School of Education

About the School of Education

Established in 2007, the Johns Hopkins School of Education is a national leader in education reform through research and teaching. Grounded in the Johns Hopkins tradition of research and innovation, the School of Education is ranked among the top colleges of education in the nation by U.S. News & World Report as well as and among the top recipients of funded research..

The School of Education offers a rigorous academic environment where candidates can pursue a wide variety of graduate degree and certificate programs, and become experts in elementary and secondary teaching, counseling, administration and supervision, special and gifted education, and education in the health professions. Our candidates represent a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds, including recent college graduates, professionals from disciplines outside of education seeking a career change, and experienced administrators, counselors, and specialists who want to enhance their skills in the classroom and practice area.

Through an interdisciplinary approach with emphasis on the most challenged urban schools, our programs and applied research have measurably improved the quality of PK-12 education. Our research and policy centers play an integral role in furthering the impact of that approach.

• The Center for Research and Reform in Education obtains, analyzes, and distributes the latest research to bring meaningful reform to under-performing public schools.
• The Center for Safe and Healthy Schools empowers schools, communities, and policymakers with the knowledge and tools to foster safe and healthy school climates.
• The Center for Social Organization of Schools conducts programmatic research, develops curricula, and provides schools with technical assistance to improve education.
• The Center for Technology in Education improves the quality of life of children and youth through teaching, research, and leadership in the use of technology.
• The Institute for Education Policy convenes leaders from diverse viewpoints to share expertise in analyzing and disseminating solutions to our toughest educational issues.

Accreditation

The Johns Hopkins University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. All programs leading to professional licensure are approved by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE).

Vision

A Strategic Vision for the Johns Hopkins School of Education

The most important aspect of our vision is our people: students, staff, faculty, and leadership. As a community, we are committed to attracting and retaining a diverse, world-class faculty and staff. We believe in working collaboratively to cultivate a productive, supportive culture, which includes recruiting and promoting candidates from diverse backgrounds and inspiring our community to foster a positive environment.

The schools, organizations, and communities we serve are confronting complex, far-reaching problems. Some are long-standing; others have exploded only recently into our collective consciousness. More than ever, it is clear that these challenges will require deep, empirically informed change.

• Students and clients increasingly are being diagnosed with mental health disorders, challenging educators to move beyond an emphasis on academic achievement to one addressing mental health and social-emotional well-being.
• States and districts are experimenting with policy approaches that emphasize entrepreneurial solutions to school safety and early childhood education, and for-profit startups are competing with nonprofit, traditional providers.
• Education occurs in a context of growing societal and racial inequity—particularly in cities like Baltimore. Through our operation of the Henderson-Hopkins School, we have seen how local challenges reflect global ones.
• Research funders and consumers of research are requiring more rigorous studies that demonstrate the capacity to change practice at scale and make a lasting, positive impact.
• As the challenges and their solutions become more complex, securing financial resources requires more innovation and responsiveness.

Building on the Johns Hopkins School of Education’s distinctive strength as a global research leader with a local commitment, as well as its innovative academic programs, research centers, and entrepreneurial spirit, our vision positions the school to address these challenges and take advantage of the opportunities they create.

Together, we deliver world-class research, academic programs, and services that address the constantly evolving needs of the people and organizations we serve, training leaders capable of creating and utilizing cutting-edge knowledge and creating innovative, evidence-based policies, methods, and products to address the challenges these organizations face.

Dispositions

The following dispositions illustrate the school’s continued commitment, as a member of Johns Hopkins University, to produce candidates who are aware and ethical in pursuing their chosen practice. All candidates who complete a certificate, master's degree, and/or doctorate in the School of Education will be:
 

