Faculty Spotlight: Derron Wallace
Every month, we interview a faculty member for our undergraduate newsletter. In September 2021, we spoke to Derron Wallace, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Education.
Can you describe your journey to Brandeis?
My journey to Brandeis was a long and circuitous one — at least, so it seems to me. Long before I thought being a professor was a viable path for me, I worked as a teacher in Jamaica, an educational researcher in Ethiopia and an educational policymaker at the Ministry of Education in Rwanda. While pursuing a PhD in England, I worked as a community organizer in London.
I joined the Brandeis faculty years later after serving as a National Director at The Posse Foundation. I bring all these professional experiences to bear in my teaching, mentoring and community-engaged work as an assistant professor at Brandeis to highlight to students that the pursuit of your passions can lead you to multiple roles, in multiple countries.
How did you collaborate with students on your analysis of Boston Public Schools during the COVID pandemic?
In summer 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, I collaborated with a dynamic group of undergraduate and graduate students to analyze survey responses from over 17,000 families with children attending Boston Public Schools. The undergraduates on the research team included Denezia Fahie ’22, Catherine Romero ’22, Arlett Marquez ’21, Daryl Cabrol ’22 and Maria Aranibar ’22. Through rigorous analysis of survey responses, we sought to understand families’ perceptions of remote learning and school reopening plans.
We painstakingly coded all the data, developed a policy report for the Superintendent and the Office of Equity, and made a presentation to BPS staff with recommendations on how to improve the teaching and learning experience for students. The work we did informed the development of new communication strategies between BPS and families, and shaped the training teachers received on engagement with families during the pandemic. In summer 2021, BPS invited us to review additional data to help determine how funding from the federal government should be allocated throughout BPS over the next three years. We added three additional undergraduates to the team to make the work feasible: Elinor Eggers ’23, DeBorah Ault ’22 and Lucca Raabe ’23. With their support, and the engagement of terrific graduate students from the Heller School, we developed a second policy report. All this was made possible through careful collaboration between BPS and Brandeis, between faculty and students.
Why is this research important?
This research is important because of its potential to improve the day-to-day educational experiences and long-term educational outcomes of Boston Public Schools students — the vast majority of whom are Black and Latinx. The research also proved necessary for amplifying the voice of parents and families, so that their reservations and recommendations are noted as part of the policymaking process. At a point of national and international panic about the limitations of remote learning and the challenges of school re-opening, our research points to the need for greater, sustained collaborations between schools and families to enrich the learning experiences and socio-emotional well-being of students.
What excites you about working with Brandeis students?
I thoroughly enjoy working with Brandeis students, especially Brandeis undergraduates. I find them to be intellectually curious and deeply committed to figuring out what social justice means beyond theory. The students I have worked closely with on honors theses, independent studies, Interdepartmental Interdisciplinary Majors and in the Race, Equity and Education Lab that I run, remind me of the importance of collaboration for transforming lives to change the world. I am a much better teacher because Brandeis students are my teachers, too.