TSOE SPRING 2026 NEWSLETTER | VOL 5. No. 1

James D. Wolfinger, Ph.D. | Dean, School of Education

James D. Wolfinger Ph. D.

Dean, School of Education

St. John’s University

The School of Education held its Graduate Commencement Exercises in conjunction with the Tobin College of Business on Friday, May 15, at Carnesecca Arena on the Queens Campus of St. John’s University.

School of Education faculty and administrators, plus the students’ family and friends, then proudly watched 48 EdD/PhD candidates, 50 Advanced Certificate candidates, and 139 MSED candidates walk across the stage.

On Friday, May 1, 2026, we dedicated the Joseph Sciame School of Education Recruitment Center. This was made possible by a generous donation from Joseph Sciame`71, Vice President of Community Relations, Emeritus, St. John’s University. The funding will help us recruit generations of top educators and counselors.

Honoring Impact: St. John’s LEAD Awards Celebrate Educators Shaping Communities

Friends of the St. John’s University community joined together on April 16 for the 15th Annual Leaders in Education Awards Dinner (LEAD) to celebrate our distinguished alumni and faculty from The School of Education (TSOE). It was an evening of celebration, connection, and inspiration as we gathered with colleagues, friends, and family to honor those driving the future of our field.

The School of Education 2026 Awards Ceremony was attended by students, their families, and faculty members, on Thursday, April 30, 2026, at the D’Angelo Center on the Queens Campus.

Julianna Vincent performed the National Anthem, followed by the Invocation delivered by Rev. Patrick J. Griffin, C.M. The welcome address was provided by James D. Wolfinger, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Education, and Leonard William Wright III, Class of 2026, offered the inspirational student address.

A total of 22 awards were presented by the Department of Administrative and Instructional Leadership, the Department of Counselor Education, the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, and the Department of Education Specialties.

OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Future Teachers took their next step at The School of Education’s Annual Hartigan Forum, held on Monday, April 27, in the D’Angelo Center. The event connected student teachers with alumni, principals, district leaders, and education professionals from Catholic, public, and independent schools throughout the region.

The event welcomed more than 80 St. John’s University student teachers and provided them with the opportunity to ask questions and draw on the experience of representatives from 15 area schools and school districts.

Smita Guha, Ph.D., is the author of a new book, Critical Literacy for Socio-emotional Learning: Empowering Teachers to Write Children’s Literature.

Wanying Wang, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor and Daniel Ness, Ph.D., Professor, from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in The School of Education recently discussed their contribution to the new book, Understanding Curriculum Epistemicide: Possibilities and Complicated Conversations.

Elena Jurasaite-O'Keefe, Ph.D., Adjunct Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at St. John’s University, Queens Campus, has over thirty years of experience researching learning and development across diverse cultures and educational contexts.

In her latest book, Unlock Your Full Potential with a Growth Mindset, Dr. O’Keefe maintains that the brain is not fixed but continually evolves, forming new connections through practice, challenge, and learning. Her book and workbook demonstrate these ideas using stories, positive thinking, and reframing challenges as opportunities for growth.

Dr. O’Keefe is also the author of Individual, School, and National Factors Impacting Teachers’ Workplace Learning: Discourses of Informal Learning in North America and Lithuania.

In April, Michael R. Sampson, Ph.D., a Fulbright Scholar, Professor of Literacy in The School of Education at St. John's University, New York Times bestselling author, and award-winning children's author, hosted a successful book signing for his book: Jojo the Tornado Dog Book.

The event also provided visitors with the opportunity to adopt new companion animals, aka forever friends. Proceeds from the book signing were donated to Operation Kindness.

The School of Education (TSOE) is proud to celebrate its rising stars: Ryan Boswell, a senior in the 5-year BSED/MSED program for Adolescent Education and TESOL, and Briana Cristello, a senior in the 5-year BSED/MSED program for Childhood Education and Children with Disabilities.

Both Ryan and Briana are set to graduate in May and are also members of TSOE Ambassadors program. Recently, they were honored as members of the President’s Society, the highest honor society at St. John’s University. Congratulations to Ryan and Briana!

From left to right: Ryan Boswell, James D. Wolfinger, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Education, and Briana Cristello.

The School of Education is also excited to welcome its four new President’s Society inductees. Congratulations to all four!

From left to right: Jessica Collymore and Briana Tola, both Adolescent Education majors; Rashaun Gardner and Jacqueline Ghorra, both Childhood Education majors. They are pictured with James D. Wolfinger, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Education.

#UniversityGivingDay on Thursday, April 30, was part of a global movement and a campus-wide initiative at St. John’s University. We had a total of 218 donors and netted $9,632, placing third among the colleges. This represented 109% of our Donor goal of 200.

This year, the School of Education's focus was primarily on the Persistence Scholarship, as part of a Dean's Challenge. This scholarship is earmarked to help students purchase books, cover exam fees, and manage financial challenges that might otherwise stand in the way of their goal of becoming professional educators and counselors.

Many thanks to our community for its engagement in UniversityGivingDay!

Meet some of our Future Catholic School Teachers as they engaged with the future of teaching and learning through an immersive virtual reality experience. On May 8, The School of Education partnered with innovative education startup KreditVerse to bring AI- and VR-enabled headsets to our students, opening powerful new possibilities to expand K–20 learning in dynamic ways. CBS News featured our event and nearly 200 local affiliates across the United States ran the story.

This July, the School of Education and KreditVerse will host an immersive AI/VR Summer Career Camp, where students can develop AI/VR skills with the Meta Quest3 headsets that they keep at the conclusion of the camp. This two-week camp offers experiences on financial literacy, engineering concepts, and career options, while enjoying the St. John's University campus life.

For more information on the summer camp visit: https://stjohns.kreditverse.ai/

In celebration of Catholic Schools Week, The School of Education donated 14 digital microscopes to Our Lady of Victory School in Mount Vernon, NY.

From Left to Right: Robert DiNardo, Director of the Institute for Catholic Schools; Aliya E. Holmes, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Innovation and Partnerships; Helena Castilla-Byrne ’91AS, ’93ED, ’03M.S.Ed., ’10M.S.Ed., Principal, Our Lady of Victory School, and Lisa Ninnivaggio, Budget and Planning Coordinator for The School of Education.

The Community Inclusion and Development Alliance (CIDA)’s 2026 Parent Conference and Resource Fair, held on Thursday, March 26, welcomed Mary Carole Schafenberg ’70ED, ’80P.D., alumni, families of children and young adults with disabilities, as well as the St. John's faculty. Ishita Khemka, Ph.D., Professor of Special Education, Department of Education Specialties, serves as the Mary Carole Schafenberg Endowed Professor of Special Education. 

From Left to Right: Mary Carole Schafenberg ’70ED, ’80P.D., and Ishita Khemka, Ph.D.

OUR UPCOMING EVENT

Explore your options for supporting The School of Education by visiting mystjohnslegacy.org/soegift.

For more information on how to give, please contact:

Robert Cote

Director of Development & Gift Planning

718-990-5612

coter@stjohns.edu

The School of Education wishes you and your family a wonderful summer!