top of page
Learn About CED
Program Overview
About Civically Engaged Districts
Civically Engaged Districts are nurturing spaces for youth voice and engagement.
In Civically Engaged Districts, inquiry, interaction and the exchange of ideas create an environment in which all perspectives are heard and valued.
Civic action research is the catalyst, bringing young people into contact with all parts of the school community as they conduct, share and act upon their research.
Youth researchers learn from and about people from across the school community, going beyond the classroom and familiar peer groups. They share their findings with peers, teachers and district leaders, expanding community understandings and informing school practices.
Civic Action Research
Civic action research - closely related to youth participatory action research (YPAR) - is youth-led, classroom-based research on issues selected by and of concern to young people. Youth researchers choose a focus, conduct original research in their schools and communities, share what they've learned and take action.
Educator & Student Perspectives
Click the videos below to hear firsthand from students and educators who have been a part of Civically Engaged Districts
Team
Meet the CED Team
PROJECT TEAM
Beth C. Rubin, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University (after 22 years at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education). Rubin investigates how young people learn and engage as citizens across classroom, school, community and national contexts. She works with educators and youth to design and study curricular and pedagogical innovations that attend to the complexities of youth civic learning amid historical and contemporary injustice.
Leslie Calabrese, MA, BCBA
Co-Principal Investigator
Special Educator with a focus on behavioral, cultural, and educational equity for historically marginalized populations. Board-certified behavior analyst with over 15 years of experience teaching in the K-12 classroom. Special Education faculty teaching undergraduate and graduate pre-service teachers. Program Coordinator for the 5-Year Ed.M. Special Education/Elementary Education and Gifted Education programs.
Lauren Opiela, Ed.D.
Project Coordinator
Lauren Opiela has fourteen years of experience teaching in the New Jersey public school system. During that time, she taught several elementary grade levels, was a reading interventionist, and facilitated professional development workshops for teachers. In 2018, she graduated from Rutgers Graduate School of Education with her Ed.D where she focused on teacher leadership. Currently, Lauren is a part-time lecturer at the GSE. She teaches literacy development courses, the internship seminar, and provides student teachers with supervision and mentorship.
Hannah Batren
Project Administrator
Hannah Batren is the Program Coordinator supporting assessment, accreditation and community engaged work at the GSE. She graduated in 2014 with her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts, and in 2018 with her Master’s in Education from Bank Street College of Education’s Museum Leadership Program. Hannah is passionate about empowering community spaces and developing meaningful partnerships between community members and educational institutions.
Results & Reports
YPAR MENTORS
Laura Arredondo, Ed.D.
Mentor
Dr. Laura Arredondo is the Supervisor of World Languages and ML Programs at Hunterdon Central Regional High School. Laura completed her doctoral degree at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University, New Brunswick in May, 2020. The focus of her dissertation was exploring the integration of Youth Participatory Action Research in the bilingual language arts classroom to promote student engagement and success. Laura also serves on the executive board of NJTESOL-NJBE.
Carlo Austria
Mentor
Carlo Austria is a Social Studies teacher that was first introduced to the Civically Engaged Districts (CED) Project in 2022. After two years of helping pilot the Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) program at his school, he was invited to join the project team as a CED mentor. Carlo is excited to work with the project team, and his former Rutgers professor Dr. Rubin, to share the unique learning opportunities the CED project can offer students in the classroom. Carlo is a Rutgers University graduate earning his Bachelor’s degree in History and his Master’s degree in Social Studies Education.
Dr. Tristian Cox
Mentor
Dr. Tristan M. Cox was born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey. After graduating from Plainfield High School, Dr. Cox went on to earn a degree from Rutgers University in African American studies where he also completed his Master’s degree in Social Studies Education. After teaching for a few years he later received his second Master’s degree from Seton Hall University in Educational Leadership. Dr. Cox would continue his studies to earn his doctoral degree from Seton Hall University. The goal of his study was to analyze how one New Jersey School district responded to a demographic shift from being predominantly African American to predominately Latinx. After teaching for ten years Dr. Cox was hired to supervise the Social Studies department in the Plainfield Public School District. Dr. Cox has a strong passion for providing teachers and students with positive experiences that extend beyond the confinements of the classroom.
Brandi Gustafson, M.A.
Mentor
Brandi Gustafson, M.A. is a 7th-grade Social Studies teacher at the New Brunswick Middle School, where she leads the NBMS Youth in Action club. She teaches the Youth Participatory Action Research course at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education.
Luma Hasan, M.Ed.
Mentor
Luma Hasan is a New Jersey educator and co-founder of Teach for Liberation. For over 8 years she has been teaching, designing curriculum, and facilitating professional development that prioritize anti-bias, anti-racism, liberation and decolonization. She has also led and facilitated student-centered youth participatory action research programs throughout New Jersey. In collaboration with educators, students, and community members Luma works to create spaces of reimagination for our schools. Luma holds a Bachelor's degree in History and a Master's degree in Social Studies Education from Rutgers University.
Dr. Marnie McKoy
Mentor
Dr. Marnie G. McKoy’s twenty seven years in education have earned her a strong reputation in independent, charter and traditional public school settings. Marnie most recently served as the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources for New Brunswick Public Schools in New Jersey. She also served as Director of Accountability in Paterson Public Schools; as a charter school CEO and Principal in Paterson; Principal of an independent school in Newark; and as teacher and administrator at the Pingry School in Martinsville, New Jersey. Marnie has taught courses in the Rutgers Graduate School of Education and is teaching in Kean University’s Educational Leadership Department and Seton Hall University’s Executive Doctoral Educational Leadership Program. Marnie is a graduate of Rutgers University and Seton Hall University where she earned an undergraduate degree in English and graduate and doctorate degrees in Educational Leadership, Management and Policy respectively.
