{"id":91916,"date":"2025-04-10T04:00:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T08:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/?p=91916"},"modified":"2025-06-02T12:27:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T16:27:59","slug":"doctoral-student-advocates-for-educational-reform-in-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/04_10_2025\/doctoral-student-advocates-for-educational-reform-in-schools","title":{"rendered":"Doctoral Student Advocates for Educational Reform in Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kimberlie Kowalka Todd is an advocate for educational reform.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main draw to The University of Toledo was the social justice aspect of the Foundations of Education program,\u201d Todd said. \u201cBeing able to study history, sociology and philosophy of education has given me a broad range of knowledge and discipline to empower me to be part of the necessary changes in education in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Inside

Kimberlie Kowalka Todd, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in foundations of education as well as earning certificates in peace education and culture and change in institutions, became an educator after a 20-year career as an office manager and bookkeeper.<\/p><\/div>\n

Pursuing a Ph.D. in foundations of education<\/a> as well as earning certificates in peace education and culture and change in institutions, Todd also works as a K-12 visual art specialist at the Alternate Learning Center, a literacy tutor for Toledo Tomorrow, and a research assistant in the Herb Innovation Center (THInC).<\/p>\n

At 58, though, Todd said she was only able to become an educator after a 20-year career as an office manager and bookkeeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandmother was a teacher at Holland Elementary for 30 years. I grew up with a love of learning and wanted to share that love with others,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought I had missed my opportunity to be a teacher when I opted out of the education part of my art degree in my early twenties. Thanks to the licensure and master’s program at UToledo, I was able to fulfill my dream of being in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

While working at THInC, Todd works with the Literacy Everywhere! project, which aims to teach families with young children experiencing housing instability simple and practical ways to support early literacy, while simultaneously linking those families to economic resources and support systems.<\/p>\n

This month she will be participating in a seminar presentation at the American Educational Research Association annual meeting in Denver on the research project \u201cLiteracy Everywhere!: Designing Supports for Early Literacy and Awareness for Families Experiencing Housing Instability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking on Literacy Everywhere! allowed me to work with professors and students from the social work program,\u201d she said. \u201cIt expanded my personal connections and allowed me to learn to look at issues like homelessness and early childhood literacy as the complicated, interwoven mashup of education and social services that they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Todd is also a published researcher with a biographical chapter on Martha C. Nussbaum for The Palgrave Book of Educational Thinkers. Supporting her researching efforts is Dr. Dale Snauwaert, a professor in the Department of Educational Studies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cKimberlie is a very thoughtful educational scholar and educator,\u201d Snauwert said. \u201cShe has a special talent for uncovering the theoretical underpinnings of teaching and the connection between theory and practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating, Todd said she will hopefully write books and work in national educational policy as an advisor, researcher and educator.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would recommend taking theory and social foundation courses, even if they are not required for your major,\u201d Todd said. \u201cThe philosophical, political, social, moral and historical aspects of the American education system affect everyone’s lives. Everyone would be the wiser for it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"Inside<\/a>

Kimberlie Kowalka Todd, who became an educator after a 20-year career as an office manager and bookkeeper, is pursuing a Ph.D. in foundations of education as well as earning certificates in peace education and culture and change in institutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":914,"featured_media":91917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,60,498,53,1,71,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91916"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/914"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91916"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91920,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91916\/revisions\/91920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}