Announced

These seven graduates have made outstanding contributions to the field of education and Penn GSE, and represent the breadth and depth of the School’s impact.

  • Together for Good
  • Alumni
  • News from Penn GSE
March 25, 2025
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Sarah sits in her classroom holding a packet of letters and drawings from students and surrounded by puppets, books, pillows, and costumes that she uses in her class.

Homeroom: Sarah Budlow's kindergarten classroom is ready for a year of "firsts"

The recent graduate of Penn GSE’s Urban Teaching Residency shares her classroom at Muñoz-Marin Elementary in North Philadelphia.

  • Philadelphia Impact
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Alumni
March 13, 2025
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Three women sit around a table with pens and paper having a discussion

Innovation in climate education

The Project-Based Learning for Global Climate Justice certificate program is a collaboration between Penn GSE and 70 educators around Asia, Africa, and Europe working together on a K–12 education program that emphasizes climate change and social inequalities.

  • Global Initiatives
  • Education Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  • Teaching & Learning
March 11, 2025
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James Arrington

Postdoctoral Fellow James Arrington focuses on redefining literacies

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

  • Language, Literacy & Culture
  • Teaching & Learning
March 5, 2025
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Four people sit in a row at a long table in front of an audience with a slide that says “AI in K–12” on a screen behind them.

Penn GSE hosts workshop exploring AI creation and innovation in K–12 education

Funded by the NSF, the Create AI workshop aimed to empower students and teachers to build, not just use, AI.

  • Education Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  • Teaching & Learning
March 4, 2025
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Karen Weaver smiles, wearing a red blazer and seated at a desk in front a full bookshelf

Karen Weaver's Playbook for College Athletics

The adjunct assistant professor has been an Olympic-level athlete, a national championship coach, and a university athletics administrator. Now, she teaches higher education leaders what they need to know to successfully navigate their institutions through the serious challenges facing college athletics today.

  • Education Policy & Analysis
  • Higher Education
  • Alumni
February 27, 2025
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Jeanne Smith points to words on a white board during her reading lessons

Teaching Literacy in Prison

Jeanne Smith puts into practice what she learned in her Penn GSE master's program teaching reading to incarcerated people for the Vermont Department of Corrections.

  • Teaching & Learning
  • Alumni
February 25, 2025
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A set of colorful cards with words and images on them fanned out in a pair of hands.

Penn GSE grads found college counseling program based on values, not rankings

The subscription-based service is available to families and school counselors and is currently used in several Philadelphia-area schools, a national network of 25 charter schools, and even a school in Qatar.

  • Philadelphia Impact
  • Counseling & Psychology
  • Education Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  • Higher Education
February 20, 2025
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An alumni founder shakes the hand of another alum in front of the table for his venture, KIO: Kids in Orbit, which features iPads and small spaceman figurines

A Decade of Smart Starts

A look at Penn GSE’s first-of-its-kind master’s program in education entrepreneurship in honor of its recent milestone birthday.

  • Education Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  • Alumni

Pages

February 18, 2020

What I Wish I Knew

Posted by Nikki Hunter '20

Money is stressful, but don’t let the stress take precedence over the pursuit of your degree. I have personally used these tips to help relieve some of my own finance-induced anxiety. Your time at GSE will go by fast. Keeping money under control, whether through these tips, a budget, or other strategies, will allow you the flexibility to take full advantage of your program and the many resources the university offers.
Reflections
February 18, 2020

Why I Chose Penn GSE

Posted by Nikki Hunter '20

It is that time of year once again where prospective students are considering their graduate school options. Already, people have reached out interested to learn more about the Education Policy Program at Penn. One of the first questions is always “Why did you choose Penn?”
Why Penn GSE
February 18, 2020

Best Places to Study on Campus

Posted by Nikki Hunter '20

The graduate student experience is an amalgamation of networking, building your skills, stepping outside of your comfort zone, and most of all reading.
Coursework
January 16, 2020

Best Spots in Philly

Posted by Scott Kominkiewicz '20

One of the first things that struck me was how many vegan-only restaurants there were in Philly and, moreover, how good they were.
Finding Jobs
January 16, 2020

A Day in the Life

Posted by Kate Conroy '20

Seeing other Masters students in my cohort after school is great because we get to share stories from the day and give each other feedback on problems we’re having in our classroom. It’s so important to have other teachers in your life. We will never be able to come up with all the solutions we need on our own, and often, the thing we really need the most is someone else’s perspective
Reflections
January 16, 2020

Why I Chose Penn GSE

Posted by Lentner Jaraba '20

Penn GSE is an institution that serves the community it surrounds. It provides various resources to its community, especially to the schools in the city. Two of the resources are research and social justice.
Why Penn GSE
January 16, 2020

Favorite Philly Finds

Posted by Mandy Duong '20

Although I just moved here four months ago to start my program, I quickly fell in love with Philly and all of its quirks.
Favorite Finds
January 16, 2020

Handling Coursework

Posted by Michaela Ward '20

I’ve loved my coursework. I’ve been consistently excited about my classes, and have really enjoyed feeling my own academic commitments clarify with time.
Coursework
January 16, 2020

Moving to Philly

Posted by Mike Hogan '20

I moved to Philadelphia this past summer from Buffalo, in upstate New York, and before that spent a year living in Boston. One of the things that I love most about living here, beyond the affordability, is the strong sense of community that I felt in Buffalo with the amenities, diversity, and resources of Boston.
Transitions
January 16, 2020

On Taking Those Difficult Courses

Posted by Rachel O'Connell '20

So, here’s my silly confession: quantitative data terrifies me.
Coursework