James I. Perkins College of Education

 

James I. Perkins
College of Education

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College Facts

  • $25M
    Annual
    active grants and
    external contracts
  • 13
    undergraduate
    student organizations
  • 94%
    teacher candidate
    licensure rate
  • 1 of 8
    APA-accredited,
    school-setting
    doctoral programs
    in the nation
  • 1st
    higher ed institution
    with a
    mobile food lab
    in the undergraduate
    hospitality
    administration
    program
  • 32,000
    HOURS
    of public-school
    field experience
    annually

Our faculty members prepare competent, successful, caring and enthusiastic professionals from diverse backgrounds. We're dedicated to responsible service, leadership, social justice and continued professional and intellectual development in an interconnected global society.

ACADEMICS

Transformative Experiences

At SFA, we believe students benefit greatly from hands-on learning in and out of the classroom.
Transformative experiences are at the core of our academic philosophy.

Working with local families has helped SFA teacher candidates in the Community Responsiveness and Engaged Advocacy in Teacher Education, or C.R.E.A.T.E., program gain a deeper understanding of their students' lives outside school.
SFA is dedicated to training students based on empirically supported best practices. The SFA Charter School is one of eight school psychology doctoral internship training sites in the nation accredited by the American Psychological Association.
By partnering with the East Texas Food Bank in Tyler, the School of Human Sciences’ Cooking Matters program provides students with opportunities to prepare food for and teach nutrition lessons to patrons of a local food pantry and soup kitchen.
For Danceworks, students must choreograph their own performances as well as learn how to cast a show, promote a performance, design lighting, select costumes and edit music.
Thanksgiving Homebound, a service project that helps feed approximately 150 local families during the holiday, was recognized by the National Council on Family Relations as a model for other universities across the country. It is coordinated by SFA’s Jacks Council on Family Relations.
Department of Education Studies Undergraduate Research Symposium, symposium participants review student Anna Ashy’s “Honors Contract – Kolb’s Experiential Learning at Caddo Lake State Park: TEKS-aligned Interpretative Tours.”
  • Working with local families has helped SFA teacher candidates in the Community Responsiveness and Engaged Advocacy in Teacher Education, or C.R.E.A.T.E., program gain a deeper understanding of their students' lives outside school.
  • SFA is dedicated to training students based on empirically supported best practices. The SFA Charter School is one of eight school psychology doctoral internship training sites in the nation accredited by the American Psychological Association.
  • By partnering with the East Texas Food Bank in Tyler, the School of Human Sciences’ Cooking Matters program provides students with opportunities to prepare food for and teach nutrition lessons to patrons of a local food pantry and soup kitchen.
  • For Danceworks, students must choreograph their own performances as well as learn how to cast a show, promote a performance, design lighting, select costumes and edit music.
  • Thanksgiving Homebound, a service project that helps feed approximately 150 local families during the holiday, was recognized by the National Council on Family Relations as a model for other universities across the country. It is coordinated by SFA’s Jacks Council on Family Relations.
  • In spring 2022, the Department of Education Studies in the James I. Perkins College of Education hosted the inaugural Education Studies Undergraduate Research Symposium, which was attended by nearly 75 students and faculty members. The symposium highlighted undergraduate research that had been developed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers expect the symposium to continue and expand.

Lumberjack Spotlight

  • Alumna works to broaden students' experiences while preserving their Yup'ik culture

    In August 2020, Hermelinda "Hennii" Céspedes '17 & '21 and her two children, ages 7 and 2, boarded a flight to Anchorage, Alaska, from Houston for the teaching opportunity of a lifetime.

    "I always felt a calling to Alaska," Céspedes said.

