Emerging Special Educators of Color Leadership Travel Award
The Council for Exceptional Children is committed to upholding the vision of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to support all of our members, volunteers, and staff as well as the infants, toddlers, and students with exceptionalities and their families we serve, especially those differentially impacted by systemic racism. In this spirit, we invite racially/ethnically diverse CEC members who are in their first seven years of service to apply for the Emerging Special Educators of Color Leadership Travel Award.
Award Details:
The Council for Exceptional Children is committed to upholding the vision of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to support all of our members, volunteers, and staff as well as the infants, toddlers, and students with exceptionalities and their families we serve, especially those differentially impacted by systemic racism. In this spirit, we invite racially/ethnically diverse CEC members who are in their first seven years of service to apply for the Emerging Special Educators of Color Leadership Travel Award.
- Emerging Special Educators of Color Leadership Travel Award for Teachers
- Emerging Special Educators of Color Leadership Travel Award for Career Professionals
Winners of the award will receive a $500 travel stipend as well as complimentary registration to the CEC 2023 Convention & Expo in Louisville, KY. In addition, there may be special opportunities provided for networking and mentoring at the in-person convention.
Applicants for the CEC Emerging Special Educators of Color Leadership Travel must be member of CEC at the time of submission. In addition, those applying for the Emerging Special Educators of Color Leadership Travel Award for Teachers & Career Professionals must be within their first seven years of service to apply and able to attend the CEC Convention in Louisville, KY
In addition, CEC has the vision to create a Leadership Academy for racially underrepresented members. Therefore, recipients of the Emerging Special Educators of Color Leadership Travel Award will be asked to participate in up to two focus groups. The focus groups will allow recipients to share insights that can contribute to the development of the leadership academy.
Applicants will be asked to respond to the following questions in their application, as well as to upload a current resume/CV:
- What are your responsibilities, if any, in current efforts to incorporate topics of diversity, equity, and social justice into programming in your instructional practice, school, agency, or institution of higher education? (maximum 150 word count)
- Discuss any educational literature or curriculum materials you have read that have influenced your growth in applying topics of diversity, equity, and social justice. Why do you consider these texts to be important for special educators? (maximum 150 word count)
- How has the incorporation of diversity, equity, and social justice into programming and/or curriculum planning helped to improve outcomes for diverse student learners with exceptional learning needs or skills and knowledge of special education teacher candidates? (maximum 150 word count)
- How will you use your experience at the Council for Exceptional Children national convention to further incorporate topics of diversity, equity, and social justice into your instructional practice, school, agency, or institution of higher education? Describe at least two (2) specific initiative you will undertake to meet this objective when you return home. (maximum 150 word count)
| 2023 Award Recipients | |
|---|---|
|
Verlincia Alex Special Eduaction Teacher |
National Heritage Academies Lafayette, LA |
|
Shannon Benion-Burks Internvention Specialist/Classroom teacher/IS Lead Teacher |
Cincinnati Public Schools Cincinnati, OH |
|
Naima Bhana Assistant Professor of Special Education |
Niagara University Buffalo, NY |
|
Ashaki Budden ESE VE Teacher |
The School District of Palm Beach County Lake Worth, FL |
|
Crystal Carter-Harrington Special Education Director |
North Panola School District Batesville, MS |
|
Amanda Alexia Catterlin Speech-Language Pathologist, Ph.D. Student for Special Education |
Fayetteville Public Schools and University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR |
|
Dr. Christopher Cormier Associate Professor |
Loyola Marymount University Harbor City, CA |
|
Karina Du Project Specialist, Doctoral Student, Student Teaching Supervisor |
San Mateo County Office of Education; UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University San Leandro, CA |
|
Elizabeth Fisher Special Education Teacher & Adjunct Faculty |
Milwaukee Public Schools Milwaukee, WI |
|
Allison Gunter Intensive Behavior Intervention Coordinator |
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Gastonia, NC |
|
JoAnn Houston Special Education Teacher |
Gwinnett County Public Schools Tucker, GA |
|
Nahid Husain-Habib Diverse Learner Teacher |
Mary G. Peterson Elementary School, Chicago Public Schools Chicago, IL |
|
Sungwoo Kang Graduate teaching assistant/Instructor of record |
Purdue University West Lafayette, IN |
|
Veronica Kang Assistant Professor |
University of Maryland at College Park College Park, MD |
|
Carlos Enrique Lavin Assistant Professor in Special Education |
College of Charleston Charleston, SC |
|
Martin Odima Jr. Special Education Teacher, Adjunct faculty |
St. Paul Public Schools, MN | University of St. Thomas, St. Paul Maplewood, MN |
|
Haerin Park Assistant Professor |
University of Saint Joseph Manchester, CT |
|
Acer Pitas Resource Teacher/Consultant |
Big Country Educational Cooperative Miles City, MT |
|
Jaleesa Pleasants Early Childhood Special Education Teacher |
Henrico County Public Schools Henrico, VA |
|
Jinwei Song Research Assistant |
University of Connecticut Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service Storrs, CT |
|
Sarah Taylor Sped Teacher 6-12 |
Pawhuska School District Bartlesville, OK |
Contact
For more information on the travel awards, contact CEC Chief Engagement Officer, Gennith Johnson at gjohnson@exceptionalchildren.org.
Support the Awards
The Emerging Special Educators of Color Travel Awards are partially supported by CEC’s Diversity Fund. Contributions to the endowment can be made here: https://exceptionalchildren.org/give/about-cec-endowments