National Honors in Educational Leadership

For University of Delaware alum Latrice Marianno, EHD24, her passion for improving education began with teachers and mentors who recognized and supported her intellectual curiosity. Now, as an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Marianno works to support teachers and school leaders through her research in educational leadership, policy and equity. 

“My passion for improving education led me to be curious about educational leadership as these are the folks supporting teachers in their instruction and leading change within schools,” said Marianno, who graduated from the College of Education and Human Development’s Ph.D. in educational statistics and research methods program. “Supporting the development of effective educational leaders can have a significant impact on our education system.”

In recognition of her work, Marianno will receive the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Leadership for School Improvement (LSI) special interest group 2025 Dissertation of the Year Award and the School Effectiveness and School Improvement (SESI) special interest group 2025 Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award. 

Educational leadership contributions 

Marianno’s research focuses on centering equity within school improvement efforts through leadership, policy and professional learning. She uses critical lenses to examine pre-K-12 policies and practices while also working collaboratively alongside educators and educational leaders to identify opportunities for centering equity within their work.

Marianno’s dissertation offered a critical policy analysis of the relationship between equity and school improvement planning (SIP). She examined how state, district and school leaders understand the relationship between equity and the SIP process and the extent to which school leaders engage in equitable practices within the SIP process. 

“Dr. Marianno’s work helps us to better understand the intersections of equity, leadership and school improvement, and has great promise to inform how we support leaders and embed equity throughout the processes and structures of our schools,” said Elizabeth Farley-Ripple, professor and senior associate director in CEHD’s School of Education (SOE), who served as Marianno’s advisor. 

Marianno received the SESI’s Graduate Student Paper Award for her paper, “School Improvement for All?: Critically Examining School Improvement Plan Templates for Equity,” completed while she was a doctoral student at CEHD. This paper examined the extent to which school improvement plan templates had the potential to create conditions for school leaders to identify and address inequities.

“I have been doing research on the school improvement planning process since 2015, and while we’ve done some good work, Dr. Marianno brought a perspective to the work that my co-authors and I had yet to really dig into deeply,” said Bryan VanGronigen, assistant professor in the SOE, who served on Marianno’s dissertation committee and has co-published with her. “She pushed our thinking with our existing work and then, as good scholars do, she branched off on her own line of inquiry to extend the work.”

“While I am surely proud and honored to be receiving two awards with different AERA special interest groups in my area of expertise, I am actually most proud of my ability to remain grounded as I’ve transitioned into my new role as an assistant professor,” said Marianno, who is completing her first year as a tenure-track professor. “I have amazing colleagues in my department who have been extremely supportive as I’ve navigated my first year.”

Marianno’s CEHD experience 

Marianno credits CEHD’s doctoral program with providing the foundation for her research accomplishments and her orientation as a scholar. She identifies CEHD Professor Elizabeth Soslau’s graduate course, “Culturally Relevant Pedagogies,” as particularly influential to her development. 

“Dr. Soslau’s class was transformative in so many ways, as it reminded me of the necessity to bring our full selves into the work we do,” Marianno said. “During one of our classes, I had the honor of co-facilitating a session with my friend and fellow grad student Sophia Sunshine Vilceus on bell hooks’ Teaching to Transgress. This session sparked powerful reflections and deep conversations. My experience in that course shapes the pedagogy I use in my courses and how I think about my work as a scholar.”

“Dr. Latrice Marianno is the type of scholar that everyone dreams of as a colleague. She’s generous, insightful, kind, funny and incredibly smart,” Soslau said. “Her presentation in my course on culturally responsive pedagogy was one of the most joyful and memorable teaching moments of my career. I have no doubt that Dr. Marianno will contribute great things to the field of education!”

Marianno will officially receive the LSI and SESI awards during the AERA annual meeting from April 23-27, 2025. 

To learn more about CEHD research in educational leadership and administration, visit its research webpage.

Story by Jessica Henderson. Images courtesy of Latrice Marianno and Shelly Silva.