Please join the CTTL in congratulating seven recent graduates of Skyline College’s New Faculty Academy: Cassidy Ryan (Cosmetology); Safiyyah Forbes (Chemistry); Nicole Porter (Early Childhood/Elementary Education); Alberto Santellan (Counseling); Jessica Truglio (Learning Disability Specialist, DRC); Kenyatta Weathersby (Math); Ching-Yi (Miranda) Wang (Math). New Faculty Academy (NFA) graduates received a certificate of completion during a celebratory lunch that brought together four cohorts of NFA faculty from academic years 13-14, 14-15, 15-16, and, the current academic year, 17-18.
Previously known as BootUp Camp, NFA is a semester-long training program offered in the fall for recently hired full-time faculty. The training is designed to provide new full-time faculty with knowledge, skills, and tools that foster success in their roles as practitioners in the classroom and as College/District employees. NFA faculty commit to participating in two full-day sessions prior to the start of the Fall semester and six half-day sessions throughout the semester in which they explore and engage in transformative activities and assignments rooted in culturally relevant, equity-driven pedagogies and practices.
NFA instruction, activities, and assignments in areas such as active learning, collaborative/cooperative learning, assessment, universal design for learning, reciprocity, and educational technology, are grounded in the core of Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson’s seminal article, “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education” (https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED282491.pdf). The CTTL also partners with Student Equity and Support Services to include modules to provide training and resources specifically focused on equity, race, and diversity, including but not limited to topics such as unconscious bias and micro-aggressions. Additionally, NFA participants are introduced (or reintroduced) to key and critical campus academic and student support services, personnel, resources, and processes and procedures.
Graduates of NFA have reported successes both in the classroom and within the college community as a result of their NFA experiences. Furthermore, long-lasting connections and partnerships/collaborations developed during the semester-long training inspire faculty involvement in projects and initiatives that contribute to Skyline College’s commitment to innovation and excellence. Look out for the recent NFA graduates! They have already begun to make their mark in their departments and divisions and are shining ever-so-brightly in our Skyline College community!
Article and photo by Nina L. Floro
