Dr. Tondra Loder-Jackson

Dr. Tondra L. Loder-Jackson's credentials and training are grounded in interdisciplinary programs of education, human development, and urban policy. From the theoretical and methodological perspectives of the life course and life history, Dr. Loder-Jackson is interested in the influence of social change and social policy on urban education. She has a special interest in the lives and work of urban educators who came of age prior to, during, and after the Civil Rights and women's movements. Dr. Loder-Jackson recently launched a Spencer Foundation-funded research study entitled, "Bridging the Tradition of Activism and Professionalism within the Context of Contemporary Urban Education: Perspectives from Birmingham Educators Born Pre- and Post-Civil Rights Movement." The aim of this study is to examine how an intergenerational sample of Birmingham educators view the salience of activism in enacting their professional roles within contemporary urban schools and communities.

 

A Birmingham native and graduate of the Birmingham City Schools (BCS), prior to returning home in 2003 Dr. Loder-Jackson spent 13 years in Chicago, Illinois where she spearheaded and implemented the development of a successful college and career counseling program (The Building Your Future Program) for African American high school students and their families.

 

Dr. Loder-Jackson is currently a faculty affiliate with the UAB School of Education's Urban Education Project (UEP), where she is involved in a number of local and national initiatives to improve and enhance student learning and achievement in the BCS. She is a faculty liaison on the Training and Retaining Urban Student Teachers (T.R.U.S.T.) Initiative, and one of its core program components, the Urban Teacher Enhancement Program (UTEP), a challenging, but supportive program designed for individuals interested in teaching careers in the BCS. She is also a principal investigator on the Communities and Schools Together Project (C.A.S.T.), an initiative aimed to enhance parental involvement and to promote positive home-school relationships among the BCS, parents, families, and communities.