Dr. Penny Howell is a professor in the department of Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Teacher Education and Professor-in-Residence at Westport Middle School. She is a proud first-generation college graduate and former middle school English/Language Arts teacher. Dr. Howell completed her master’s and doctoral degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City where she worked in New York City public schools as a literacy specialist. Her research is focused on middle level teacher education and policies related to certification and credentialling of teachers for young adolescents. She has served as the Chair of the AERA Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group and Chair of the Association for Middle Level Education’s Professional Preparation Advisory Committee. Dr. Howell was also the lead editor on the 11^th volume of the Handbook of Research for Middle Level Education entitled, “Preparing Middle Level Educators for 21^st Century Schools: Enduring Beliefs, Changing times, Evolving Practices” and served on the editorial boards for Research in Middle Level Education and the Middle School Journal. Currently, Dr. Howell is the faculty lead of the CEHD C⁴ Summer Bridge Program and the Director of the Nystrand Center for Excellence in Education.