Orion Nolan, M.A.
Mentor
Orion Nolan is a 3rd grade inclusion teacher at Roosevelt School in Manville, New Jersey. Orion has her Masters in Education from Rutgers Graduate School of Education and is certified for K-6 and Special Education K-12. She has led the Youth in Action after school program in several elementary schools in New Jersey.
Rachel Redden
Mentor
Rachel is currently a 6th grade ELA and Social Studies Teacher at Ralph J. Steinhauer Elementary School who focuses on a project-based learning language arts curriculum, vocabulary enrichment, social skills and community building; civic-minded social studies education; equitable teaching practices; and culturally responsive pedagogy.
GRADUATE STUDENT ASSISTANTS
Maya Berrol-Young
Graduate Student Assistant
Maya Berrol-Young is an educator and researcher based in New York City, currently pursuing a PhD in Social Studies Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She has taught in New York City public schools, and has also served as a Global Writing and Speaking Fellow at NYU Shanghai and a Fulbright Teaching Fellow in Thailand. Her research interests include student self-advocacy skills, action research, and the experiences of students with disabilities in civic education. Maya earned a Master of Science in Education from Hunter College, where she received the Outstanding Performance Award in her program, and holds a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Bryn Mawr College.
Jay Brown
Graduate Student Assistant
Jay Brown is a Jamaican Doctoral Student in the Transcultural and international studies program at Teachers College, Columbia University. As a student researcher entering into his second year, his primary research interests are queer, gender and racial studies that focus on communities of color. Jay is an activist and an artist who loves conjoining the world of academia and artistry. As a new Zankel Fellow he will utilize his many talents to contribute to civic engagement and all that it encompasses.
Menn Chaiyarat
Graduate Student Assistant
Menn is a PhD student in Social Studies Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. His research focuses on politics, civic education, and teacher agency, with a particular interest in how teachers develop pedagogical knowledge and make decisions in diverse contexts. He is also interested in youth activism in both formal and informal spaces. Menn has experience teaching social studies and history in urban secondary schools in Bangkok, Thailand, and has also taught college students in social studies education in both Bangkok and New York City.
Camila Rodriguez
Graduate Student Assistant
Camila Rodriguez (she/her) is a PhD student in Social Studies Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research explores the intersection of heritage education and civic engagement, specifically focusing on how material culture can be used as a tool for social justice. Currently, she is leading the linguistic and cultural translation of the curriculum into Spanish, ensuring that these educational frameworks are accessible to Spanish-speaking communities and international partners. Her work seeks to bridge the gap between academic theory and community-led activism.
Jasper Wilder Golden
Graduate Student Assistant
Jasper Wilder Golden is a PhD student at Teachers College Columbia University and a former social studies/special education teacher. Jasper is also a researcher, a writer, a curator and a curriculum designer. Jasper's research interests include Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), accessibility design and figuring out better ways to support LGBTQ+ students and Disabled students in schools. Jasper’s other work is centered on creating communities of belonging for youth in schools and the transformative nature of joy in the classroom.
Noa Ovadia
Graduate Student Assistant
Noa Ovadia is a PhD student researching the civic identity formation of transnational youth, the teaching of controversial issues such as immigration in transnational classrooms, and the phenomenology of civic listening. Before joining the Civically Engaged Districts Project and coming to Teachers College, she earned her BA in Education and Gender Studies from the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, and her MA in Political Science at Tel Aviv University. She taught high-school civics and debate education in Israel, and has worked primarily with newcomer students, mixed-ethnicity classrooms, Bedouin youth, and in teacher education.
Gabriel Masi
Graduate Student Assistant
Gabriel Masi is a doctoral student in the Teaching of Social Studies program at Teachers College, Columbia University. His research centers on civic education, critical pedagogy, critical consciousness development, Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), and liberatory approaches to social studies. As a Graduate Research Assistant with the Civically Engaged Districts Project, he supports YPAR implementation in middle and high schools, conducts qualitative research, and contributes to scholarship on critical civic education, youth civic identity, and participatory research methods. Gabriel holds a Master of Arts in Education and Society from McGill University, where his thesis examined civic education in Quebec’s secondary social studies curriculum, as well as a Bachelor of Education in Secondary Social Sciences. He is also a Zankel Fellow at Frederick Douglass Academy II, where he teaches and mentors youth involved in community-based civic action research.
Kathryn Picardo
Graduate Student Assistant
Kathryn Picardo is a doctoral student in the Teaching of Social Studies program. Her research interests focus on the ways in which classrooms can incorporate difficult histories and controversial issues, and best practices in doing so. More specifically, she explores how an agonistic approach to discussion models can be applied in educational spaces to foster democratic competencies. In 2022, Kathryn served as a Fulbright Teaching Fellow in Finland, where she researched the actualization of competence learning curricula on a national scale. She also teaches high school Social Studies in Livingston, NJ.
PROJECT ADVISORS
Nora E. Hyland, Ph.D.
Project Advisor
Associate Dean, Associate Professor, and Faculty Director of Teacher Education at Rutgers Graduate School of Education, Nora studies with teachers and community members how schools can become more community-engaged and anti-racist spaces. She works with educators, pre-service teachers, and community members to develop curricular and pedagogical practices aimed at advancing models of culturally sustaining, socially just, and anti-racist PK-12 and teacher education.
Jessica Hunsdon
Project Advisor
Jessica Hunsdon is a Program Coordinator at Rutgers Graduate School of Education. Working in various educational settings for 30 years, Jessica has served as an educator, professional developer, and program coordinator. For the past twelve years she has focused on developing community-engaged programs that partner community organizations, educators, and students of all ages to facilitate reciprocal learning opportunities.
bottom of page