ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – Winthrop University Associate Professor of Education Tenisha Powell was recently named the 2020 recipient of the Kevin J. Swick Excellence in Teacher Education Award from the South Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children (SCAEYC).
The award, which is named after the late Dr. Kevin Swick, a professor of early childhood education at the University of South Carolina, is designed to honor an educator who has made a significant contribution to the field of early childhood teacher education within the state of South Carolina.
The award was presented virtually this fall at the SCAEYC annual conference.
Nominated by Powell’s department chair, Kavin Ming, and her colleague, Crystal Glover, the recommendation letter said that Powell is a dedicated teacher who believes that the preparation that teacher candidates receive in the Winthrop classroom significantly impacts their performance in working with young children.
“She has taught 12 courses in the early childhood program, and for each one, has made significant efforts to develop and deliver content that is of the highest quality,” the nomination said. “She uses a hands-on approach in that she constantly connects theory to practice. She methodically links these activities to content area standards and students’ varied learning needs. She also ensures that these activities are building students’ intellectual development through her systematic analysis of data to make instructional decisions."
Powell has been in the field of early childhood education since 2000, first serving as lead teacher in a three to four-year-old classroom. She joined Winthrop’s Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy in August 2006 and become the early childhood education program director in 2013.
At Winthrop’s Richard W. Riley College of Education, Powell teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the early childhood education program, including science in early childhood education, early intervention for young children with special needs, home-school-community partnerships with diverse families, and contemporary issues in early childhood care and education. Powell's research interests include science in early childhood education, culturally responsive and sustaining practices, early intervention and emergent literacy.
Powell is an active member of several professional organizations including the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Black Child Development Institute, Inc. She holds board memberships on the York County First Steps and the Macfeat Early Childhood Laboratory School.
Powell received a bachelor's degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, and a master's degree from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She worked briefly as a project director for Project Literacy at Purdue University.
She also earned a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in human development and family studies.
For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at longshawj@winthrop.edu or at 803/323-2404.
