By Carissa Rutkauskas
Welcome Woodhouse Academy and a Warm Welcome Back to 6 Returning Partners!
UConn ECE is proud to announce Woodhouse Academy in Milford has joined our network of partners this year, offering KINS1100: Exercise and Wellness for Everyone to their students. In addition, we are thrilled to welcome back six previous partners— Bassick High School, Darien High School, Eli Whitney Technical High School, Vinal Technical High School, Wilbur Cross High School, and Weaver High School —who will continue to provide their students with access to UConn courses through the ECE program.
An update on By the Numbers
One of the most anticipated features of the UConn ECE Magazine Winter edition has been our By the Numbers article, which highlights key statistics including student enrollment, course sections, instructors, and the highly anticipated Top Ten lists. This year, for the first time, this data will be included in the Spring edition of the magazine. Beginning in the 2023-24 academic year, UConn ECE incorporated a Spring Course Adjustment Period in which students can add or drop a Spring course, thus allowing for a more accurate snapshot of enrollment by March.
Although numbers aren’t finalized yet, we are, however, happy to share that student enrollment continues to increase, breaking our all-time record of the number of students enrolled in a UConn course in their high school.
Amy Bigelow of Franklin Academy Attends Computer Science Teachers Association of New England Conference
Ms. Bigelow is certified to teach UConn CSE1010: Introduction to Computing for Engineers, MATH1030Q: Elementary Discrete Mathematics, MATH1131Q: Calculus I, MATH1132Q: Calculus II, MATH2110Q: Multivariable Calculus, STAT1100Q: Elementary Concepts of Statistics 
Yet again, I am so appreciative of the UConn ECE program’s incredible support of teachers’ professional development. I attended my first-ever Computer Science Teachers Association of New England conference in Boston, and it was a wonderful experience! The presentations and workshops focused on AI as a technical skill set (instead of a consumer skillset) and teaching machine learning were particularly valuable. They were full of so many engaging and relevant activities that applied the foundational concepts of functions and if-else statements from CSE 1010. The discussions on the ethical use of AI were rich and thought-provoking. As a first-year CSE teacher working to build our school’s computer science offerings, I also found the panel discussion of “Strengthening the Computer Science Pathway from High School to College” especially helpful. Overall, the entire event was incredibly positive and supportive! It was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday, and I feel energized and confident to return to the classroom knowing what to stress and with many more connections and ideas for extensions. Thank you for supporting this opportunity!
Andrew Morehouse of The Woodstock Academy Attends American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages
Mr. Morehouse is certified to teach UConn CAMS3102: Topics in Advanced Latin
I had an enriching experience at the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) convention held in Philadelphia, PA, where I 
connected with similarly enthusiastic educators from across the country. The event was a fantastic opportunity to exchange ideas and build relationships with colleagues dedicated to advancing language education. I attended engaging sessions focused on equitable practices in language teaching, gaining valuable insights into creating more inclusive and accessible learning environments for students of diverse backgrounds. A standout moment for me was a thought-provoking presentation on integrating AI in the classroom. It highlighted how we as teachers can integrate AI into our curricular planning to create evergreen lessons that reduce the cognitive load and the workload of teachers. The experience reinforced the importance of collaboration and staying current with evolving methodologies in language education and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Jessica Chapman of Norwich Free Academy Awarded 2024 Milken Educator Award for Connecticut
Ms. Chapman is certified to teach UConn SOCI1001: Introduction to Sociology
Congratulations to Ms. Chapman for being selected as the recipient of the Milken Educator Award, awarded to “early-to-mid career education professionals for their already impressive achievements and, more significantly, for the promise of what they will accomplish in the future” (Milken webpage, 2024). To read more about Ms. Chapman’s accomplishments, visit the Connecticut Education Association (CEA) website’s article, Norwich Free Academy Teacher Surprised with $25,000 Award (CEA, 2024).
