Center for Collaborative Research Excellence in Education

Funded through a sub-award from the Center for Closing the Opportunity Gap (CCOG), a project sponsored by CSU Chancellor’s Office and administered by CSU Long Beach, the SJSU Center for Collaborative Research Excellence in Education (CCREE) is the CSU Regional Hub for Northern California to support the educational needs of Youth in Foster Care (FY) and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (HY) in California.

Mission and Vision

Led by Dr. Brent Duckor and Dr. Lorri Capizzi, CCREE’s vision is to build K-12 capacity through the development of comprehensive educational curricula in higher education that infuses and elevates a commitment to students in foster care and youth experiencing homelessness. 

We will focus on the robust CSU credential and certification programs, including Teacher, School Counselor, Social Work, Administrative, and Educational Leadership pathways in addition to Doctoral Programs. 

A “serve the servers, train the trainers, support the future leaders” model, CCREE staff and faculty will utilize CSU capacity and knowledge networks to advance the pipelines of support for Youth in Foster Care (FY) and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (HY) in California.

The mission of the CCREE team will place research, policy and practice-based focus on the children who are the most vulnerable in the State systems of support. Working to inform and learn from LEAs, we will engage CSU faculty providers through curricula and training  to deepen their commitment to the elevation and care of the State’s most vulnerable youth. Intersecting issues of race, class, and language acquisition, we locate Youth in Foster Care (FY) and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (HY) at the center of the work.

The mission of this project under the guidance of CCREE is to engage in “building a pipeline of support” to aid LEAs. Over the next 3 years, we will:

• Identify current practices from the literature related to closing the achievement/opportunity gaps for higher education providers;

• Engage in capacity development for educator preparation so that teachers, school counselors, leaders and other school personnel who enter schools are prepared to close achievement gaps;

• Engage in research in schools to further evidence-based practices for closing the achievement/opportunity gaps by examining higher performing, high poverty schools;

• Develop and disseminate resources to local education agencies to close the achievement/opportunity gaps.

Our CCREE Project Team

• Dr. Brent Duckor, Principal Investigator

  • Dr. Duckor is a leading scholar in the field of K-12 assessment who conducts research in applied psychometrics. His scholarship has appeared in Teachers College Record, Phi Delta Kappan, Journal of Teacher Education, Journal of Educational Measurement, Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, and Educational Leadership. He has served on state and national boards providing educational assessment and measurement expertise to the California’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the California Department of Education, the College and Career Readiness Evaluation Consortium for the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships in Washington, D.C. He is a former high school teacher at Central Park East Secondary School in New York City where he taught History, Economics, and Civics/Government in the Senior Institute. For over 30 years, Dr. Duckor has blended his passion for linking policy with practice, and works to inspire new teachers and educational leaders to work closely together on behalf of traditionally underserved students. 

• Dr. Lorri Capizzi, Co-Principal Investigator

  • Dr. Capizzi has over 15 years of federal grant administration experience and has co-authored and managed multi-million dollar budgets. She has in-depth experience working with schools, districts, and counties serving students in foster care and students experiencing homelessness through her work with Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). Dr. Capizzi’s expertise with underserved youth spans K-12 to higher education emphasizing practice-based training and applied research. She is a specialist in the area of foster youth, and has been a consultant to County Offices of Education where she has advised districts on developing Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs). She serves as the faculty advisor for the CSU Guardian Scholars Program for emancipated foster youth in higher education and advises SJSU administration on program design and curriculum development for this program. Her research partnerships/projects have served the California Department of Education, County Offices of Education - Foster and Homeless divisions, California Department of Child and Family Services and The Superior Courts of Santa Clara County.

Our CCREE Advisory Board

• Manny Barbara, Former CEO, Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF)
• Dr. Blanca Baltazar-Sabbah, Associate Superintendent of Instructional Services, Salinas Union High School District
• Shimica Gaskins Esq., Executive Director, Children’s Defense Fund
• Dr. Michael Kirst, Former President of the California Board of Education
• Dr. Julia Koppich, Education Consultant,  J. Koppich & Associates
• Mary Perry, Education Consultant, Former Deputy Director, EdSource
• Dr. Richard Shavelson, Emeritus Margaret Jacks Professor and I. James Quillen Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University.

Press Releases/Media Resources

• July 2022 "Policy Perspectives on Students in Foster Care and Youth Experiencing Homelessness."

• July 2022 "Using Art and Music to Close the Achievement Gap: A Panel Discussion." 
• May 2022 - "Anti-Racist Assessment Work: A Retrospective and Primer"

• March 2022 -  "CCREE Brings on Two New Advisory Board Members"
• August 2021 - "Lurie College Student Selected for CCREE Fellowship"

• June 2021 - "How can Teachers, School Counselors, & Administrators support educational outcomes for students in foster care during extraordinary times?" webinar

• February 2021 - "Project to help educate teachers on homeless and foster students launched at San Jose State" on EdSource

• December 2020 - Call for a Doctoral Fellowship in the Ed.D. Educational Leadership Program at San José State University (Applications Due February 1, 2021)

• August 2020 - Building K-12 Educational Capacity for Youth in Foster Care and Youth Experiencing Homelessness in California

CCREE Doctoral Fellowships

The Ed.D. Leadership Program and the Center for Collaborative Research Excellence in Education (CCREE) are seeking applications for a doctoral fellowship in the Ed.D. Educational Leadership Program at San José State University. 