1. Research Centered
   1. Committed to Inquiry and Innovation
      Candidates will:
      1. be prepared to foster in others and engage in themselves the pursuit of life-long learning, continuous self-reflection, and research within their own practice or beyond;
      2. maintain fluency in scholarship in their field, professional knowledge, as well as in effective and ethical practices;
      3. evaluate and effectively implement appropriate new methods and tools; and
      4. incorporate appropriate knowledge-building technologies in their practice.
   2. Committed to Being a Reflective Practitioner
      Candidates will:
      1. actively engage in critical, creative, and metacognitive thinking to support conceptual understanding; and
      2. engage in independent and interdependent problem solving and experiential approaches to learning.
2. Collaborative
   1. Committed to Creating Positive Climates
      Candidates will:
      1. promote a climate in which learning is valued and ongoing;
      2. provide choices to enable all to share in and contribute to social and intellectual life; and
      3. uphold fair and equitable standards for conduct that encourage responsibility, mutual respect, and civic values, and that safeguard the physical, intellectual, and emotional well-being of each and every member of the community.
   2. Committed to Active Engagement
      Candidates will:
      1. actively engage in a community of learners that develop relationships, programs, and projects with colleagues in PK-20 schools and educational agencies designed to improve the quality of education for each and every student and education professional; and
      2. contribute professionally to the field at local, regional, state, and national levels.
3. Socially and Culturally Conscious:
   1. Committed to Fostering Social Justice
      Candidates will:
      1. seek to understand their own privileges and/or prejudices; the stereotypes embedded in educational materials, rules/laws, and policies; and the cultural biases that exist in schools and other education-related or societal institutions;
      2. work toward a global society where equality is recognized as a basic human right;
      3. promote social and environmental responsibility; and
      4. empower themselves and others to identify opportunities for growth toward excellence and equity.
   2. Committed to Developing Cross-Cultural Competence
      Candidates will:
      1. promote respect for self, students, families, and cultures;
      2. demonstrate a belief that everyone can learn and value human diversity and equity in the learning environment; and
      3. examine their own biases and prejudices and develop necessary awareness, attitudes, knowledge, and skills for effectively and respectfully teaching and mentoring people whose cultures differ from their own.
4. Ethical
   1. Committed to Acting Responsibly
      Candidates will:
      1. act with integrity and be considerate, respectful, punctual, and appropriate in appearance, conduct, and in all interactions with students, families, mentors, and colleagues; and
      2. be creative and self-reliant in finding appropriate solutions to problems and managing dilemmas.
   2. Committed to Acting with Integrity
      Candidates will:
      1. conduct themselves in a professional manner;
      2. be honest and open to constructive feedback from others, manage situations of conflict and their own stress appropriately, and take responsibility for their own actions; and
      3. conduct research and practice efforts intended to discover what is rather than to prove what may be anticipated.

Doctoral Programs

Master's Programs

Graduate Certificates

School of Education Leadership

Leadership Team

Christopher Morphew
Dean

Jaime Lester
Vice Dean of Academic Affairs

Fernanda Pio Roda
Sr. Associate Dean of Finance and Operations

Contact: April Stanson, april.stanson@jhu.edu
410-516-7820

Norma Day-Vines
Associate Dean for Diversity and Faculty Development
norma.Dayvines@jhu.edu
410-516-7990

Jennifer Pelton
Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations
jenniferpelton@jhu.edu
443-927-0086

Jonathan Plucker
Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs
jplucke1@jhu.edu
410-735-4177

Martha Mac Iver
Associate Dean of Research
mmaciver@jhu.edu
410-516-8256

Teresa (Teri) Murray
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Enrollment Services
teri.murray@jhu.edu
410-516-5430

Mary Beth Regan
Sr. Director of Marketing and Communications
mbregan@jhu.edu
410-516-0063

DEPARTMENT CHAIRS

Christina Harnett
Department Chair, Counseling and Educational Studies
charnett@jhu.edu
(410) 516-9874

Mary Ellen Beaty-O’Ferrall
Department Chair, Innovative Teaching and Leadership
mebo@jhu.edu
410-516-7959

Laura Quaynor
Department Chair, Advanced Studies in Education
lquaynor@jhu.edu

Faculty Executive Committee

SOE-FEC@exchange.johnshopkins.edu

Marcy Davis
President

Juliana Paré-Blagoev
Vice President

Keri Guilbault
Secretary

Sean Newhart
Parliamentarian

Odis Johnson, Jr.
Professor Representative

Jennifer Morrison
Associate Professor Representative

Cynthia Millikin
Assistant Professor Representative

Sterling Travis
Treasurer

CENTERS & INSTITUTES

Center for Research and Reform in Education
Steven Ross, Director
sross19@jhu.edu
Towson, MD
410-616-2338
education.jhu.edu/CRRE

Center for Safe and Healthy Schools 
Odis Johnson Jr., Executive Director
safeschools@jhu.edu
education.jhu.edu/CSHS

Center for Social Organization of Schools
Robert Balfanz, Co-Director
rbalfanz@jhu.edu
410-516-4272

Marcia H. Davis, Co-Director
marcy@jhu.edu
443-927-0167

Steven Sheldon, Co-Director
ssheldon@jhu.edu
410-516-5489

Center for Technology in Education
Linda Carling, Director
carling@jhu.edu
Contact: Carol Herrmann, cherrmann@jhu.edu
410-516-9839
education.jhu.edu/CTE

Institute for Education Policy
David Steiner, Executive Director
dsteiner@jhu.edu
410-516-7896
edpolicy.education.jhu.edu

CONSORTIUM

Baltimore Education Research Consortium
Marc L. Stein, Interim Director
m.stein@jhu.edu
(410) 516-6832
baltimore-berc.org

Faculty Directory