A message from OUR DEPARTMENT CHAIR
DR. DON HAVILAND
Although I did not select the Looking back while looking ahead theme for this latest newsletter, it struck me as appropriate immediately as I read a draft of this issue.
I am struck by how each of the stories in this issue speak in some way to how the experiences we’ve had transform us not only into who we are in the moment, but into the leaders we aspire to be. Whether it’s Dr. Glass reflecting on how past moments brought him to the leadership he provides today, or it’s Dr. Montgomery and Dr. Moutra drawing on their experiences to shape the future of Early Childhood Education as a field, each story speaks to how we look back to build ahead.
My term as chair ends this August, and I’ve been doing a lot of looking ahead. But this newsletter theme has reminded me that I need to look back as well. And as I do, I immediately think of my good fortune to serve in this role for the last 6 years; I’ve learned and grown in ways I never anticipated back in 2018.
While any job comes with its share of challenges, my time as chair has also come with the privilege of getting unique insights into the people who make up our programs. I have been so fortunate to get to know the successes and accomplishments of our students and alumni in ways I never saw as a faculty member. I have been energized and humbled by the commitment of our faculty and staff to equity, social justice, and our students. Even COVID had small silver linings – as I got to know families of staff and students in ways I never would have in more “normal” times.
One of the great perks of faculty life is that we get to re-invent ourselves every few years, if we wish. So today, as I look ahead, and as much as I’ve enjoyed my role, I’m very excited about the opportunity to return to the classroom and conduct research. I look forward to using the lessons and insights that you have all gifted me these last 6 years to be a better teacher, a better scholar, a better colleague, and a better mentor and coach. And last but by no means least, I am eager to see the great places Dr. Angela Locks will take us as our next chair and am looking forward to being part of that journey.
Thank you for your service to EDLD
Dr. Haviland!
of a beloved professor and educator
While many know Dr. Stephen Glass through his quick wit and commitment to social justice in his current faculty lecturer position, he had a long route to get to his present place in life. From teaching middle school to instructing graduate-level educators, there is much to look back on.
Dr. Glass began his education journey like any other would–being on the student’s side in the classroom seat. Glass was born and raised in Long Beach then attended Morehouse College in Atlanta as a history major. Post-undergrad, Glass returned to California as a middle school History and English teacher in ABC Unified School District, which covers the cities of Cerritos, Artesia and Hawaiian Gardens, and then to Orange Unified School District. Although Glass has held many positions since his roots, he still cherishes his time in middle school and would return if he ever taught K-12 again. Middle school is a vital time in youth development and failure within a few years in that system can resonate into lifetime consequences.
“It’s one of those things where the foundation’s there (from elementary school) and there’s so many weird things that are happening to them,” Dr. Glass said. “As a teacher, you have to ride it out and not let them mess up. You want to give them the best opportunities to be successful so that
they have everything lined up to go on to their favorite four-year institution.”
After teaching middle school, he climbed into Educational Administration, serving as an Assistant Principal before working his way up to Principal at both Compton High School and West Covina High School. The work was exhausting yet fulfilling. The days were full of putting out fires, monitoring the behaviors and personalities of people and managing the challenges of students.
“I wanted to be the person that people could look at and find hope,” Dr. Glass said. “ Maybe that little seed is planted and then it’ll grow. I felt my kids were brilliant. Let’s feed them with that knowledge and then when they get to class maybe they will ask a question today, or maybe they do well on a test today because they studied, and all these different things could happen. That was my goal, to be an open advocate for them.”
Those seeds that Dr. Glass planted as a principal grew. Last September, an old student from his days as Principal at Compton High School attended an information session for the Ed.D. program. The student was inspired by Dr. Glass and decided to follow in his footsteps. This is not the first time this has happened, with another student recognizing him as his 8th-grade teacher while getting his Master’s Degree.
