{"id":180,"date":"2022-05-18T17:09:28","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T17:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/akwaaba-freedom-school\/?page_id=180"},"modified":"2026-03-20T12:53:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T12:53:40","slug":"team","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/akwaaba-freedom-school\/team\/","title":{"rendered":"Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.24.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;82px||||false|false&#8221; custom_margin_tablet=&#8221;82px||||false|false&#8221; custom_margin_phone=&#8221;82px||||false|false&#8221; custom_margin_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||14px|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_4,3_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/akwaaba-freedom-school\/files\/2022\/02\/Chonika.jpg&#8221; alt=&#8221;Chonika Coleman-King&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;1px||21px|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;3_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_text_color=&#8221;#071F59&#8243; header_font_size=&#8221;32px&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#327450&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;24px&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||1px|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1>Dr. Chonika Coleman-King<\/h1>\n<h2>Executive Director<\/h2>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;-17px|||||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Chonika Coleman-King is currently Assistant Professor of Teachers, Schools, and Society at the University of Florida.\u00a0 Her research focuses on how best to prepare teachers and teacher candidates to teach with an emphasis on social justice in schools that serve economically disadvantaged children and students of color, specifically Black children. Her research interests also include the development of culturally responsive curriculum and teaching practices across content areas. Additionally, Dr. Coleman-King focuses her work on anti-racist teachers, urban education, and the experiences of Black immigrant and Black American youth in U.S. schools.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Coleman-King is the author of the book, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The (Re-)Making of a Black American: Tracing the Racial and Ethnic Socialization of Caribbean American Youth<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which documents the complex interplay between race, class, and immigrant status for Afro-Caribbean immigrant youth and the role of schools and families in helping students develop their racial and ethnic identities.\u00a0 Her grants include the National Science Foundation, Integrative and Collaborative Education and Research (ICER) grant for $390,000 and the National Science Foundation, Discovery Research preK-12 (DRK-12) grant for $45,000. She also has a grant for $850,000 from Knox County Schools, where she is tasked with helping educators develop competencies around teaching racially, linguistically, and socioeconomically minoritized students.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;2px|||||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1>Akwaaba Freedom School Advisory Board<\/h1>\n<p>Dr. Christopher Busey, Associate Professor of Education at the University of Florida<\/p>\n<p>Tina Certain, Alachua County School Board Member<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Dierdre Houchen<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Katheryn Russell-Brown, Professor of Law at the University of Florida<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Erica McCray, Director and Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Florida<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":368,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-180","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.0 (Yoast SEO v22.0) - 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