During her undergraduate school years, Dr. Jessica DeMink-Carthew taught in an arts program at a juvenile detention center. This work led her to wonder what societal levers could help prevent injustices such as youth incarceration, and ultimately to her career in public education.
Now an associate professor in ̽̽’s College of Education and Social Services (CESS), DeMink-Carthew is entering her seventh year teaching in the undergraduate (BS) and graduate (MAT) Middle Level Education licensure programs. Her research has been published in a variety of leading journals and she currently serves on the Association for Middle Level Education Research Advisory Council. She is also an active member of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group.
“There's something about those middle grades when identity is forming,” she says. “You can make a huge difference by supporting kids in social-emotional development, moral maturation, and forming caring relationships with adults.”
As a teacher-educator and researcher, DeMink-Carthew is passionate about social justice education and disrupting oppression in school systems. In 2020, she created a new course, EDSS 200 Social Justice Education, that prepares ̽̽ students to be advocates for socially just teaching in their spheres of influence, whether that be in school classrooms or community organizations serving youth. The course begins with significant time spent on building relationships within the classroom community through interactive activities to build trust and get to know one another beyond academics. This is one of the ways she models how to engage learners in social justice education.
“The foundation of teaching is relationships,” she explains. “You invest time upfront in getting to know each other as whole human beings, building relationships so you can go deeper later. It’s important to carve out time to be silly, playful, vulnerable, and human.”
Over the past three years, DeMink-Carthew teamed up with a group of educators at Edmunds Middle School (EMS) who teach a social justice curriculum created by ̽̽ doctoral student Eliaquin Gonell in partnership with former EMS teacher and ̽̽ aluma Liz Clements G'13. Aligned with the , the curriculum is designed to support middle school students in developing knowledge and skills related to identity, diversity, justice, and activism. Together, the group plans and reflects on their teaching to ensure that it is culturally and developmentally responsive to the young adolescents the school serves.
“Young adolescents are developing a sense of self, autonomy, and empowerment, and they have an incredible ability to take action on issues that they see as socially unjust,” she explains.
In the spring of 2022, DeMink-Carthew launched the with her Middle Level Education colleague, Dr. Kathleen Brinegar, to support social justice education in Vermont through curriculum development, advocacy, and scholarship. The lab a collective of ̽̽ students, faculty, and partners who collaborate on social justice initiatives in local K-12 schools and organizations that serve youth. Example projects already undertaken include the creation of a youth-friendly website profiling social justice activists, a proposal to promote greater visibility of Indigenous perspectives in ̽̽ coursework, and an inaugural group of Lab Liaisons who support the youth activism of Edmunds Middle School .
In the fall of 2021, DeMink-Carthew formed a new professional development and research group called Teachers Disrupting for Equity, which is co-led by Dr. Kristie Smith, assistant professor at Kennesaw State University. Facilitated by middle level educators and scholars across the United States, the group offers guidance and support to Vermont-based social justice educators through monthly virtual meetings.
“Teachers Disrupting for Equity is intended to help practicing educators who are engaging in initiatives that aim to disrupt oppression in their school,” she explains. “It can be challenging for new teachers, and even experienced teachers, to lift their voices in a system that often tells them to be quiet.” Last year’s cohort focused on building community while identifying and overcoming challenges that social justice educators face in their work. This year, DeMink-Carthew and Smith plan to continue the group as a Teach for Justice Lab initiative.
DeMink-Carthew’s work with practicing educators in turn informs her approach in ̽̽’s teacher education programs. As a result, she can better prepare future teachers for the challenges they are likely to face as they engage in justice-oriented teaching and advocacy. Through a mix of case analysis, discussion, role play, and action projects, students in EDSS 200 Social Justice Education and the Teach for Justice Lab learn to notice injustice, advocate for change, and do the sometimes uncomfortable work of disrupting oppression in schools.
When asked about her work having a visible impact, DeMink-Carthew says she finds it especially affirming when current and former ̽̽ students reach out to share a justice-oriented initiative they are leading at their schools.
“To me, it's a sign that social justice advocacy has become a habit of mind they are carrying forward beyond the time spent in our program,” she says.
DeMink-Carthew also recognizes that the work of supporting and preparing social justice educators is a collective team effort. “I’m fortunate to have fantastic ̽̽ colleagues who value this work and make equity and social justice the center of our classes,” she says. With the shared commitment of so many faculty and students, she hopes that ̽̽ will continue evolving into a distinctive place where current teachers, pre-service teachers, young people, and community members can come to learn and get support under the umbrella of socially just education.
Educators are often asked why they teach. When asked that question, DeMink-Carthew says, “I teach because, in the words of Ira Shor, ‘the world is not yet finished, just, or humane.’ And education is a place where we can move the needle and make a difference in the lives of youth and, more broadly, in society.”
