Professor Furthers
St. John’s Commitment to Urban Education
During the 17 years she has been at St. John’s, Deborah
Saldana, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Curriculum and
Instruction, has helped propel the University into the front ranks
of urban education. “Dr. Saldana’s contributions in this area,”
said Jerrold Ross, Ph.D.,
Dean of The School
of Education (SOE),“are truly trailblazing.”
Dr. Saldana has worked tirelessly to extend St. John’s urban
education franchise. She has secured field placements at
inner city schools for students enrolled in her classes and
received a series of grants for initiatives she has created to help
at-risk students and underperforming schools.
Dr. Saldana’s achievements have not only benefitted marginalized
students and schools, but they have also helped the undergraduates
and graduates she teaches. “My students tell me,” she said, “that
these experiences give them excellent preparation for becoming
outstanding educators. Field placements show them how essential it
is to develop a culturally relevant curriculum; and participating
in community-based projects exposes them to alternative career
tracks.” Given the current economy, Dr. Saldana sees it as her
responsibility to suggest that they consider looking for positions
with nonprofits, businesses and governmental agencies as well as
teaching.
The experience of Marianne Lucchesi, ‘07Ed, ‘10Ged, is
illustrative. As a result of participating in St. John’s Attendance
Improvement Drop Out Prevention program (AIDP) — funded by United Way — Marianne now
holds a full-time position with the organization. “I owe Dr.
Saldana so much for making this job possible,” she said. “Not only
has it opened up new career possibilities, but I am growing
personally as well as professionally as a result.”
AIDP, like many other collaborative partnerships Dr. Saldana has
spearheaded, provides a model for how a visionary and civically
engaged university can work with outside organizations to improve
urban education.” Being able to put my ideas into action,” she
explained, “is one of the reasons I am at St. John’s. The
University’s Vincentian and Catholic mission
perfectly matches my personal aspiration of making equitable and
excellent education available to all students.”
Dr. Saldana is especially proud of the enduring relationship she
helped forge in 1999 with the New York City Department of Education
to create the Brooklyn
Bridge Program — dedicated to helping the growing number of
under credited students, age 16-21, earn their high school
diplomas.
In 2007, Dean Ross asked Dr. Saldana to establish St. John’s Urban
Childhood and Adolescent Research and Educational Services
Institute (Urban CARES) to serve as an umbrella for her
groundbreaking initiatives. “I am very grateful to Dean Ross,” said
Dr. Saldana. “The existence of the Institute opens the way for the
SOE to continue to change the landscape of urban
education.”
In 2008, the Institute introduced a doctoral program for qualified,
senior administrators working in inner city schools nationwide.
“The new program,” explained Dr. Saldana, “enables professionals in
the field to go beyond studying academic underachievement to
explore the systemic issues contributing to minority male problems
like unemployment and incarceration.”
Our goal,” said Dr. Saldana, “is to help St. John’s become a
research and teaching resource for the nation’s urban education
policymakers.”