UNC School of Education

Congratulations to UNC School of Education staff members Brittany Cowan, Ashley Murphy, and Maranda Nussbaum, who were honored as the 2025-26 recipients of the School’s Staff Excellence Awards! 🎉🩵

Cowan, communications and marketing content manager, helps share the impact of the School’s research, programs, and community partnerships through strategic content across web, print, and social media. Nominators commended Cowan for the range of skills she brings to the Marketing and Communications team — including photography, writing, storytelling, and design — and commended her professionalism, strategic insight, and collaborative spirit.

Murphy, partnerships program manager, supports Carolina Community Academy and other partnership-focused initiatives, drawing on more than a decade of experience in K-12 education as a teacher, instructional coach, and school administrator. Nominators celebrated Murphy as a dependable colleague who takes initiative, supports events across the School, and helps create a welcoming and supportive environment for those around her.

Nussbaum, an accountant, has served the School for the past three years after spending 13 years as an elementary school teacher in North Carolina public schools. Nominators recognized her patience, responsiveness, and proactive support, describing her as someone who helps faculty, staff, and students navigate complex financial and administrative processes with care.

Discover more about each award recipient. https://unc.live/4ovTktn

For Anthony Mitchell, the UNC School of Education's online Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Organizational Learning and Leadership program represents both professional growth and a return home to Carolina.

As a alumnus with a Bachelor of Arts in education and psychology, Mitchell, who is based in Matthews, N.C., chose the program because of the University’s lasting impact on his life and its cohort model, which he said fosters connection, shared learning, and a stronger educational experience. Mitchell serves as vice president of learning & organizational development at Huntington Insurance in Charlotte.

Through the program, Mitchell said he has had the opportunity to apply coursework directly to workplace challenges, from strengthening his focus group facilitation skills to shaping the early direction of his Dissertation in Practice. As an OLL ambassador, Mitchell reflects on the people — faculty, staff, fellow scholars, and prospective students — who make the program transformative and help create a community where distance never feels like a barrier.

"Between live sessions, group work, the annual Immersion, and the relationships I've built through the ambassador program, distance has never felt like a barrier. The Cadre, my spring 2025 cohort, has become like family. And while the program is rigorous, it has been workable alongside a full-time leadership role and the demands of family life. I feel like it has been a great fit for where I am both professionally and personally."

Congratulations to the Master of Arts in Teaching at UNC School of Education program on earning an A+ from the National Council on Teacher Quality for its outstanding preparation of future elementary teachers to teach children to read! 🎊

After reviewing more than 700 elementary teacher preparation programs, NCTQ recognized the MAT program as one of just 227 programs nationwide — and one of only 37 graduate programs — to receive this highest distinction. This also recognizes and celebrates the School’s efforts to equip teachers with evidence-based practices in scientifically grounded reading instruction. Read more.

Carolina earns A+ on scientifically based reading instruction for elementary teacher candidates - UNC School of Education The UNC School of Education has been recognized by the National Council on Teacher Quality for its preparation of future elementary teachers to teach children to read, earning an A+ […]

We’re excited to share that the UNC School of Education was represented from June 2-4 at the Multilingual By Design challenge in Washington, D.C. Faculty member Kristin Papoi, Ph.D., and Heather Aiken, Ph.D., a research scientist at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute were selected from a highly competitive national pool and partnered with AI developer Tim Spinks from Mondo Robot to co-design a new tool for multilingual learners.

During the “Design Days” phase, the /Mondo Robot team rapidly prototyped and pitched Sound Oriented AI for Reading (SOAR), a bidirectional, multilingual phoneme mapping tool designed to support early elementary teachers. The proposed tool helps teachers map English phonemes to their counterparts, or closest sounds, in other languages and includes pictures of words that use the target phonemes across multiple languages. The end result will be a research-backed, AI-enabled, classroom-ready tool to support multilingual learners.

We’re thrilled to have Carolina faculty helping lead this important work!

Marisa Marraccini, Ph.D., Donald & Justeen Tarbet Faculty Scholar in Education, has dedicated her research career to helping schools better support students during the critical transition back to school following a suicide-related crisis or psychiatric hospitalization, a period that research shows can significantly influence a student’s recovery and well-being.

Through the Marraccini-led School Reintegration Project, she and national mental health experts developed newly released “School Re-Entry Guidelines,” one of the first research-based roadmaps designed to support students as they return to school following psychiatric hospitalization for suicide-related crises. Learn how Marraccini’s work is helping schools create safer, more supportive environments for students. https://unc.live/43iKLZh

American Foundation for Su***de Prevention The HEAL Association/The Hospital Educator and Academic Liaison Association

If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. In the U.S., call or text 988 to reach the Su***de & Crisis Lifeline, free and confidential 24/7.

A literacy lecturer at Appalachian State University, Kelley Wilson is part of the first cohort of the School’s online Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Organizational Learning and Leadership and serves as one of the program’s inaugural student ambassadors.

Launched in spring 2026, the ambassador program includes 25 students organized into seven committees and advised by Monty Fowler, Ed.D. Together, they support alumni networking, program advocacy, and professional development.

Wilson said she chose the program because it felt broad, flexible, and aligned with her desire to make a greater impact beyond a single role. Through coursework, faculty support, and cohort connection, she has grown as an educator, leader, and advocate.

“I have become more reflective about how decisions impact people at different levels of an organization and how important it is to build trust and shared understanding when working through challenges."

UNC School of Education builds pre-K toolkit | UNC-Chapel Hill Professor Annemarie Hindman partners with Person County Schools to help caregivers teach children the skills they need for school.

Congrats to Rachel Bringewatt (’26 Ed.D.), a teacher at Cary Academy in Cary, N.C., on being named as a recipient of the Leadership in Teaching Award, presented by the Curran Family Foundation, during the Cary Chamber's “Honor A Teacher” ceremony in May! 🎊

The Honor A Teacher program is an annual initiative that celebrates exceptional educators across the local community. Each year, hundreds of nominations recognize teachers for their dedication, impact, and ability to inspire students.

We are proud to celebrate Bringewatt and the difference she continues to make in the lives of learners! 🩵