Remembering Robert B. Everhart: Dean of the School of Education from 1986-1998

By Emily Taylor

Robert B. Everhart, Dean of the School of Education from 1986-1998, pictured with his wife, Shelley Everhart at the Dean’s Scholarship Celebration in 2018.

Robert B. Everhart, former dean of the College of Education and professor emeritus of education, has passed away. Dean of the College of Education (then the School of Education) from 1986 to 1998, Everhart was the longest-serving dean in the college’s history to date. Through his remarkable leadership, strategic vision, and excellence as an educator he had a significant impact on the college, and as a result, the quality of education in Oregon schools.

One of Everhart’s most significant contributions to the College of Education may be the Portland Teachers Program (PTP). Everhart led the creation of the program to help address the need for more primary teachers of color. Created as a collaboration between PSU, Portland Community College (PCC), and Portland Public Schools (PPS), and eventually expanded to include the Beaverton School District, the program provided counseling and scholarship support for students at PCC and on to PSU, and included engagement with potential future teachers academies for middle-high school students. The highly successful program has continued for more than thirty years, preparing hundreds of teachers of color who have taught in local schools.

“Bob was the guiding light behind the establishment of the PTP. He felt strongly that it is essential for teachers to reflect the racial diversity of their students. I remember being part of the extensive planning process from 1987 through the program launch in 1989 to establish the program details and funding for this unprecedented collaboration,” said Mary Kinnick, professor emerita, Educational Policy, Foundations & Administrative Studies, who served as Assistant Dean to Everhart from 1986-1989. “I believe this program was one of Bob’s proudest career accomplishments. I’m pleased that the program, while currently being refreshed and potentially renamed, will continue.”

Everhart dramatically expanded the college’s offerings by designing and implementing community- and faculty-identified programs, beyond the cooperative education and noncredit workshops previously offered.

COE Alumnus Focused on Equity

By Emily Taylor

Dr. Victor Vergara, who completed his EdD at the College of Education in 2017, is now the Executive Director of Equity and Student Services in the Edmonds School District in Washington. (Photo provided)

COE alumnus, Dr. Victor Vergara immigrated to the U.S. from Chile as a young adult. He completed all of his college career at Portland State University, and earned his doctorate from the College of Education in 2017 while working as a high school principal in Woodburn, Ore.

After completing his doctorate, Vergara and his family decided to explore new areas as he pursued interesting career opportunities. First, he was the director of multilingual education and community outreach for the Walla Walla School District, and then he moved to Federal Way, Washington for a similar role before starting at Edmonds School District as Executive Director of Equity and Student Services in July 2020.

The Edmonds School District, 20 minutes north of Seattle, serves a multicultural population of 22,000 students at its 35 schools. More than half of the students are non-white, and the families served speak more than 120 languages other than English.

The paraeducator path to special education teaching: three recent COE alumni

By Emily Taylor

Three recent College of Education (COE) alumni, Devin Gallagher, Lisa Garner and Matthew Cuda, share a common path to their new roles as special education classroom teachers: they all started as paraeducators. Paraeducators, sometimes called teacher aides or teacher assistants, or just paras, play a critical role in classrooms, providing support to teachers and students where a high teacher-to-student ratio is needed. While many paraeducators choose to stay in that role, others find it is a valuable way to gain teaching experience and confirm their interest in pursuing a career as a classroom teacher.

As these alumni reflected on their first school year as classroom teachers during a pandemic, their experiences share common themes.

Devin Gallagher feels very fortunate to have started in his new role this year as a classroom teacher leading a combined kindergarten-to-second-grade classroom focused on communication skills and behaviors (CB) at Llewellyn Elementary in Southeast Portland.

Devin Gallagher, COE alumnus and special education teacher at Llewellyn Elementary School in Portland. (Photo provided)

“I’ve felt so welcomed by all of the other teachers and really valued and respected by the principal,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher worked as a paraeducator for the previous four years and described dealing with some “imposter syndrome” when he started as the head classroom teacher in fall of 2020. Now he recognizes that his experience as a paraeducator is a tremendous asset.

“There are so many skills I picked up during my four years as a para that I might have taken for granted before, but now I recognize the value of that experience.”

His experience also impacts the way he interacts with colleagues.

COE’s Will Parnell recognized with 2021 Hoffman Award

By Emily Taylor

Will Parnell, EdD, is the recipient of the 2021 George C. Hoffman Award.

Will Parnell, EdD, has been awarded the 2021 Hoffman Award, one of the most prestigious honors given by Portland State University, in recognition of his distinguished contributions in instruction, university service, and scholarship in more than 25 years with the university. An accomplished scholar in the field of early childhood education, Parnell is the former co-director of the Helen Gordon Child Development Center, and currently serves as a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

Tina Anctil, Associate Dean of the College of Education, described Parnell’s current role as one that is often “thankless and exhausting,” adding, “He oversees literally hundreds of adjunct instructors each year, and mentors over two dozen junior faculty.  His leadership has been instrumental in maintaining the high quality of instruction that the COE is known for.”

Describing Parnell’s style of teaching, Mary Schumacher-Hoerner, current director of the Helen Gordon Child Development Center, said, “As an instructor, Will is open-minded, leading thought-provoking discussions and reflections. He demonstrates much respect for his students, as he does the early childhood teaching profession. He invites his students to think deeply, ask questions, and imagine a world where children are valued for their own contributions to culture and society. He is a positive and influential instructor, who keeps his students in the center of his teaching.”

COE’s Bernd Ferner Recipient of 2021 President’s Diversity Award

By Emily Taylor

Dr. Bernd R. Ferner, Associate Professor of Practice, was recognized with a Distinguished Faculty Award as part of 2021 President’s Diversity Awards.

Dr. Bernd R. Ferner, Associate Professor of Practice, Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education was recognized with a Distinguished Faculty Award as part of Portland State University’s 2021 President’s Diversity Awards. The President’s Diversity Awards are given to faculty, staff, and students who exemplify the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion which are central to the mission of the university and the college.

Ferner’s academic work and scholarly interest has always focused on equity and inclusion. He conducts and teaches action research to bring needed changes into schools, classrooms, and teacher education. He is currently leading a faculty team in work to augment the COE’s elective course offerings towards a stronger focus on equity and anti-racism. He also works to advance multicultural and multilingual students and teachers, and internationalize K-12 schools and PSU.

“Bernd embodies the COE’s values in his work, and this recognition from President Percy underscores what his colleagues and students in the COE have long appreciated,” said Tina Anctil, Associate Dean, COE. “In particular, his work to support the development and expansion of courses rooted in concepts of anti-racism and decolonization that are taught by BIPoC scholars has been pivotal for our curriculum.”

2021 Graduate Profile: Maria José Beteta

By Emily Taylor

María José Beteta is graduating this week with her master’s degree in Early Childhood: Inclusive Education from the College of Education.

Maria Beteta, 2021 College of Education Graduate with Master’s in Early Childhood: Inclusive Education

Beteta immigrated from her home in Lima, Peru in 2016 to join her fiancé in Louisville, Kentucky. While he worked to finish his degree at the University of Louisville, she worked in early childhood education, as she had in Lima.

By 2019, with ten years’ experience working in early childhood education, Beteta had decided to get her master’s to advance her career. She loved the Reggio Emilia teaching philosophy and its focus on project-based learning and defending children’s rights and hoped to continue building on that foundation. At first she was hesitant to enroll in an English-language based master’s program and tried a Spanish-language based program but it wasn’t the right fit.