Dr. Glass was in Ed.D. Cohort 6 and graduated with his doctorate while continuing his work in Educational Administration positions in the PK-12 sphere. He served as an adjunct professor in the department for several years after, his coursework focusing on urban schools. This paved the way for him to apply to teach post-grad for the Educational Leadership Department in 2020, when his mentor Dr. James Scott retired. Dr. Glass’s time in the student seat of the Ed.D. program allowed him the experience to make courses more social justice-oriented and more progressive and to introduce students to more theoretical frameworks.
“I love it,” Dr. Glass said. “The main thing that I love about it is looking at students and reminding myself I was there and then being overly supportive sometimes just to be there for students as they matriculate.”
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: DR. STEPHEN GLASS
Dr. Glass utilizes his experiences teaching and being part of the administration with a lens on racial equity and justice for his coursework and contributions. He was part of the first Racial Equity Fellow committee on its inception in 2020. Dr. Glass said the committee focused on being “the leading edge of addressing issues of race in our curriculum, not just in classrooms.”
While Dr, Glass hopes that the future of education is putting in the work to be more equitable, he acknowledges the geographical divide. Some districts are much more resistant to change than others, as he witnessed it firsthand in his time as a K-12 educator. He encourages other educators to see the whole student, to use the theories given but to never forget the core of humanity.
“They want to be caring and understanding, but we do have unconscious bias,” Dr. Glass said. “I think part of the issue is reminding ourselves to always look at people’s humanity and not place people into buckets. But I think there’s a danger in the idea of this person being from this particular community or that particular community versus looking at them as a person that is also in the same humanitarian context.”
Last semester, Dr. Glass was teaching EDLD 725, Organizational Leadership and Culture, and Professional Seminar for the current first-year Ed.D. Cohort with Dr. Haviland. This semester he is teaching Power, Policy and Politics and EDAD 621C, a support class for Educational Administration students. These classes offer a diverse and intersectional perspective on education, one not focused on by every other institution.
“The Educational Leadership Department is transformational and it’s such an open area where people can grow, change and be vulnerable. The faculty is great, the support staff is fantastic, and our leadership has been excellent because the direction that we’re headed is a good one. I can’t say enough about how positive things have been.”
The Early Childhood Education Pipeline: What’s Changing?
The Ed.D. Cohort system is broken into two distinct specializations– Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade, and Community College and Higher Education. However, more and more Ed.D. students have recently gravitated toward a third category, early childhood education (ECE).
Early childhood education refers to the ages between birth and eight years old, with an emphasis placed on development until the age of five. It covers official the education of preschool and pre-kindergarten classes.
Those who are part of the field recognize the importance and the systemic neglect that can occur in those spaces. Jennifer Mongomery of Ed.D. Cohort 11, found her identity in the Early Childhood Education sphere and dedicated her work to making needed improvements.
Her love began in the 90s, while working in a child care center called the Growing Place as an infant/toddler assistant teacher. She then became a preschool teacher and eventually program director of that site. Her educational trajectory brought her to El Camino College as an ECE pro-
fessor for 20 years and she presently teaches at a community college in Las Vegas.
“The first 5 years of life are so important, looking at things like early brain development and how that sets the foundation not just for their development, but for their whole educational career,” Montgomery said, “I kind of took it upon myself to really help others understand the importance of early childhood, whether that be for their own children, for children that they were working with, or their families.”
While her careers furthered her love for the field, it was her time in the Educational Leadership doctoral program that confirmed it. During her second year of obtaining her Ed.D., she adopted her first son. Four months after the adoption, her husband tragically passed away. Her child and the support of her cohortmates helped her through to graduate, when she was given the opportunity to adopt another son of the same birth mother.
“I’m lucky to have them because they completely changed my life and my perspective on child development and on everything honestly,” Mont-
Dr. Jennifer Montgomery holding her two sons.
gomery said. “Because now it’s all about them.”
In Montgomery’s three years in the Ed.D. program, she pushed for a shift to include more ECE content in the courses and curriculum. She advocated for articles and research regarding ECE in her classes and even established a scholarship in her husband’s name for future doctoral students whose work fell into the ECE category.
This started the chain reaction within the program to open more students into the world of ECE, one that has continued to expand to this day. A recent recipient of the scholarship was Janice Jefferis of Cohort 14, whose dissertation centered on internalized norms of whiteness in early child educator teacher preparation.
