Graduate Coordinator of the Equity and Excellence in Education Certificate Program presents at virtual MSEA Convention

Melissa Thomas M.S. '05, coordinator of the Equity and Excellence in Education graduate certificate program and an adjunct professor at McDaniel College, was selected to present at the virtual Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) Convention on Oct. 16.

The 2020 MSEA Convention is set for October 16-17 and is being held virtually due to COVID-19, according to MSEA’s website. This annual convention provides teachers, education support professionals, administrators, and other educators throughout the State of Maryland the opportunity to participate in over 20 workshops on issues affecting their jobs, students, and their families.

For this year’s convention, MSEA built their convention workshop schedule around specific topics, including racial and social justice in our schools, which Thomas is uniquely qualified to speak on due to her role leading the Equity and Excellence in Education program at McDaniel, the first graduate program of its kind offered in Maryland addressing the multidimensional issue of equal access to educational opportunities for all students. Graduate students in the program build skills that effectively address the needs of diverse learners.   

Thomas’s presentation called “Feeling the Pain and Experiencing the Growth: How to Engage in Crucial Conversations about Race and Ethnicity to Improve Student Learning.”

“This workshop will focus on the Courageous Conversation compass and teachings of Glenn Singleton,” said Melissa Thomas M.S. '05. “We will discuss questions such as – where are we now, how did we get here, how do we fit in to this all. Answering these questions is never easy and often will cause a slight ‘ouch’ inside of us as we struggle with the truth that may conflict with our individual perceptions of reality.”

Thomas, who earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction (now Innovations in Teaching and Learning) from McDaniel in 2005, is also an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) resource teacher in Carroll County Public Schools and a Maryland State Department of Education Master Teacher with a background in ESOL, secondary English, and Spanish.

Thomas has a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education/Communications from the University of Pittsburgh and certifications that include Maryland Advanced Professional Certificate: ESOL PreK–12, English, Spanish, and speech communication.

This will be the first time Thomas presents virtually for MSEA, but she has been a MSEA presenter in the past.

“I am a person who loves the interactivity of a conference and the networking,” Thomas said.