Karen Escalante
Contact
Bio
Dr. Karen Escalante is an Associate Professor in the Watson College of Education at California State University, San Bernardino. Her teaching and scholarship are grounded in social justice, humanizing pedagogy, and the belief that education policy should advance equity, belonging, and the success of all learners.
Dr. Escalante is an Executive Board Member and Past President of the California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE), where she also chairs the Advocacy Committee. She is an active member of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), representing the Western Region on the Advisory Council of State Representatives (ACSR) and serving on the Government Relations and Advocacy Committee. Through these leadership roles, she works to elevate the voice of teacher educators, inform education policy, and advocate for policies that strengthen the teaching profession and support effective, equitable teacher preparation.
Her research focuses on culturally responsive teaching, teaching performance assessments, teacher candidate and in-service teacher belonging, and the intersections of policy and advocacy in teacher education. Across her teaching, research, and professional service, Dr. Escalante is committed to creating communities of care and advancing policies and practices that affirm the professionalism of teaching and teacher education.
#Belonging #Mentorship #HumanizingPedagogy #Culturally Responsive/SustainingTeaching #TeachingPerformanceAssessments #TeacherInduction #BoundarySpanners #Leadership #TeacherPreparation #SocialJustice #Policy #EdPolicy
- Content Creator/ Subject Matter Expert for AACTE's LEARN Modules. "Inside the Policy Process: A Guide for Educators," 2026
- UC|CSU Collaborative for Neuroscience, Diversity, and Learning. CSUSB Representative 2026 - 2027
- Graduate of UCLA's Anderson School of Management Women's Leadership Institute 2024
- California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE), President 2024 - 2026
- Association of Teacher Educators’ Dr. W. Robert Houston Leadership Academy 2025 - 2027
- Advisory Council of Western States Representative for AACTE 2025 - 2027
- California Delegate for Association of Teacher Education (ATE)
- California State Leader for Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)
- AACTE’s Programmatic Advisory Committee on Government Relations and Advocacy 2025 through 2028.
- Statewide Residency Technical Assistance Center (SRTAC) Advisory Board Member
- Former Holmes Program Coordinator for CSUSB Ed.D. Program
- Trained in Mental Health First Aid
- Expert witness in Family / School District Cases
- EduCorp Representative For CSUSB
IG: @drkarenescalante
http://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-escalante-2519b73a
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hmOEUiwAAAAJ&hl=en
BLOGS, Podcasts & Mentions
"From Classrooms to the Capitol: How Teacher Educators are Advancing Policy and Practice in California"
Edumyseat with Josh Newman (former member of the California State Senate) https://edumyseat.com/
Sacramento Bee Op-Ed https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article313139655.html
EdPrepMatters https://edprepmatters.aacte.org/report-coalition-building-for-multilingual-teacher-equity/
"Coalition Building for Multilingual Teacher Equity"
Source https://edsource.org/2024/sharp-divisions-over-how-californias-aspiring-teachers-will-learn-how-to-teach-reading/710309 - "Karen Escalante, an assistant professor of teacher education and foundations at CSU San Bernardino and president of the California Council on Teacher Education, warned that “efforts to pick and choose select elements of teacher preparation syllabi undermine the teaching profession and aim to deprofessionalize a professional workforce.”