UConn ECE Data Dashboard is Now Live!
We are excited to announce that UConn ECE data is now publicly accessible through two interactive dashboards available in the Data & Research section on ece.uconn.edu:
- UConn ECE High School Partner Profiles – Featuring data for the 2023-24 school year, including student, course, and school information.
- Ten-Year Trends – Showing student and course data over the past decade, with the ability to drill down by county, school size, city/ town, and year-over-year growth.
These dashboards, created by Business Analytics & Project Management graduate student Siva Sekhar Medisetty, offer an in-depth look at UConn ECE’s reach and impact. Please note that data included in the UConn ECE data dashboards captures only UConn Early College Experience data and differs from Connecticut State Department of Education’s Ed Sight UConn Dual Credit Courses Completed data. Ed Sight’s dashboard differs from the UConn ECE in that UConn ECE includes private schools and does not include other credit-bearing opportunities offered to high school students.
The two UConn ECE data dashboards will be updated with the 2024-25 data in April 2025, and we are excited to share that UConn ECE data will be included nationally, in the 2025 IPEDS report on Dual Enrollment.
New Courses
ME 3295: Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering (3 credits)
- SolidWorks for Industrial Design option
- AutoCAD for Industrial Design option
NUSC 1165: Fundamentals of Nutrition (3 credits)
- An introduction to the principles and concepts of nutrition with emphasis on the nature and function of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins, and their application to the human organism.
Concurrent Enrollment Review
Volume 2 of Concurrent Enrollment Review, the first independent, open access, peer reviewed journal dedicated to research in the field of dual/concurrent enrollment is now available at surface.syr.edu/cer.
NACEP 2024 Conference, Orlando
The 2024 National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) national conference was held in Orlando, Florida this year from October 27 through October 29, 2024. The theme of the conference was Spotlighting the Student Experience. The Office of Early College Program’s Early College Experience’s Christopher Todd, Jessica Dunn, and Carissa Rutkauskas had the opportunity 
Academy and present his capstone project, “Navigating the Tide: Dual and Concurrent Enrollment Instructor Certification in an Era of Teacher Uncertainty”. Chris’s project will result in a forthcoming NACEP Policy Brief and NACEP Webinar on strategies for State, District and Educator Preparation Program leaders to mitigate the impacts of teacher shortages on dual credit access. Regarding the conference, he states, “NACEP is an incredible opportunity for practitioners from across the nation to come together and explore best practices in the Dual and Concurrent Enrollment space. While UConn’s Office of Early College Programs is recognized as a national leader, the team and I always walk away feeling inspired and re-imagining ways to better support our partner schools, students and instructors.”
Jessica was excited to return to the NACEP Conference this year and honored to attend along with 1,200 other partners. The last time Jess was able to attend, the participant count was in the 800s, but this year’s record-breaking registration of 1,200 secondary partners, DE/CE programs, district administrators, and consultants is a true testament to how the country has embraced these programs and their partners’ commitment to improvement to elevate the student experience. Jess notes, “it was eye opening and encouraging to engage in conversations focused on students and their experiences with dual and concurrent enrollment programs. It was particularly interesting to learn new student advising practices in the field, and I am excited to work on implementing new practices and resources for our UConn ECE Students.”
Carissa had the opportunity to connect with the New England Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnership (NEACEP) board members and work on the organization’s by-laws. The conference presentation on leveraging artificial (AI) was the highlight for her, where she learned about such tools as Adobe Firefly (prompt-based image generator) and Apple’s Pi (chatbot providing emotional and factual support), MicroSoft’s Co-Pilot (AI-powered productivity tool) and Google’s NotebookLM (which can produce podcasts from uploaded documents) from colleagues. She echoes one presenter’s comments that takeaways, connections, and ideas gathered from the NACEP conference is something that fills her cup for 6 months and then she spends the next 6 months looking forward to the next one!
