Dean's Message
Dean's Welcome
Welcome to the Kalmanovitz School of Education (KSOE) at Saint Mary’s College of California, located in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area in Moraga, CA. KSOE prepares highly sought-after, visionary academic and community leaders, effective classroom teachers, and compassionate mental health practitioners. Our alumni serve youth, adults, families, and entities, especially those who are most vulnerable, in both the public and private sector.
The Catholic, LaSallian, and liberal arts traditions of Saint Mary’s College are the cornerstones of KSOE. Our programs exemplify the LaSallian principles of respecting the dignity of others, honoring diversity, embracing service, faith, and the pursuit of truth, and championing social justice. It is our goal that all who engage with our educational programs leave as determined practitioners of the LaSallian Core Principles.
KSOE provides exceptional learning experiences that are student-centered, innovative, collaborative, relevant, and flexible. Academic excellence and community engagement, through rigorous, social justice oriented programs, are hallmarks of the KSOE educational experience. Our counseling, leadership, and teacher education credential and degree programs, as well as our academic centers — the Leadership Center, the Center for Environmental Literacy, and the Comprehensive Literacy Center — are ever mindful and celebratory of learners’ multifaceted lives and unique perspectives. We promote multidisciplinary approaches, cultural competency, leading by example, collaboration, and a holistic teaching and learning process.
Together, we inspire a culture of curricular and programmatic excellence, responsiveness and relevance to local and broad-reaching communities, leadership, collaboration, and commitment to inclusiveness. This vision underscores the significance of our mission to prepare compassionate, competent, and ethical professionals dedicated to meaningful and supportive engagement with diverse people, schools, and communities. Our fully accredited programs, by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Board of Behavioral Science, are among the most respected in the region. I invite you to make the life transforming decision to join our academic centers, counseling, leadership, or teacher education programs this year. We look forward to welcoming you as a member of the KSOE community.
Sincerely,
Carol Ann Gittens, PhD
Dean, Kalmanovitz School of Education