Montgomery’s dissertation was on trauma informed care for head start programs, as most of her consulting was done through that avenue. Children who exhibited behavioral or emotional issues frustrated their teachers, who were already overwhelmed. Through watching these children, Montgomery pointed out that many were acting out due to ongoing trauma.
“When I was doing my interviewing one of the findings was that children, especially young children, sometimes reenact the trauma because they’re trying to make sense of it,” Montgomery said. “Because they pretend, they might reenact it through pretend play or reenact it through their art or their drawing.”
She recalled a story she heard from a teacher of a little boy who physically hit her very hard. After talking to the boy’s mother, the teacher learned they were living in a homeless shelter, which explained his behavior. She connected trends of impactful events that occurred in early childhood, to how life trajectory could go.
“They remember and know something is wrong,” Montgomery said. “They know something happened and we have to recognize that and allow them to process it and understand that there might be behaviors that are direct result because of that traumatic experience.”
Through her work, she established the importance of self-care and helping the teachers realize
Dr. Jennifer Montgomery presenting her work on her dissertation topic.
they were experiencing trauma themselves. To be able to help children at full capacity, one must take care of their own mental health.
Reshon Moutra was also an Ed.D. Cohort 11 graduate along with Montgomery. She also had a focus on Early Childhood Education during her time in the program. Currently, she’s an assistant professor at El Camino College and teaches part-time at CSULB, Fresno State University and CSUDH.
She began her passion in ECE during her bachelor’s degree, when in a time of uncertainty she was greeted by curious preschoolders on a walk. In that moment, she knew she was meant to teach young children.
“I’m all about making sure that we offer high quality experiences to the young learners, making sure their first experience with school is a good one,” Moutra said. “If we give them a negative experience, they’re going to hate school. So I want to build a strong foundation for academics, for educators, for those children and just school period.”
She wanted to teach future preschool educators, to leave them with the tools to set their children up for success. However, she also wanted to tackle barriers that prevented people from entering ECE. Preschool teachers are critically underpaid. Moutra herself struggled financially, even with a Master’s degree.
Her dissertation work engaged on the extremely high turnover rates of early child educators. It analyzed what the systemic reasons were and potential solutions for combatting this phenomenon. It all came back to being underpaid. Despite ECE being a passion for so many, people were forced to leave to other careers to be able to support their families.
“I would like for preschool to have that same respect, that same expectation for all children to go to preschool,” Moutra said. “I also would like preschool teachers to be valued in that same light, like they’re not just babysitters. Many of these teachers have bachelor’s or master’s degrees, and they’ve been teaching for 20, 30, 40 years. Many of them have a bare minimum salary, working
Information about the image
Dr. Reshon Moutra presenting her dissertation over Zoom with her Committee.
other jobs to make ends meet or putting money together with other family members.”
Moutra is also currently on a committee for the PK3 credential for transitional kindergarten and kindergarten teachers, which is now a requirement. She also was a part of a committee that pushed for an ECE Masters standalone degree, rather than just a concentration. She credits the surge in interest in ECE to the new credential requirement and how some school districts are now receiving funding as an incentive for children to attend preschool.
Since the graduation of Ed.D. Cohort 11 in 2020, more and more Ed.D. students are working and doing dissertations on ECE related subjects. What began as a few people trying to integrate more of a concentration, resulted in many students across the current Cohorts 15, 16, and 17 continuing the legacy set back as early as Cohort 1.
As for the uptick, Montgomery is extremely happy at the trend. In her 35 years of professional work, her main goal has been getting people to see the seriousness of ECE implementation. The Ed.D.
program opened up so many career-doors for her, she is thrilled to see where future students may go.
“If we could meet the students where they are in the beginning of kindergarten, maybe we wouldn’t have so many equity issues when they get to college,” Montgomery said, “Why are we not recognizing that if we started during early childhood, we could kind of minimize that equity gap?”
The Early Childhood Education pipeline will continue....
Dr. Jennifer Montgomery presenting her dissertation over Zoom with her Committee.
