Stefanie Dion Jones


Author Archive

Megan Baker, principal at Tourtellotte High School in Thompson, Connecticut, greets one of her students.

Principal Prep in Practice: One Year Into UConn Administrator Preparation Program’s Revamp

This summer marks one year since the Neag School’s University of Connecticut Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP) began implementing changes as part of a nationwide effort known as the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI). In 2016, UConn was one of seven universities selected to join this initiative, funded by New York City-based Wallace Foundation, aimed at improving training for aspiring administrators.

Gentry Building.

Fall 2020 Neag School Hires, Appointments, and Promotions

The Neag School is proud to announce for the 2020-21 academic year a number of new hires across each of its academic departments, as well as several faculty promotions and new appointments for existing members of the Neag School community, effective this month.

Parent holding tablet for child.

4 Questions to Ask Now in Preparing Your Child for School

I recently read a post from a frustrated parent who attended a back-to-school virtual meeting. The parent wanted practical steps on preparing for school, but instead received a lot of information about mindfulness and social-emotional health. The school perhaps missed an opportunity here to engage families in why social, emotional, and behavioral health is so important, and how it is critical for schools and families to partner as we head into fall.

Diandra J. Prescod.

Counseling Expert Strives to Support Individuals Facing Unemployment Due to COVID

In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, unemployment rates in the U.S. rose to their highest level since the Great Depression as of mid-April. Last week alone, the U.S. Department of Labor reported more than 1.4 million new unemployment claims. Diandra J. Prescod, associate professor and program coordinator of counselor education and counseling psychology at the Neag School, is working to combat the obstacles faced by those Americans who have lost their jobs or been furloughed as a result of the pandemic. She wants them, first and foremost, to have hope.

Neag School alum and school superintendent Nathan Quesnel greets a student at East Hartford High.

Strategies for Fostering an Emotionally Safe School Environment

Schools play a critical role in fostering emotional safety for adults and students. In responding to COVID-19, schools planning to reopen must include efforts that define a safe school environment as having not only physical elements such as cleaning practices, ventilation conditions, and physical distancing protocols, but also emotional elements.

decorative.

A Message From the Neag School Equity and Social Justice Committee

Our hearts ache. George Floyd’s life matters. Breonna Taylor’s life matters. Ahmaud Arbery’s life matters. Black lives matter. Racist violence is killing Black people and destroying our community, nation, and larger world. The violence happens every day. Every single day.

End racism graphic.

Anti-Racism Resources for Students, Educators, and Citizens

We are reaching out to share resources that we believe might be helpful as you reflect on the current and ongoing racism in our country. We hope that these resources will help you reflect on and process the current moment. Of course, this list is not exhaustive, as there are so many dynamics, so many theories, so many histories to grasp in order to do our work of understanding anti-racism. We hope it will, though, provide a place for you to start or some new directions to go. As you find useful resources, please continue to share and learn together.

Bert Wachtelhausen.

Q&A With Neag School 2020 Distinguished Alumna Bert Wachtelhausen

Former UConn women’s basketball player and recreational therapy graduate Bert Wachtelhausen ’81 (ED) has shaped a thriving career combining skills she honed as a Division I athlete with her longtime interests in physical health and helping others. Climbing the corporate health insurance ladder in what for many years remained a male-dominated industry, Wachtelhausen has long since shattered the glass ceiling to excel as a senior executive who now serves as president of startup WellSpark Health.

10 Questions: Neag School Distinguished Alumna Bert Wachtelhausen

Former UConn women’s basketball player and recreational therapy graduate Bert Wachtelhausen ’81 (ED) has shaped a thriving career combining skills she honed as a Division I athlete with her longtime interests in physical health and helping others. Climbing the corporate health insurance ladder in what for many years remained a male-dominated industry, Wachtelhausen has long since shattered the glass ceiling to excel as a senior executive who now serves as president of startup WellSpark Health.

A row of lockers in an empty school hallway. (iStock Photo)

Amid School Closures: Guidance for Parents, Students, Educators

As school closures are announced across the state and country, the Neag School looked to its resident experts to provide guidance and insights for students, parents, educators, and administrators.