Contact: Crystal Drake, Office of Strategic Communications
Dr. Brooke A. Burks ‘00, Dean of the School of Education, at Tuskegee University, has been named an Impact Academy fellow through national non-profit organization Deans for Impact (DFI). Dr. Burks joins a cohort of leaders chosen for their commitment to strengthening educator preparation and ensuring future teachers are prepared to meet the needs of all students.
Educator-preparation leaders today are navigating a rapidly-evolving landscape, from emerging technologies like AI and new strategic staffing models to reading and math instructional policy shifts, tightening budgets, enrollment pressures, and changing workforce needs. More than ever, the field needs leaders who can guide change with clarity, courage, and care while keeping student learning at the center.
DFI aims to support this need through its Impact Academy fellowship, which has developed a national network of nearly 200 education deans and executive-level leaders who are today working within and beyond educator preparation to strengthen teaching and learning. The fellowship supports leaders to prioritize evidence-based instruction, navigate their teams through continuous change, deepen partnerships with schools and communities, and build accessible, high-quality pathways into teaching.
“Through the DFI fellowship, I have a great team of colleagues and mentors who work together to engage stakeholders at all levels in solving the most complex problems in teacher preparation,” said Dr. Burks. “During our Renaissance Era at Tuskegee, we are upholding a legacy of equipping world-class educators to create measurable change in every space that learning is happening. I look forward to continuing to learn from and alongside others who share the common language of teacher education.”
Dr. Burks is one of 24 leaders announced as part of the fellowship’s 11th cohort. This year’s fellows represent a wide range of contexts and communities in which future teachers are prepared, including public and private universities, community colleges, national programs, school districts, and innovative teacher-preparation pathways. Together, they share a commitment to strengthening systems of education so that more students are taught by well-prepared teachers.
Fellows will participate in in-person and virtual monthly cohort-based learning, receive 1:1 coaching from veteran leaders, and engage in peer consultancies focused on the field’s most pressing challenges. Over the course of the year, they will workshop solutions to adaptive challenges: complex problems leaders face when change depends not only on technical or structural fixes, but on shifting mindsets, relationships, and ways of working.
“Educator-preparation leaders are being asked to make important decisions in a moment of rapid change,” said Valerie Sakimura, CEO of DFI. “This cohort of leaders stands out for their willingness to engage in complexity with deep care for students, their learning, and their futures.”
To learn more about this year’s Impact Academy cohort, visit: https://www.deansforimpact.org/impact-academy-cohort11.
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