1. To enrich education through diversity the University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer
To: Dr. Sharon Radd
AERA Leadership for Social Justice SIG Awards Committee Chair
From: Dr. Jeffrey S. Brooks, Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Idaho and Dr. Sarah
Diem, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Missouri
Re: 2014 AERA Leadership for Social Justice SIG “Bridge People” Award
Dr. Radd and Committee Members:
It is our pleasure to nominate Dr. Anjalé D. Welton, Ms. Rachel Moyer, University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign (UIUC) graduate students, and the students from the Social Justice Class at Illinois Urbana
High School (UHS) for the 2014 AERA Leadership for Social Justice SIG Bridge People Award. We
recognize that this is uncommon to nominate so many people for a single award, but believe that this
group of educators and students collectively embody the principles of the Bridge People Award. Theirs is
a unique leadership for social justice collaboration, and we feel they are extremely deserving of
recognition. In this letter we will briefly outline how the work Dr. Welton, Ms. Moyer, the UIC graduate
students, and the students from the Social Justice Class at Urbana High School are engaged in meets or
exceeds each criterion of the award description.
The Social Justice Course at Urbana High School
Urbana High School is a public high school located in Urbana School District 116. The school is
composed of approximately 1,200 students from 9th-12th grade and is a racially diverse population of
students who are 40% white, 40% black, 10% Latina/o, 5% Asian, and 5% multiracial. UHS is located in
the semi-urban community of Urbana, IL, which is the home of the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign (UIUC).
As a traditional comprehensive public high school, UHS has a variety of course options. Currently,
students are able to enroll in an elective class entitled “Social Justice.” This is the second year that UHS
has offered the Social Justice class as a semester-long course for students from 9th-12th grades.
Currently there are 32 freshmen and sophomores enrolled in this course, well above the average course
enrollment of 18-20, due to the popularity and interest in the class. The students in this class closely
match the overall demographics of the school, and the course is diverse with respect to students’ racial,
ethnic, linguistic, social class, and sexual identities. The teacher of this course, Rachel Moyer, is a white
female English teacher who is also the chair of the UHS Social Justice Committee, which is comprised of
teachers, administrators, students and community members. Ms. Moyer is dually certified in English and
Social Studies and minored in women and gender studies as an undergraduate. With her credentials,
plus assistance from Dr. AJ Welton and UIUC doctoral students Priya Goel, Jonathan Hamilton, and
Tiffany Harris, as well as the support of the school’s principal, Joe Wiemelt (who is also a doctoral
candidate in educational administration at UIUC); Ms. Moyer had a foundation for embarking on new
instructional territory by developing an “unscripted” curriculum that still meets the Common Core
standards.
The overarching purpose of this course is to introduce students to social justice topics such as identity,
gender, LGBTIQ issues, and race; while engaging in scholarly discussions, reading and analyzing
academic articles, and writing reflection and response papers which include personal counternarratives to

2. To enrich education through diversity the University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer
oppressive stereotypes. The culminating project for students in the social justice class is to conduct Youth
Participatory Action Research (YPAR) projects within the school setting at UHS. Students select group
research topics that they have identified as important to analyze at UHS based on their individual and
collective perspectives related to the overarching issue of institutionalized racism. Their topics include:
1. Teacher and student relationships
2. Lack of faculty diversity (92% white faculty; 60% students of color)
3. Underrepresentation of students of color in honors courses
4. Disproportionate dress code enforcement on females of color
5. Overrepresentation of students of color being disciplined
Students presented their findings to teachers, peers and administrators in the district, to the school board
and at the 2013 UCEA Annual Convention.
Words of Praise for this “Bridge Building” Work
We asked both local educators and educational leadership scholars who are familiar with the project to
offer their impressions of the work:
“I write to give my strongest endorsement of the Social Justice Class at Urbana High School and
its broader research collaboration and I am delighted to support the program’s nomination for the
AERA Leadership for Social Justice SIG "Bridge People" Award. I am especially gratified to
support Professor Anjale Devawn Welton, who is committed and passionate about building
relationships between the University and students and teachers in the local districts. The Social
Justice Class at Urbana High School is an outstanding program and a model for establishing a
bridge between campus and community. I recommend it with the highest praise.”
