CSU-College of Education

As our students eagerly count down the days and hours until their return to campus on Monday, our faculty and staff are engaged in a professional development session on AI led by Dr. Jacquelynn Pleis. The meeting has been both insightful and thought-provoking, exploring the many advantages—as well as the challenges—of artificial intelligence. Thankfully, our therapy dog Bella was on hand to lend some comfort as we navigated these complex topics! (and yes, AI helped with writing this)

Congratulations to Kevin Butler on being selected as Teacher of the Year for Baptist Hill Middle School in Charleston County. Kevin earned his M.Ed. in Elementary and Secondary Administration and Supervision from CSU in 2021. He is also the husband of Dr. Amanda Butler, who serves as Department Chair in the College of Education at CSU.

Today is collection day for Operation Christmas Child from the faculty and staff at CSU. The College of Education group packed 202 boxes this year! We had a fun day of packing the boxes last week and getting them ready. We pray that the children receiving these items will feel the love of Christ through these gifts.

The College of Education celebrated Halloween in style! The faculty dressed up in various fun costumes. The students voted Dr. Courtney Boyle as the best costume. We enjoyed having the students all in the faculty suite for trick or treating and hope everyone left with a bag full of goodies!

Congratulations to Corey Vanhorn on receiving his official Call Me MISTER blazer. Corey is a Spring 2025 graduate with a degree in Music Education-Instrumental. He is currently teaching at Carolyn Lewis School. He was awarded his jacket at the CMM Conference at Clemson University on Saturday, October 25, 2025.

One of our teacher candidates, Damontae Cummings, was awarded a Service Award and Promise Letter from the Charleston County School District on Thursday, October 16, 2025. Damontae is an Elementary Education Major and a member of the Call Me MISTER program, where he won an award two years ago to travel to Japan for two weeks to work with students. This award from CCSD will guarantee him a teaching position in the district for the 2027-2028 school year. Ms. April Butler and Ms. Brittany Cummings from the CCSD office presented the award. Dr. Julie Fernandez, Dean of the College of Education, and Dr. Antonio Woods, Coordinator of the CMM program, were on hand to support and witness the signing by Damontae.
We hope this is the first of many teacher candidates who will receive a promise letter for a teaching position years before they even graduate from CSU.

This is the wonderful College of Education Team at CSU. We spent today talking over the upcoming semester and can't wait to have our candidates back home in Wingo Hall. (Dr. Amanda Butler, our UG Department Chair, was in a meeting so she is not pictured.)

The COE offices are not the same without these wonderful people around this summer!! Looking forward to having them back in the office in August. Enjoy your much needed break!!

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day to celebrate the end of the school year. The COE had their annual Hot Diggity Dog Day for our education majors along with many other students who were invited to join us. The students enjoyed hot dogs, chips, drinks, and snow cones which were supplied by our Retention Committee. We had some fun games for the students, face painting, and of course a visit with Dr. Siko's dog, Bella. She made the day even better with her sweet spirit!

Mrs. Anita Zucker was a guest speaker at CSU’s The Global Lecture Series. She spoke about her history, family, and her career. The majority of her family, and the family of her late husband, Jerry Zucker, were murdered during the holocaust. The surviving family members endured unimaginable hardships and found ways to survive and thrive while looking to the future to find ways to repair themselves, their family, and the world.

The College of Education served as a sponsor for this event. Many of our students and faculty members attended this event.