Monthly News | June 2025

A Message from Interim Dean Julie Washington

Dear School of Education Community,

To our Class of 2025: Congratulations!  

As we look back on the academic year, I would like to recognize and celebrate the remarkable journey that has brought you to this moment. Earning a degree is always an accomplishment, but doing so in a time of rapid change, uncertainty, and immense challenge makes it even more extraordinary.  

You've navigated a complex educational landscape, balanced academic demands with personal commitments, and emerged stronger, more focused, and more determined. Whether you're completing your undergraduate degree, earning your master's, or defending your Ph.D., this achievement reflects your resilience and your belief in the power of education. As you move forward – into classrooms, research, policy or new ventures, remember, your degree is not just a credential. It’s a catalyst for change.  

You will always be a part of the UC Irvine School of Education family. I hope that you will plan to join the UCI Alumni Association so that we can stay connected—to each other, to the field, and to the mission that brought you here. Be proud of all you’ve accomplished, and we are equally proud to count you among our UC Irvine School of Education graduates. 

Congratulations, Class of 2025. Your journey is just beginning, and the world awaits your influence.

Julie Washington, Ph.D.

Professor & Interim Dean

UC Irvine School of Education

Congratulations, Class of 2025!

On June 14, the School of Education celebrated more than 380 students at this year's commencement ceremony. We've spotlighted six of our school's outstanding graduates.

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Alysia Cruz

Ph.D., Education

Stephen Robert Skoropad Ph.D., Education

Tiffany Wu

Ph.D., Education

Rachel Kim B.S., Biological Sciences; Education Sciences

Brenda Padilla Ortiz

B.A., Education Sciences; Sociology

Jocelynn Ramirez

B.A., Education Sciences; Spanish

View the 2025 Commencement photo album

Three School of Education scholars named NAEd/Spencer Foundation Fellows

Assistant Professor Andreas de Barros (left) was named a Postdoctoral Fellow, and doctoral candidates Juan Camilo Cristancho and Santiago Ojeda-Ramirez were awarded Dissertation Fellowships.

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Assistant professor selected as a 2025–26 UCI Hellman Fellow

Paola Guerrero Rosada received the fellowship—one of the UC Irvine's most esteemed recognitions for early-career faculty—because of her dedication to advancing equity and excellence in education through research that bridges communities, cultures, and classrooms.

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UC Irvine Education Students Present at Prestigious SRCD Conference

Congratulations to Education Sciences undergraduates Abril Gomez (left) and Marcela Rios, who recently presented their research at the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Conference in Minneapolis, MN. We’re proud to see our students contributing to national conversations in child development—well done, Abril and Marcela!

Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research

Jaeyoon Choi's work explores learning analytics, natural language processing, and algorithmic bias, utilizing machine learning to enhance understanding of student behavior and advance educational equity.

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Womxn’s Center for Success names Rossella Santagata Dynamic Womxn of the Year

The professor (pictured, center) was recognized for her deep commitment to equity, mentorship, and community engagement.

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Research from the Bilingualism, Mind, and Brain Lab showcased at UROP Symposium

In May, undergraduate students affiliated with the lab shared interdisciplinary projects exploring how bilingualism intersects with cognition, emotion, and learning.

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MAT alumna selected as a Riverside County Teacher of the Year

Known for her joyful, student-centered classroom and her national leadership in STEM education, Master of Arts in Teaching + Credential alumna LIsa Moe was named the 2026 Riverside County Teacher of the Year.

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Celebrating Foundations and Futures

On June 11, the UC Irvine Humanities Center and the School of Education’s Teacher Academy co-hosted a special community reception celebrating Foundations and Futures, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center’s groundbreaking new ethnic studies textbook. Educators, authors, and community members gathered to explore how this rich multimedia resource—the most comprehensive online history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders—can support inclusive, engaging teaching in K–12 classrooms.

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Upcoming Events

• Jun–Aug – UC Irvine Writing Project's Summer Youth Program 2025
• June 23-July 18 – Summer Institute 2025 – Into the Wild: Writing Beyond Boundaries, presented by the UC Irvine Writing Project
• June 23-24 – Desarrollando competencia sociocultural con lecturas en voz alta en español/Building Sociocultural Competence with Spanish Read Alouds, presented by the California Reading & Literature Project
• June 26, July 10 & 17 – Demystifying the CAST: Unlocking Student Success through Assessment, presented by the UC Irvine Science Project
• July 22, 24 & 29 – Climate Literacy and CA AB 285: Supporting Science Education in a Changing World, presented by the UC Irvine Science Project
• August 23 – Literacy is STEAM: Books for Science Workshop, presented by the UC Irvine Science Project

Please visit the Teacher Academy website to view more upcoming workshops.

• Associate Director of the Digital Learning Lab Tamara Tate discusses AI, education, and the evolving role of writing in a world where students can co-write with machines (Women Talkin' 'Bout AI)

• Distinguished Professor Greg Duncan and Doctoral Student Nicholas Ainsworth: "Cash Transfers and Their Effect on Maternal and Young Children’s Health: A Randomized Clinical Trial." In: JAMA Pediatrics
• Associate Professor Asli Sezen-Barrie and Professor Hosun Kang: "Climate Education for Justice: Navigating Geographies, Data, and Agency". In: International Society of the Learning Sciences
• Doctoral Students Julian Levine and Kunlei He, and Professor Mark Warschauer: "The effects of interactions with AI-enhanced media characters on learning computational thinking." In: Learning and Instruction
• Professor Kylie Peppler: "Shifting Toward a Connected Perspective in an Out-of-School STEM Program." In: International Society of the Learning Sciences
• Professor Kylie Peppler and Doctoral Student Nickolina Yankova: "Materialized Action: Reformulating the “Doing of” Math Through Fiber Crafting." In: Cognition and Instruction
• Doctoral Students Isabella T. Seccia and Kelsyann Cervera, Undergraduate Student Diana Romano, Associate Professor Andres Bustamante and Professor June Ahn: "From Accommodation to Inclusive Play: A Culturally Sustaining Design Approach to Play and Learning." In: International Society of the Learning Sciences
• Professor Di Xu: "Unlocking Success: Key Features of College Online Pedagogical Practices that Predict Better Performance." In: Computers & Education

Learn more about the UCI School of Education as seen on Viewpoint, hosted by Dennis Quaid