Recognizing an Educator’s Generosity

Chris Street, professor of secondary education

Education Professor Named First Recipient of Faculty Fellowship

Chris Street, professor of secondary education, is the first recipient of the newly established Dr. Emma E. Holmes Faculty Fellowship in the College of Education. The annual fellowship provides for reassigned time to support faculty research and engagement in local K-12 and community college settings.

Street was awarded the fellowship for his project, “Preparing Students for College-Level Writing,” which the selection committee found addresses important college and university priorities related to college readiness of students in high-need schools. The project also ties in with the college’s commitment to faculty professional development and to creating community partnerships to benefit students and future teachers.

The educator will be spending six hours a week at Westminster High School collaborating with a high school English teacher in the "Advancement Via Individual Determination" classes. The classes are designed to help students prepare for, and succeed, in colleges and universities, Street said.

The Westminster High School program supports students who are underrepresented at four-year universities, first in their family to attend college, and who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Many of these students who are admitted to the California State University system are part of the roughly 50 percent of incoming, first-year college students across the state who need to take remedial English courses,” Street explained, adding that his project will address this need. “Writing has been identified as a primary area of need for these students. Many have high GPAs, but they still struggle with the demands of academic writing.”

Street’s objective is to work with these students and prepare them for college-level writing.

Since 2005, he has been leading professional- development sessions for high school teachers across the state and sharing the CSU’s Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum with teachers. He also serves on a CSU task force that provides leadership for this statewide initiative.

“I would like to use this opportunity to invigorate my teaching by working directly with high-need students,” said Street, who is eager to work with this specific group of students. “This will enhance my credibility with my university students while also allowing me to test some of the theory and practice that I share in my courses and through my professional-development work.”

About Chris Street

City of residence: Huntington Beach

Education: Ph.D. curriculum and instruction, University of Texas, Austin; M.A. English, California State University, San Diego; B.A. sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara

Credentials: California multiple-subject credential and supplemental authorization in English; also taught middle school

Research interests: Teaching of reading and writing, teaching and learning at a distance, and the professional development of teachers

Favorite book: “A River Runs Through It” by Norman Maclean