Transformative Education Pathway Monthly Series

“There is an old tale about when the sun was first setting. As her distance narrowed to the horizon, the light on earth slowly diminished. This made way for darkness to creep over the land. The people were afraid that when the sun would finally set, darkness would be permanent. ‘What will happen to us?’ they said. Far, far, across the land, in a small hut, a little lantern lifted its wick; it said ‘I challenge the darkness. In my small corner I will not let the darkness settle itself around me.’ With this example many other little lanterns in other small huts lifted their wicks to the darkness. And the people watched in amazement as so many little lanterns illuminated the earth, preventing the mask of darkness from taking over...

...We can do our part by living like that lantern, insisting on doing what we can to challenge the darkness.”

- Simran Jeet Singh, The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life 

For me, and maybe for many of you, the work that I do at CU is my attempt to be that lantern doing my best to challenge the darkness. And that work feels even more vital today as we navigate such daunting & divisive times. Although it is natural and in fact very human to have feelings of anger, frustration, fear and even despair, we must work to find the glimmers of hope, the lanterns in the dark. And so this month, I offer you a few TEP student spotlights that are giving me hope. Hope for today, hope for the future of education, and hope for the next generation of lanterns. 

Ellen Pinnock wins election for City Council in Newport! 

See Ellen's website here

Election Results

Ellen Pinnock wins election for City Council in Newport! 

See Ellen's website here

Election Results

Kaholanis Amadis was featured by RITELL as a Bright Spot in multilingual learning!  

“RITELL develops, maintains & promotes professional expertise in English language teaching for speakers of other languages in Rhode Island. RITELL is working to highlight some of the bright amazing moments happening in our state every day. Our October Bright Spot is Kaholanis Amadis, an inspiring educator from College Unbound!” 

*Note: for any degree requirement that has already been fulfilled, this pedagogy course will count towards students’ 40 required Elective credits.

Aside from these pedagogy courses, what can TEP students be working on?

• CU required courses not yet taken

• Other CU courses that meet needed degree requirements and/ or are connected to students’ projects, professional development or passions

• Big10 portfolios

• LIP Portfolios: it can be especially helpful for TEP students to pursue LIP credit that meets CU requirements not fulfilled by CU’s education pedagogy courses (such as Global Citizenship, Interpreting Literature or Art, Creative Expression, Historical Reasoning, Organizational Studies, Leadership Studies, Change Studies etc.). As always, each student's experience & situation is unique! Encourage students to check out the embedded link to explore the LIP portfolio process more. 

This month’s TEP update comes to you in the form of a slideshow. These slides will take a big picture view of how we got to this new framework, why we are making this shift, and a visual map of what this will look like for students (including differentiated paths based on student’s career and certification goals). I encourage you to go through the slides in “Slideshow” mode for the full effect. 

There will be follow up opportunities to get more granular (both in these updates and in direct conversations with faculty), but until then, if you have any burning questions/ ideas/ connections/ opportunities, please note them in this virtual "Parking Lot".

It will take a village- a CommUnity- to bring this vision to fruition and I invite each of you to think about how your work/ role might adapt/ grow to support this work. I look forward to collaborating with many of y'all throughout this big and beautiful ride! 

-- Aubrey Schabowsky 

Where did we start?

CU has always engaged with adult students who work in a variety of fields, including the field of Education. However, in 2020, CU recruited a group of teaching assistants to pilot a cohort dedicated to helping TAs obtain their BA, a critical precursor for teacher certification. In partnership with the Equity Institute, this pilot cohort evolved into the TA2BA program and additional curriculum and pathway supports were developed. With over a hundred students and over fifty graduates now- spread across Rhode Island & the Delaware Valley, we have continued to learn from our students and alumni about their career goals in education- both in and out of the classroom- as well as the barriers they face in reaching their goals. All of these lessons have informed our ongoing development and we are excited to unveil the newest evolution: the Transformative Education Pathway!

What is the Transformative Education Pathway?

The Transformative Education Pathway (TEP) at College Unbound is a grow-your-own educator preparation program committed to supporting diverse individuals on their personalized paths to making an impact in the education sector. [NOTE: “Educators” include any personnel working in educational settings that are committed to positively impacting the lives of young people; this includes aspiring teachers, TAs, paraprofessionals, coaches, tutors, mentors, administrators, youth mental health care workers, librarians, substitutes, community members & more]. As a CommUnity, we believe that in order to create a more inclusive, equitable and just world, we must create more inclusive, equitable and just educational environments.

What does this look like?

All students in the Transformative Education Pathway (TEP) are placed in a TEP cohort that has an educational focus to WWL and is led by a lab faculty with professional experience in the education field. Pathway Navigators (a new alumni role!) work with students to map out their personal path to educational impact (as a teacher or other education professional). Pathway Navigators & Pathway Specialists will work with Lab Faculty to advise students appropriately for their career goals (like which educational pedagogy courses to take) and to map out any additional steps that may be necessary to achieve their goals (like certification, grad school etc.). Additionally, like all students at CU, TEP students will develop a project that is connected to the impact they want to make in education. Whatever a student’s personal goals are in the field of education, the Transformative Education Pathway is committed to empowering, preparing and supporting educators who are culturally-responsive, trauma-informed transformative leaders committed to a more just and equitable educational experience for all students!

What else will we be sharing in upcoming volumes?

Please stay tuned for future additions to this monthly series! Future volumes will include an introduction to the TEP team, a breakdown of students paths within the larger pathway framework, advising guidelines differentiated by path, new initiatives & innovations, a faculty spotlight, ongoing alumni & student stories, recommended reading and more!

Have something you’d like to lift up from the Transformative Education Pathway? Please reach out to Aubrey Schabowsky 🦋

Volume 1: 08.13.2024