USC Rossier Magazine, Fall/Winter 2020

Why We Can't Return to Normal

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 23: A demonstrator makes a sign reading 'Invest In The Students Period' as Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles supporters protest outside the Unified School District headquarters calling on the board of education to defund school police on June 23, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. The demonstrators want the funds currently spent on campus police to be reallocated to other student-serving priorities. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) — This summer, demonstrators participated in a Black Lives Matter protest and marched to Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters, calling on the school board to reallocate funds spent on campus police to student services. (Photo/Getty Images, Mario Tama)

How the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement will change how we educate

In 2020, the status quo was shaken up, challenged and, quite possibly, forever altered. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life for us all. The models our globalized world is built upon—our financial systems, the way we work, the way we travel, and yes, the way we educate all students, from pre-K to higher ed—have been tested and transformed. In the midst of this worldwide health crisis, another long-running crisis—systemic racism and the killing of Black men and women by police—fueled months of protest led by the burgeoning Black Lives Matter movement. This issue considers both the macro effects of a microscopic virus and how the demand to end structural racism will require us to reshape the field of education to ensure a more just and equitable future.

A child adds his handprint to a Black Lives Matter mural along Colfax Avenue, in front of Benton Harbor High School, in Benton Harbor, Michigan. (Photo/AP Images, Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium)

Dean’s Byline

Educators are needed now more than ever

As a global pandemic, recession and racial justice movement sweep the nation, USC Rossier can lead the way in transforming education.

Pedro A. Noguera at his home in Los Angeles. (Photo/Bethany Mollenkof)

Pedro A. Noguera is reimagining education

With pragmatism and big ideas, USC Rossier’s new dean urges us not to return to normal.

The future of police in schools

Research shows officers don’t make schools safer, but how do we create secure campuses without them?

Clockwise from top left: A student in a Black studies class in 1973 (Courtesy of Getty Images); Professional baseball player Jackie Robinson (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons); Black History Month founder Carter G. Woodson (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons); Civil rights icon Rosa Parks with grade school students in 1983 (Courtesy of Getty Images).

How should Black history be taught?

A reckoning with racism starts with learning the unvarnished truth—and toll—of slavery.

Opinion

Will higher ed’s commitment to racial justice lead to change?

John Brooks Slaughter on what universities must do to improve the conditions of Black Americans.

A rally that took place in San Francisco’s Chinatown in February called for communities to unite in the fight against COVID-19. (Photo/Associated Press, Y Ichuan Cao)

Tips For Educators

Combating anti-Asian racism in the classroom

Tracy Poon Tambascia on how educators can address xenophobia amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Conversation

Brendesha Tynes on the digital equity gap

Associate professor of education and psychology discusses growing up in Detroit, the new app she’s developing and the effects of videos depicting racial violence.

In Conversation

How to lead in a time of crisis

USC President Folt in conversation with USC Rossier Dean Noguera.

Cars line up at Palm Springs High for one of the school’s tech depots in early September. (Photo/Rebecca Aranda)

Moving K–12 school districts online in a pandemic.

What went wrong, and how it can get better

What are the lasting impacts of remote learning?

Ginger Clark on preparing USC faculty for remote instruction and the silver linings of virtual learning.

The founders of JENGA on the USC campus. From left to right: Rosalind Conerly EdD ’16, Bathsheba Brutus EdD ’16, Marcedes Butler EdD ’16, Airies Davis EdD ’16, Marquisha Flowers EdD ’16, Crystal Adams EdD ’16, Brenda Green EdD ’16, and Khalisha Jefferson EdD ’16. (Photo/Gregory Worsham ME ’16)

JENGA grows its mission and membership

A student group founded by eight USC Rossier EdD students in search of dissertation support and community expands its reach.

USC Rossier EMP online student Marcel Hite wants to give applicants a chance to share their stories.

Marcel Hite

How a love of narrative inspired a career in college admissions

USC Rossier’s Online OCL program helped Georgia Steele EdD ’18 achieve organizational excellence

Georgia Steele EdD ’18

A USC Rossier alumna discovers a love for government

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