Volume 6 Issue 3 | October 2020
PEP Talk
CUW's newsletter to the members of the Preferred Educational Partnership network
Thank you, Dr. Moeser!
 
Dr. Elliott Moeser recently announced that he will be taking an interim superintendent position at the Glendale/River Hills School District and stepping down as CUW’s Director of Educational Administration. Dr. Moeser served with distinction for seven years at CUW. In addition to overseeing the overall Educational Administration program, he launched CUW’s Superintendency program and played a key role in forming a nationally renowned Closing the Achievement Gap Consortium—made up of close to forty different public, parochial, and private schools in southeast Wisconsin. “Dr. Moeser is a good friend, a professional, innovator, and an exemplary leader in the SOE,” says Dr. Jim Pingel, Dean of the SOE. “His heart for service is special. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Dr. Moeser will remain a part of CUW’s SOE as he plans to serve as an adjunct in the Superintendency program. “I have enjoyed every moment of working with the faculty, staff and students,” says Dr. Moeser. “Concordia can be proud of the professionalism, leadership and accomplishments of the undergraduate and graduate departments in the School of Education and the contributions made to the field of education. I am proud to have been a part of this.”

Doctorate in Education at CUW

The online interdisciplinary Ed.D. program in Leadership in Innovation and Continuous Improvement (LICI) will welcome Cohort 6 in January 2021, and applications are still being accepted! 

The LICI program is growing and will be welcoming a new faculty member in January. Our students continue to excel and achieve great things. September and early October have been a busy and productive time. Since September 1, 10 amazing students have defended their dissertations! WOW! LICI student Gerard Bolling recently received a Laura Bassi Scholarship to support his work on his dissertation, and LICI student Ben Bourassa and his dissertation chair recently submitted to the Society for Research in Child Development virtual conference. 

Check out the LICI program here. Scholarships are available for employees of PEP program membership districts and CUW alumni!
UDL Capstone Projects in Special Education

Several students in the Graduate Special Education Program are working on their capstone project as the culminating assignment for the Master of Science (MS) in Education degree. The capstone project is where students identify a problem or concern relating to their classroom, school, students, or colleagues; determine a possible solution; search scholarly literature; write a formal paper; and create a product of some sort as a solution to the problem or concern they identified. In the graduate special education program, the capstone project must relate to disabilities.

One of the common capstone topics for students in the graduate special education program this year is Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Since many students with disabilities attend inclusive classes where they are educated alongside peers who are not disabled, many issues arise, from teacher training to individualized student needs. Several graduate students are creating handbooks of various sorts for general education teachers to help them learn about UDL and its benefits for all students, not just students with disabilities. Teaching from a UDL foundation helps teachers better meet the needs of all students, but many general education teachers are unaware of, or untrained in how to implement a UDL approach even though they may already use some UDL practices. The capstone project gives our graduate students the opportunity to be teacher leaders and impact the training of teachers and learning of students in their school.

The graduate special education program at CUW offers several add-on licensure paths with a MS in Education (focus in special education) degree option. For more information on special education licensure in early childhood special education, visual impairment, or our 16-credit cross-categorical special education license; the combination licensure/MS degree; or the MS degree only, please contact Michelle Kasbohm at michelle.kasbohm@cuw.edu.  
Professional Development in Your District
 
The needs of schools and districts are constantly changing, and CUW stands ready to assist districts with professional development in a variety of ways. From in-service workshops to onsite licensing cohorts and anything in between, we are here to help!

If your district is looking for a professional development partner, please contact our Academic Partnerships Coordinator, Sarah Mayer, for more information. (262)243-4557 or sarah.mayer@cuw.edu
Give your staff a shout out!
Is there a teacher or department in your district who is doing outstanding work to better the lives of your students? We love success stories and want to share yours.

Please email your success story to sarah.mayer@cuw.edu.

Concordia University Wisconsin Graduate Education 262-243-2708