UKIAH, Calif. – Mendocino College Superintendent/President Dr. Arturo Reyes announced that Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade will speak at the Mendocino College Class of 2019 Commencement.

Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade is an associate professor of raza studies and race and resistance studies at San Francisco State University.

Dr. Duncan-Andrade is also a founder of the Roses in Concrete Community School, a community responsive lab school in East Oakland and the Community Responsive Education Group.

As a classroom teacher and school leader in East Oakland for the past 25 years, his pedagogy has been widely studied and acclaimed for producing uncommon levels of social and academic success for students.

Duncan-Andrade lectures around the world and has authored numerous journal articles and book chapters on effective practices in schools. He has written two books and is currently completing his third book with Harvard Press.

In 2015, Duncan-Andrade was tapped to be a commissioner on the National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future and in 2016 was part of the great educators invited to the White House on National Teacher Appreciation Day by President Obama. He is also the 2019 Laureate for the prestigious Brock International Prize in Education.

Duncan-Andrade has also been ranked as one of the nation’s most influential scholars by EdWeek’s Public Influence Rankings for the past four years.

Duncan-Andrade’s transformational work on the elements of effective teaching in schools serving poor and working-class children is recognized throughout the U.S. and as far abroad as New Zealand.

His research interests and publications span the areas of urban schooling and curriculum change, urban teacher development and retention, critical pedagogy, and cultural and ethnic studies.

He works closely with teachers, school site leaders, union leaders, and school district officials to help them develop classroom practices and school cultures that foster self-confidence, esteem, and academic success among all students.

Duncan-Andrade holds a Ph.D. in social and cultural studies in education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature, both from the University of California – Berkeley.

“We're honored to have Dr. Duncan-Andrade at this year’s commencement. His empathy for the challenges faced by our students and his advocacy for applying critical pedagogy to help close the opportunity gap for all students make him a great fit to inspire our community, enlighten our district’s equity-minded practices, and honor our graduates,” said Dr. Reyes.

The commencement ceremony is scheduled for Friday, May 24, at 6 p.m. on the Stadium Field at the Ukiah campus.

The Mendocino College Ukiah campus is located at 1000 Hensley Creek Road, Ukiah.