Peter Williamson appointed to direct STEP Secondary

Dear friends,

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Peter Williamson as our newest faculty member in the GSE and the Faculty Director of STEP Secondary.

Peter comes to us from the University of San Francisco, where his work has focused on urban education, curriculum, and literacy. As an Associate Professor at USF, Peter has coordinated the secondary Curriculum & Instruction program for teacher candidates. He is also a founding member and the Faculty Advisor of the San Francisco Teacher Residency Program (SFTR)—a collaboration among USF, Stanford, San Francisco Unified School District, and the United Educators of San Francisco. SFTR prepares teachers for San Francisco's highest needs schools and subjects. Peter recently served as the Board Chair for No Bully, a non-profit that aims to help teachers, administrators, and parents create schools that are safe places for everyone to learn. He also works with the English and special education teachers in the school within the San Francisco Juvenile Justice Center to develop curricula and strategies that can be effective with the incarcerated youth who exist at the margins of our schools and society.

Peter earned his doctorate at Stanford, where he taught in STEP and later became the Director of Stanford's Teachers for a New Era project. Himself a STEP graduate, Peter began his career as a special education teacher working with students who had been identified with emotional and behavioral difficulties. He then taught middle and high school English and journalism in the Bay Area’s urban schools, where he also worked with agencies focusing on advocacy for urban and underserved youth.

Peter will join the GSE formally this January. Please join me in welcoming Peter to STEP and the Graduate School of Education.

Deborah

The above note was emailed on Aug. 7 to members of the Stanford Graduate School of Education community.