Sheila Labissiere

Fall 2017 – present

PhD in Education Policy and Evaluation

McKnight Dissertation Fellowship

Hometown: Miami, FL, USA

Educational/Professional Background

Florida State University, BS, Social Science (2009)

Florida A&M University, M.Ed., Educational Leadership, (2013)

Florida A&M University, M.Ed. Curriculums & Instruction (2015)

Crossroad Academy Charter School, Elementary School Teacher (2010-2012)

FAMU Developmental Research School, Elementary School Teacher (2012-2016), Title I/ESOL Coordinator (2016-Present)

FAMU DRS Freedom School, Site Coordinator (2016-2018), Executive Director (2018-Present)

Research and Teaching Interests, or Professional Field

Research Interest: Exploring the socio-economic underpinnings of traditional schooling practices.

Traditional schooling practices (i.e. ability grouping, punitive school discipline, etc.) are situated in oppressive, elitist ideology, designed to separate groups of children from one another in an effort to exclude low-income children of color (Ladson-Billings, 2006; Gadsden, 2017). Such separations create the space for funding inequality, unequal distribution of high quality teachers and school leaders, curriculum differentiation, etc which sustains the achievement gap between and across groups of students and schools.

Future Plans/Aspirations

I aspire to enter into the world of academia to work with future and practicing educators. I hope to expand my research to effect positive and impactful change in the K-12 school system, as well as teacher preparation programs.