School of Education Academy Programs Mission Statement
Monmouth University’s School of Education Academy programs are designed to support our partner districts in leading meaningful change in today’s schools. Through the sharing of research-based best practices, district and university collaboration, and solution-focused professional development, our academies continue to bring hundreds of educators to our beautiful campus year after year.
In these challenging times, the School of Education aims to make our Academy sessions more accessible and cost-effective than ever. For the 2026–27 school year, districts will only be required to pay one membership fee to participate in all three academies: Leadership Academy, Special Services Academy, and the BCBA Roundtable.
To attend any of this year’s academy sessions, please ensure your district becomes a member by completing the registration form. Our nominal annual membership fee allows districts to send an unlimited number of guests to each session (space permitting).
Please send questions to MUAcademies@monmouth.edu or Professional Development Coordinator Wendy Gray Morales, Ed.D., at wmorales@monmouth.edu.
2026–2027 School of Education Academies Calendar
| Date/Time | Event | Location |
| Oct. 8, 2026 8:30 a.m.–1 p.m. | Monmouth University School of Education Academies Combined Kickoff Event with Keynote Speaker Cornelius Minor | Stafford Student Center, Anacon A and B |
| Nov. 19, 2026 8:30–10:30 a.m. | Leadership Academy | Stafford Student Center, Anacon A and B |
| Dec. 1, 2026 9–11 a.m. (BCBA) 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Lunch) 12–2 p.m. (SSA) | Special Services Academy and BCBA Roundtable | TBD |
| Feb. 18, 2027 8:30 a.m.–12 p.m. | Monmouth University School of Education Academies Combined Event | TBD |
| March 11, 2027 8:30–10:30 a.m. | Leadership Academy | TBD |
| Spring 2027 TBD–Small Group Session #2 | Special Services Academy and BCBA Roundtable | TBD |
Oct. 8 School of Education Academies Kickoff Welcomes Keynote Speaker Cornelius Minor
“My job as a teacher is not to merely teach the curriculum or even to just teach the students; it is to seek to understand my kids as completely as possible so that I can purposefully bend and remix curriculum to meet them.”
Cornelius Minor is a Brooklyn-based educator and part-time Pokémon trainer. He works with teachers, school leaders, and community-based organizations to support educator growth in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. His latest book, “We Got This”, explores how the work of creating more equitable school spaces is embedded in our everyday choices—specifically in the choice to really listen to kids. Building on the understanding that literacy impacts all learning, Minor works across all subject areas.
Minor has been featured in Education Week, Brooklyn Magazine, and Learning for Justice magazine. He has partnered with the New York City Department of Education, the National Council for Teachers of English, the National Principals Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and Scholastic. “Out of Print”, a documentary featuring Minor, made its way around the film festival circuit, and he has been a featured speaker at conferences all over the world. He is a dedicated hip-hop fan, and on some evenings, you can find him online saving the universe with his PlayStation or on paper saving the realm in Dungeons & Dragons.
Along with his partner and wife, Kass Minor, he has established The Minor Collective, a community-based movement designed to foster sustainable change in schools. Whether working with educators and kids in Los Angeles, Seattle, or New York City, or across Vermont, Colorado, or Mississippi, Minor uses his love for technology, literature, and culture to bring communities together. As a teacher, Minor draws not only on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with young people.
These days, Minor is doing his best to keep up with two teenage daughters, searching for an elusive pair of Jordan IVs, and cycling as many kilometers as he can through forests and alleys alike.