A Drive to Help English Learners Carried Coachella Valley School Leader to Doctorate

Photo Credit: Joshua Sudock for UMass Global

IRVINE, Calif. (May 23, 2022) – UMass Global honored Dr. Melinda Gonzalez and about 80 other students who gathered Sunday to celebrate their completion of the Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership degree. Gonzalez, who works as a school administrator for an elementary school in Salton City, earned her degree after writing her dissertation¹ on teaching methods benefiting English Learners.

Gonzalez focused her research on pupils in the third, fourth, and fifth grades. Her conclusions include her finding that teachers specializing in these grade levels should be free to teach in their own personal styles but would also benefit from additional training. Many teachers, Gonzalez said, would be better prepared to teach English Learners in the upper grades if they themselves had an opportunity to study how teachers help younger children master essential literacy skills.

“We have to make sure that we are working with current teachers and providing professional development in these areas,” Gonzalez said.

The need for this kind of training is particularly acute because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gonzalez said. Many classrooms now have students whose reading skills are not up to their current grade level.

The Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership degree is not only for people like Gonzalez who are in the education profession. The program is also open to business executives, military officers, public safety officials, and others seeking to enhance their leadership skills.

Dean of the School of Education Patricia Clark White and interim Chancellor David Andrews congratulated the doctoral graduates. White proclaimed that the honorees’ completion of doctoral degrees signified their elevation from the ranks of students to full-fledged colleagues, and Andrews praised the graduates for overcoming the obstacles raised by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You have persisted, and you have prevailed. In a pandemic, no less,” Andrews said. “I stand before you in complete admiration of your steadfast determination in these very challenging times.”