Women's History Month https://www.csusb.edu/inside/article/580193/celebrating-womxns-history-month-encountering-leadership-gender-disparities
https://www.csusb.edu/coe/spotlight/article/537132
https://www.csusb.edu/coe/spotlight/article/553538
Education
BA in Deaf Studies from California State University, Northridge
Multiple Subject / CLAD Teaching Credential from California State University, Long Beach
Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University, Irvine
Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California
Courses/Teaching
ESEC 6001 Classroom Management & Pedagogy
ESEC 6034 California Teaching Performance Assessment Seminar
EDDL 7312 Assessment & Data-Driven Decision Making in Pk-12
Research and Teaching Interests
Spring 2026 Presentations
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
“Effective Advocacy Workshop” as part of the AACTE Government Relations and Advocacy Committee
“High Quality Instruction: Using Teaching Performance Assessments as Educative Tools"
Spring 2024 Presentations
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
"Prioritizing Belonging for Our Newest Educators: Developing Spaces of Inclusion"
California Teacher Induction Conference
"The Current Landscape of Partnership and Collaboration"
CCTE Spring Policy Action Network
"Increasing Teacher Retention of our Newest Educators through Humanzined Mentoring"
AERA
"The Critical Role of University Supervisors: Fostering Belonging and Creating Safe Spaces for Teacher Candidates"
"The Influential Role of Mentoring Within One Holmes Scholar Program"
Spring 2023 Presentations
California Teacher Induction Conference
"How Fostering Belonging Makes a Difference for Our Newest Educators"
CCTE Spring Policy Action Network
"Focusing on Inservice Realities: State, District, and Site Contextual Impact on the New Teacher Experience"
AERA 2023
“Finding Belonging in the Teaching Profession: The Role of Preparation Programs”
AACTE Washington Week 2023
"An Increased Number of Teachers?! What Has California Done to Address the Teacher Shortage and Why has it Worked’
Fall 2022 Presentations
Education & Justice Conference (Kevin Kumashiro)
"Centering voices in developing educational policy: A comparative study of the process of setting teaching standards in New Zealand and the USA"
IHE / Induction Collaborative Meetings
Sept. 22nd 12-1pm
Jan. 25th 1-2pm
March 13 12-1pm
Publications 2023
Escalante, K., Meetze-Hall, M (2023). “Toward Social Justice: Leadership’s Crucial Role in an Increasingly Expansive Technology-Dependent Context” (Book Chapter)
A Funding Guide to More Diverse Schools in California
https://transformschools.ucla.edu/research/a-funding-guide-to-more-diverse-schools-in-california/
Out for Review: Escalante, K., Roshandel, S (n.d.) “Shifting Spaces and Places: Creating a Sense of Belonging in Teacher Preparation Programs”
Teacher's College Book Review:
Overcoming Cultural Mismatch: Reaching and Teaching Diverse Children. By Abigail L. Fuller. Review by Karen Escalante, Ed.D. (2023)
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Spring 2022 Publications and Presentations
Publications
The Start of a Conversation with Critical Friends: Can the CalTPA be Used as a Catalyst for Program and Professional Inquiry? L Ervin-Kassab, K Escalante, D Soodjinda. Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice 11 (1), 1
Escalante, K. "Lesson Plan Template for Clinical Practice, Teaching Performance Assessment, and In-Service Teaching" (2022). Teacher Education and Technology Faculty Publications. 1. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/tef-publications/1
UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools: A Funding Guide for More Diverse Schools in California (2022)
EduDiversityPolicyBrief_Webinar_Flyer.pdf
Presentations
Diversity Equity and Inclusion Research at CSUSB - 1st Annual DEI Faculty Conversation
AACTE - Spring 2022
"Reset, Recharge, and Recover: Normalizing and Creating Mental Health Plans to Thrive as Holmes Scholars"
Dr. Karen Escalante, California State University San Bernardino
"Educating for American Democracy: Integrating Civic Education Equitably Across Disciplines"
Attendees will learn about the AACTE’s partnership with Educating for American Democracy (EAD), which began with a pilot that introduced EAD’s Roadmap and Pedagogy Guide, and how it could be used to in pre-service teaching programs equitably and across disciplines. In this session, members of that pilot and civics education experts will discuss how best EAD can work with educator preparation programs to pilot its implementation in order to address threats to our school’s ability to prepare civically engaged students to enter the world.
CCTE / SPAN - Spring 2022
"Partnership with a Purpose: Collaborative Solutions Between Institutes of Higher Education (IHEs) and Induction Partners"
AERA - Spring 2022
"Exploring Practices and Programs Through the Lens of Critical Race Theory: A Collaborative Self- Study"
"A Wicked Problem: Diversifying California's Teacher Workforce"
CASTLE - Summer 2022 (Division of AERA)
"Teaching Performance Assessments as a Catalyst for Change: A Collaborative Self-Study Utilizing A Critical Race Theory Lens"
April IHE / Induction Collaborative Meeting
April 13th 11am - 12pm
AERA - Spring 2021
Conference Paper
"Re-envisioning Teaching Performance Assessments: How the CalTPA Can Confront Inequities Through an Antiracist Lens"
DOI:10.3102/1686178