Dr. James D. Anderson, Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell Professor and Head at
the University of Illinois-Champaign
“I can think of no one who engenders the definition of “bridge people” more than those of the
social justice students at UHS, their teacher, Rachel Moyer, and Dr. Anjale Welton. Through their
important YPAR study of institutional racism in our school, this group of scholars came together
to bridge the roles of professor, teacher, and student, to bravely name and confront structures
that are, despite the good intentions of many, still present in our public schools. It is only through
shedding light on institutional racism and bravely engaging in courageous conversations around
this legacy that we have a chance of changing how our institutions can serve as a roadblock to
student learning. Fortunately, we can look to the scholars who conducted this important study as
bridge builders…now, we must join these leaders to lay down more brick.”
Beth Hogan, English Teacher, Urbana High School
“Dr. Welton, Ms. Moyer and the students from the social justice leadership group at Urbana High
School has exemplified true and bold leadership that is led by student issues and concerns, not
those of corporations, think-tanks, government agencies or other outside forces. This is what true
leadership is and student engagement is with change for all. These students were sharp,
articulate, focused and pulled together the current research to inform their concerns and issues
about specific policies and practices in the school that resulted in racial, social class and gender
disparities in their high school. Furthermore, they offered tangible policy solutions for the
administration to consider and they have engaged in the work with school leaders and teachers
and parent groups to change. I lived in Urbana for 13 years and did informal and formal work
around the issues of student equity and historically there has been very slow/slim progress. But
this group proves that interest convergence and student activism can create critical race
moments of real leadership change for the better of all students. The students had one of the
greatest teachers at that school also, Mr. Michael Pollock who taught courses from American
government and history to African American Studies. He was an inspirational teacher and social
justice leader and I hope the students will keep his memory in their hearts and minds as they
further their education and pursuit of their dreams.”
Dr. Laurence Parker, Professor, Department of Educational Leadership & Policy,
University of Utah

3. To enrich education through diversity the University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer
“Dr. Welton, Ms. Moyer, the UIC graduate students and the students in the Social Justice class at
Urbana High School epitomize “Bridge People” through their work to create a “bridge between
themselves and others, for the purposes of improving the lives of all those with whom they
worked.“ Bridges were built between the Urbana Public Schools and UIC but more importantly,
bridges were built within Urbana High School. Students were empowered to become active
participants in school improvement efforts through their Participatory Action Research. These
students not only learned about social justice in an academic sense but they enacted a social
justice agenda during this life-changing experience. They learned about agency and voice,
problem solving, and research. This project brought together activists from higher education,
central office and the classroom to enact meaningful change in their community. Their work is
inspiring and truly award-worthy.”
Dr. Pamela D. Tucker, Professor & Coordinator, Administration and Supervision Program
at the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia
“What is particularly striking about the important bridging work done by Dr. Welton, Ms. Moyer,
and the students from Urbana High is the enactment of Dr. Welton's research on and
commitment to involving students as partners in education research and practice. Dr. Welton has
conducted important advocacy work around creating space for students as involved partners in
the field, but it is refreshing to see such clear modeling of this kind of partnership in the real world.
It is one thing to partner with students in research, but quite another to bring students to
educational leadership conferences, which Dr. Welton has done. To me, this is an important
component of the Leadership for Social Justice SIG Bridge People Award, and I can think of no
one more deserving of this recognition.”
Dr. Terah T. Venzant Chambers, Associate Professor, K-12 Educational Administration
Michigan State University
“I felt an incredible high in meeting the young and engaging scholars at the start of my session at
UCEA. It only went up from there as I saw their high level of engagement during the session and
it was icing on the cake to learn that they all had already done racial autobiographies. Great work
in providing and reminding us about the powerful vehicle of student voice to launch us forward!”
Dr. Mark Anthony Gooden, UCEA President and Associate Professor at The University of
Texas at Austin
In summary, we feel strongly that Dr. Welton, Ms. Moyer, the UIUC graduate students and the students in
the Social Justice class at Urbana High School epitomize “Bridge People” through their work to create a
“bridge between themselves and others, for the purposes of improving the lives of all those with whom
they worked.” The collaborated to build bridges between the Urbana Public Schools and UIUC but more
importantly, they also built bridges within Urbana High School and across the school district. Students
were empowered to become active participants in school improvement efforts through their Participatory
Action Research. These students not only learned about social justice in an academic sense but they
enacted a social justice agenda during this life-changing experience. They learned about agency and
voice, problem solving, and research. This project brought together activists from higher education,
central office, and the classroom to enact meaningful change in their community. Their work is inspiring
and truly award-worthy. Thank you again for providing the opportunity to nominate these truly exceptional
members of the educational community for this award. If we can be of further assistance to the committee
or clarify any of our remarks, please don’t hesitate to contact us at your convenience.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jeffrey S. Brooks Dr. Sarah Diem