This month, we focus on the nation’s most pressing issues. The COVID-19 crisis has altered the lives and realities of most people. Pandemics, says Michael W. Apple of Bejing Normal University, are in some ways equalizers. “Illness and death are faced by people across the economic spectrum,” he says. But that doesn’t mean the loss is equal. Minorities and the impoverished suffer more, in healthcare, homeschooling and more. 

COVID-19 forced all teaching in Arizona to go to an all-online format this past spring, including special education supports and services.

Special education district leaders and teachers quickly made the transition to finish out the semester, but they face serious complications — and unexpected opportunities — to build equitable and inclusive practices in the fall.

Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College adds faculty with expertise in social justice, privilege, oppression, and race and colorism, among others.

Geoffrey Borman, Foundation Professor: Borman comes to MLFTC from University of Wisconsin – Madison where he was a professor, researcher and the director of the University's Postdoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training Program. His area of expertise is K–12 education policy, applied statistics and research methods.

The transition from in-person to online learning required by the coronavirus pandemic left the education community rushing to find ways to meet the needs of all learners. Many Mary Lou Fulton Teacher College faculty members pivoted quickly to bring the benefits of their research to bear on empowering teachers to manage this new education landscape.

Michael Piburn’s social media pages are rich with photos of what he loved: cactuses and hollyhocks in bloom, sunsets over the Phoenix dessert, his many friends and children of friends, and glimpses of life at home and evenings out with his wife, Dale.

Michael Dee Piburn passed away on June 22 after a brief illness. He was 80. From 1989 to 2004 he was a professor of science education at Mary Lou Fulton College of Education. Piburn also served as the college’s associate dean for research.

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