La-Neka S. Brown
Ph.D. Student, School of Education
Program Area: Educational Leadership, Policy and Justice
Education
- Ph.D. in Education, Virginia Commonwealth University (expected August 2025)
- PMC in Administration and Supervision, Virginia Commonwealth University
- M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, University of Virginia
- M.T. in Early Childhood Education, Virginia Commonwealth University
- B.S. in Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University
Line of Research
My research interest is in teacher preparation, induction, retention, and attrition. Currently, I examine the benefits and barriers of using teacher apprentice and residency models to prepare pre-service teachers for careers in urban schools.
Research and Scholarship
Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) Research Team-The MERC Equitable Access and Support for Advanced Coursework study was commissioned by the Policy and Planning Council in December of 2019 to analyze student course taking and performance data from the Virginia Longitudinal Data System (VLDS) over the past 10-13 years in the MERC region. To understand the landscape of advanced course taking and how it varies by students’ race, SES, gender, EL, and disability status we will review federal, state, and division level policies related to the provision of advanced coursework.
- Joining Forces to Foster Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Grant, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), School of Education (SOE), Awarded $1000 to study factors that impact black girls
- D. Naff, P. Willis, A. Jefferson, T. Stripling, E. Ross, L. Brown, D. Rahbar-Daniels (2022, April 21-26). How Schools Provide Access to Advanced Courses: An Analysis of Federal, State, and District Policies (D. Naff, chair). Symposium to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. San Diego, CA, United States.
Biography
La-Neka S. Brown is a second-year doctoral student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has over twenty year of experience in public education. Ms. Brown started her career in education as a classroom teacher for Richmond Public Schools and continued her tenure there as a literacy coach and a reading specialist. After 13 years of service in Richmond, Ms. Brown served as an Assistant Principal of Literacy for two southeast elementary schools in the District of Columbia Public Schools. La-Neka started her educational consultancy business in 2017 and worked with schools in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Hural, Peru. After moving back to Virginia, Ms. Brown worked with local school districts to improve student achievement through coaching, mentoring and providing training to parents, teachers, school and district administrators.
What does the Holmes Scholars Program mean to you?
The Holmes Scholars Program allows me access to students, professors and administrators who motivate, inspire and support me in my professional and scholarly pursuits. The opportunities I have to grow in my scholarship and research skills have helped develop me as a critical and reflective practitioner and community focused researcher.