The goal of the fellowship is to engage in research that addresses and advances equitable outcomes for students experiencing homelessness from the K-12 educational system. This fellowship will provide advanced training in quantitative and qualitative research and opportunities for engagement in education policy. Fellows will be invited to present outcomes with Ed.D. faculty members to the SJSU community at large as well as at local, state, and national conference venues. Opportunities for publication of dissertation results and findings will be afforded by the Ed.D. program.

To learn more, you can find more details on this announcement. This fellowship will be for newly admitted EdD students beginning in the summer 2022 cohort. The deadline to apply is February 1, 2022. Please share this opportunity widely with your networks. 

CCREE Fellow

Our CCREE has awarded a 3-year Doctoral Fellowship to Sofia Fojas through partnership funding provided by the SJSU Ed.D. Leadership Program and the Connie L. Lurie College of Education.

Dr. Brent Duckor, Director of SJSU’s CCREE says the goal of the multi-year fellowship is to engage in applied research that addresses and advances equitable outcomes for students in foster care and students experiencing homelessness in the K-12 population. He notes that this fellowship will provide advanced training in quantitative and qualitative research methods and opportunities for engagement in education policy with a focus on moving research into spheres of professional training and practice. We are extremely pleased and honored to have Ms. Sofia Fojas with us, said Duckor.

“I look forward to serving as a doctoral fellow at San José State University and studying policy for students experiencing homelessness and youth receiving foster care services. I am ready to step into the next phase of my life. I chose to pursue my doctoral studies in the Ed.D. Leadership program here among many other programs because here I see an opportunity for serving as a catalyst for large-scale change at the policy level for the most disenfranchised students in our education system” says Ms. Fojas.

Doctoral Fellowship - Rosemarie Espinoza

SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY – CENTER FOR COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION (CCREE) has awarded a 3 year Doctoral Fellowship to Rosemarie Espinoza through partnership funding provided by the SJSU Ed.D. Leadership Program and the Connie L. Lurie College of Education.

Dr. Brent Duckor, Director of SJSU’s CCREE says the goal of the multi-year fellowship is to engage in applied research that addresses and advances equitable for students experiencing homelessness and youth experiencing houselessness in the K-12 population. He notes that this fellowship will provide advanced training in quantitative and qualitative research methods and opportunities for engagement in education policy with a focus on moving research into spheres of professional training and practice. We are extremely pleased and honored to have Ms. Espinoza with us, said Dr. Duckor.

Rosemarie Espinoza holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from UC Santa Cruz and a Master’s degree in Education, concentration in Counseling and Student Personnel from San José State University. 

Ms. Espinosa has significant professional experience working within both social services and educational institutional settings assisting students in navigating all college processes including enrollment, financial aid, probation/dismissal, educational planning, student accommodation services, and health and psychological services. She has first-hand experience seeing, “the impact that lack of knowledge and resources have on students who experience homelessness and has seen how it can contribute to cycles of continued system-involvement.” 

Ms. Espinoza notes, “In my position, I have strived towards serving as a liaison to connect students to the many campus and community-based organizations that provide services essential in helping to elevate and eliminate barriers to academic success such as housing, mental health services, childcare, and food programs.”

Rosemarie’s career has been driven by her core values and passion for education, advocacy, and social justice as well as by her educational background and experience working with system-impacted youth. This includes students who were justice involved, substance-involved, experiencing homelessness and in foster care. With great enthusiasm, she stated that “she looks forward to serving as a doctoral fellow at San José State University and studying policy for students experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity.” 

Ms. Espinoza is interested in system change and with her understanding of the inner workings of the county and state systems she has inside knowledge on how policy can impact the lives of others. “Her passion to better the lives of youth experiencing homelessness coupled with her professional experience made her an ideal candidate for this fellowship, we look forward to the work ahead.” says Dr. Lorri Capizzi, Assistant Professor at the Department of Counselor Education and Co-Director at CCREE.

Announcements

Join us on Friday, July 29th from 9am to 1:00pm as we connect, inspire and empower California TK-12 teachers, administrators & other school professionals for this day of learning presented by teacher leaders & scholars. Free registration and lunch. Virtual option also available. To submit a proposal as a speaker click this link! 

Register here

Dr. Brent Duckor and Dr. Lorri Capizzi copresented the free webinar "How can Teachers, School Counselors, & Administrators support educational outcomes for students in foster care during extraordinary times?" with the CSU Center to Close the Opportunity Gap in June 2021.

The CCOG launch event took place in November 2020.