2025 NAECEP Call for Proposals and Conference
The New England Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships is preparing to open a call for proposals for their 2025 conference just after the new year. The one-day conference is traditionally held on a Friday and is anticipated to take place in the Boston area in the spring. To keep up to date with dates and deadlines, follow NEACEP on LinkedIn, become a NEACEP member at no cost, and/or join the NEACEP listserv. Additional information can be found at nacep. org/neacep.
Ramona Puchalski Piretti of Conard High School Presents at the National Council of Teachers of English Conference
Ms. Puchalski Piretti is certified to teach UConn ENGL1007: Seminar and Studio in Academic Writing and Multimodal Composition.
The conference is a vital event to engage with fellow English educators and supporters, particularly in a moment in history when the very work we do and the pathways we travel to do it are under attack. While at the conference I presented on the coursework I have created for my ECE course alongside two other brilliant fellow ECE educators who are also in the secondary classroom, Arri Weeks and Emily Genser. In addition, I attended multiple presentations to further my own practice and engage my inquiry skills around how to grow my skills and pedagogy. Beyond that, I also did three additional presentations each of which included coursework, mindsets and practices which are central to my ECE course; the work was well-received and provided some tremendous networking opportunities for the near and distant future. As an Asian educator, I value the opportunity to represent my heritage in the classroom and beyond it at events such as NCTE.
I want to also say “thank you” for the financial assistance to attend this important learning and networking event.
That’s why we offer a unique opportunity for high school students from around the world to experience college life, explore new interests, and connect with a vibrant academic community all on the Storrs campus.
in-person and virtual. Instructors from Philosophy, American Studies, Maritime Studies, U. S. History, Medieval Studies, Civil Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Biology, Chinese, Marine Sciences, Music, Economics, Physics, Sustainable Plant and Soil Systems, Sociology, and English, along with our ECE Library Media Specialists, have had the opportunity to connect with their colleagues, faculty coordinators, and the ECE program staff so far this school year! We would like to take the time to highlight some of these incredible events and thank all attendees and organizers for their efforts this semester.
with some exciting stories of ECE student successes (congratulations to Cheshire High School for placing 3rd in their Future Business Leaders of America competition!), and brainstorming classroom activities. Several guest speakers joined us in the afternoon, including Ariel Slonim, curriculum designer for Marginal RevolutionUniversity, a nonprofit dedicated to providing everyone with a “world-class economic education”, and Mary Claire Peate, a Senior Economic Education Specialist from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
descriptions were as follows:
kicked off with a plenary session focusing on Promising Practices at Partner Schools. Representatives from Glastonbury Public Schools, East Lyme High School, Rockville High School and University High School of Science and Engineering discussed ways they are expanding their concurrent and dual enrollment opportunities at their schools. They shared an approach that focused on creating diverse course offerings to meet the unique needs of their high school populations. Site Representatives attended breakout sessions which focused on high school specific program data, expanding access to course offerings, registration 101, a Q&A with a panel of former UConn ECE students, and information from UConn’s Center for Students with Disabilities. The conference ended with a barbecue lunch on the Student Union Terrace for attendees to enjoy a beautiful, sunny day on the Storrs campus. We look forward to having everyone back on the Storrs campus next year.
Conversation: Cultural Topics, since 2012. His unique gift to ECE classrooms was bringing alive the language, culture, and history through his storytelling based on his extensive travel experiences in the Hispanic and Portuguese worlds, and his Chilean heritage. In his retirement, Mr. Lewis will move on to his third career teaching Buddhist philosophy and practice, and eventually living part time in the White Mountains and in Chile.
International Studies Association Annual Conference in San Francisco, CA in April, where he presented a research paper on Nationalism and identities in South Asia, an article version of his dissertation. He also co-presented on forming national identities, mass culture, and land rights. Dr. Rafiq was able to attend several sessions, including foreign policies, using role theory and Arab Spring 2.0, and civil war research.