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Power in Questions: Melissa Peeples-Fullmore, SSP'14

Melissa Peeples-Fullmore
When she entered the Ed School last September, Melissa Peeples-Fullmore had one thing on her mind: finding the answer to closing the achievement gap. But over the course of her time in the Special Studies Program (SSP), the answer has not revealed itself in quite the way she had hoped.

In fact, she says, “Now I know there is not one answer. My goal now is to focus on the lever of school leadership to improve the quality of instruction, thereby improving student achievement.”

After graduation, Peeples-Fullmore will begin her refined quest at the Dallas nonprofit, Teaching Trust, where she will take on the position of aspiring leaders program officer.

“Melissa has been instrumental in building a strong cohort experience for SSP through her warmth and deep concern for others,” says Professor Tom Hehir, faculty director of SSP. “She also brings much humor and joy to all of us. On top of all that she is truly intellectual who loves to delve deeply into essential questions of education. She brought to all these discussions her deep professional experience and knowledge and most importantly her love for all children.”

Upon learning that she had been honored with the Intellectual Contribution/Faculty Tribute Award for SSP, Peeples-Fullmore answered some questions about her time at the Ed School and beyond.

What is something that you learned at HGSE that you will take with you throughout your career in education? The danger of the single story. Not just what I hear about others, but in how far I am able to generalize my own experiences. I have also learned to separate myself from my beliefs. This makes me able to engage in debates without becoming emotional or taking things personally. I’m so honored to have had such great conversations with my cohort and classmates.

Is there any professor or class that significantly shaped your experience at the Ed School? [Senior Lecturer] Kay Merseth has been instrumental in my education here. It was in her class I realized that since we can’t agree on the purpose of education, we can’t agree on how to reform education. In addition, she was the perfect model of a teacher. I now know more than ever what quality instruction looks like!

What advice do you have for next year’s students going through your program? Shop ’til you drop! Class shopping was the greatest creation next to the wheel and sliced bread. It’s not only great to help whittle down your list of courses you’re interested in, it’s a great way to get some nuggets from professors you know you won’t encounter through your area of study. I treated it as a huge mini-conference and went to something each time!

What will you change in education and why? I hope to make the work of instructional leaders sustainable and scalable so that the focus on data-driven instruction, a focus on culture and continuous improvement becomes the norm and not the exception.

Despite your busy schedule, you always make time for … Scandal! Thankfully, I never had a Thursday night conflict at 10 p.m. But truly, I always made time for my cohort events. Being in Special Studies means we have to be intentional with our time in order to [build] fellowship. They are by far the most fascinating, passionate, accomplished people I’ve ever met. I wanted to be sure to spend as much time as possible learning about and from them.

The number one, biggest surprise of the last year was … Harvard doesn’t have all the answers. In fact, one my biggest take-aways was to keep refining the question. There is great power in asking “Why exactly?” “What if?” and “How might?”

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