    Read more: Fall 2021 Sawdust cover story

    Hermelinda "Hennii" Céspedes '17 & '21 and her two children

  • Dr. Straub Lands Parks and Wildlife Grant

    Dr. Sarah Straub, associate professor of education studies, was awarded a $58,000 grant through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department that will fund a science academy for up to 100 girls in the Nacogdoches Independent School District. The grant is for the establishment of the East Texas Adventure Girls Environmental Science Academy. Meant for students at McMichael Middle School, the academy will feature two excursions in the fall and two in the spring. The academy concludes with the creation of a native plant garden in Nacogdoches.

    Dr. Sarah Straub receives grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife

    Dr. Sarah Straub

  • Spreading the word on literacy enrichment

    Dr. Lydia Richardson presented at the 63rd Texas Speech and Hearing Association convention in Fort Worth. Her presentation addressed the benefits of literacy enrichment for pre-K students.

    Lydia Richardson

    Dr. Lydia Richardson

  • Helping students learn and teach math

    Dr. Mark Montgomery has combined versatile passions into a career filled with educational enthusiasm. His work to create a positive space for SFA students to learn both mathematics and effective ways to teach the subject to elementary and middle-level students earned him a 2019 Teaching Excellence Award.

    Mark Montgomery

    Dr. Mark Montgomery, 2019 Teaching Excellence Award recipient

  • Dr. Killam elected to national council

    Dr. Wendy Killam, professor in counseling, was elected to serve as a member of the American Counseling Association Governing Council as the representative of the Association for Adult Development and Aging.

    Wendy Killam

    Dr. Wendy Killam

  • Launching a nonprofit to serve girls in Kenya

    Dr. Flόra Faragό founded an organization to help girls thousands of miles away in Kenya. Faragό and her colleagues launched the U.S.-based nonprofit organization Friends of the Girl Child Network. This organization provides resources to the GCN in Kenya to support and expand its operations and work on issues of gender justice.

    Dr. Flόra Faragό

    Dr. Flόra Faragό

  • Exploring integrative and functional medicine

    Gabriella Deleski earned a Master of Science in human sciences with a dietetics focus from SFA. Now a registered dietitian at Vitality Weight Loss and Wellness Institute in Plano, Deleski uses the integrative and functional medicine principles she learned during her dietetic internship at SFA when helping her clients prevent and treat obesity. “My education in integrative nutrition from SFA allows me to treat my patients holistically and provide them with care that is uniquely suited for them.” Learn more about Gabriella's work.

    Gabriella Deleski

    Gabriella Deleski

  • Dr. Olson Beal Selected as Congressional Fellow

    Dr. Heather Olson Beal, professor of education studies, was selected by the American Educational Research Association to serve as a congressional fellow. Olson Beal headed to Washington to work alongside staff for either a congressional office or committee, where she’ll serve as an expert in education. The yearlong appointment, buoyed by an $80,000 stipend, started Sept. 1. Olson Beal will teach her SFA courses remotely during her Washington tenure.
     

    Dr. Heather Olson Beal selected as Congressional Fellow

    Dr. Heather Olson Beal

  • School of Human Sciences alumnus receives design award

    Sherine Sebastian, a graduate of SFA's School of Human Science's interior design program, and her team at Joanie Wyll and Associates Inc. received second place in the Design Ovation Awards, awarded by the American Society of Interior Designers' Dallas chapter.

    During her time at SFA, Sebastian interned at SFA’s Design Center and was involved with the redesign of the School of Honors along with some other projects on campus.

    Read more about her award-winning work.

    Sherine Sebastian

    Sherine Sebastian

  • American Foundation for the Blind honors SFA’s Dr. Shannon Darst

    A career’s worth of experience teaching the blind and visually impaired – and preparing other teachers to do the same – was recognized at a national level for Dr. Shannon Darst, assistant professor of education studies.

    Darst, along with two cocreators, received the Corinne Kirchner Research Award from the American Foundation for the Blind for a learning tool called the Visual Impairment Scale of Service Intensity of Texas, or VISSIT, which identifies the level of instruction a blind student needs in order to succeed.

    Dr. Shannon Darst playing guitar

    Dr. Shannon Darst

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