Jessica Siegel
Associate Professor
English
Location: 2306 James Hall
Phone: 718.951.3189
Fax: 718.951.4612
Email:
Jessica Siegel is a journalist and a professor/teacher, both important parts of who she is, and each enriches the other. As a journalist, Siegel writes about a variety of issues and topics but often comes back to covering education, especially urban education. She brings her skills as a journalist to the topic, but also her 12 years of teaching high school in the New York City public schools. As a professor/teacher, she draws from those same years, as well as her research and examination of educational issues, sometimes as a journalist. For Siegel, the intersection of these two fields informs the other as well as different parts of herself. As a professor/teacher she not only teaches journalism but also the teaching of writing to prospective and working English teachers. Writing remains at the center of her teaching to both undergraduates and graduate students. And teaching remains at the heart of what she does at Brooklyn College.
Education:
M.S., Columbia University - 1992 (Journalism)
M.A., Teachers College, Columbia University - 1980 (Teaching of Reading)
B.A., University of Chicago - 1970 (English)
Areas of Expertise:
As Siegel tells her students, journalists are paid to investigate things that are interesting to them and that they are curious about. Journalism has enabled Siegel to report and write about the Attica prison revolt and the plight of Vietnam veterans, in her early years of reporting, and now more recently about the difficulties facing immigrant students in the schools, what "college-readiness" is, the economic plight of CUNY and its students and the history of the Jews in the Caribbean.
Books and Publications
"Opinion: My CUNY Students Need Cuomo to Deliver on Funding," Schoolbook.org, Mar. 18, 2016 (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2016
"De Blasio's Education Agenda Takes Shape at Renewal Schools," City Limits, www.citylimits.org, June 19, 2015, http://citylimits.org/2015/06/19/de-blasios-education-agenda-takes-shape-at-renewal-schools/ (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2015
"Gov. Cuomo, Help CUNY Now," New York Daily News, nydailynews.com, Oct. 1, 2015, http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/jessica-siegel-gov-cuomo-cuny-article-1.2380637 (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2015
"Nina Simone and Amy Winehouse and the Demons of Fame and Genius," Conversations with Creative Women, sandikleinshow.com, Sept. 5, 2015, http://sandikleinshow.com/blog/nina-simone-amy-winehouse/ (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2015
"400 Years After Portugal's Inquisition, A Very Unusual Family Gets Together; The Da Costas' Amazing Sephardic Story." The Forward, June 1. http://forward.com/articles/199161/-years-after-portugal-s-inquisition-a-very-un/?p=all. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2014
"Four Hundred Years After the Flight From the Inquisition, the Da Costa Family Reunites and Remembers." The Forward, May. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2014
"Getting Kids Ready for College, Beyond the Classroom." City Limits, www.citylimits.org, June 17.
http://citylimits.org/2014/06/17/getting-kids-ready-for-college-beyond-the-classroom/ (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2014
"Joseph Lovett Documents Lives of Converso Jews in a New Film." Tablet Magazine. http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/164618/veteran-filmmaker-joseph-lovett-documents-lives-of-converso-jews (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2014
"Way South of the Border: The Jews of Suriname Fight -- Against the Tides of Time and Each Other -- to Hang on in South America's Least Populous Country." Tabletmag.com, Dec. 5. http://tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/187112/way-south-of-the-border. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2014
"What Is College-Readiness and What High Schools Need to Do?" City Limits Magazine, April. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2014
"Community Groups Press for Details in NYC Mayoral Forums." www.citylimits.org. April 1. http://www.bkbureau.org/2013/04/01/community-groups-press-for-details-in-nyc-mayoral-forums/ (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2013
"Mayor Bill, Here's Your Chancellor: Why Kathleen Cashin Has Just the Right Experience and Skill Set for the Job." New York Daily News, Nov. 13. http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/mayor-bill-chancellor-article-1.1514782 (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2013
"Amid Tests and Tight Budgets, Some Schools Find Room for the Arts." www.citylimits.org. June 7. http://www.bkbureau.org/2013/06/07/amid-tests-and-tight-budgets-schools-find-room-for-arts/ (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2012
"Now What? (Now that we have an agreement on data-driven teacher evaluations)." www.huffingtonpost.com. Feb. 23. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-siegel/now-what_2_b_1296881.html (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2012
Siegel, Jessica and Sonia E. Murrow. "Strengthening the Teaching Profession in NYC: Advice to the Next Mayor." www.huffingtonpost.com. July 17. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-siegel/how-to-professionalize-ny_b_1675996.html (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2012
"At Lincoln High, the Path to College Is Through Renee Schoenfeld." www.schoolbook.org. Dec. 16. http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2011/12/16/at-lincoln-high-the-path-to-college-is-through-renee-schoenfeld/ (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2011
"Once Central, City's Progressive Educators Now Outnumbered But Still Fighting." www.gothamschools.org. July 9. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2010
"Regents Shift NY Teacher Prep Away From Higher Education." The Clarion, February. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2010
"Small Victories, 20 Years Later: Reflections on Then and Now." Education Week, Oct. 27. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2010
"Sweatshop Cinderella: Anzia Yezierska for Today." The Forward, May. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2010
"All It Takes Is a Great Teacher." www.1010wins.com. June 20. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2009
"Bird's Eye View of the Inauguration." www.1010wins.com. Jan. 21. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2009
"Found in Portugal: World Famous Jewish-American Novelist." The Forward, Oct. 21. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2009
"Gov. Paterson Out of Touch?" www.1010wins.com. Jan. 29. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2009
"Lives on the Boundary, 20 Years Later." Education Week, Oct. 23. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2009
"Remembering One-of-a-Kind Teacher Denise Simone." www.1010wins.com. Nov. 2. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2009
"The New Marketplace: How Small-school Reforms and School Choice Have Reshaped New York City's High Schools." Contributing writer. The Center for New York City Affairs, Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy. June. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2009
"Three Cheers for Stuyvesant Town Tenants." www.1010wins.com. March 10. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2009
"We're Not Dead Yet: The Fall--and Potential Rise--of New York City High School Newspapers." Report investigating high school newspapers and journalism programs in New York City. June. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2009
"The Maze of America: Finding a High School for an Immigrant Child Is Tougher Than You Think." The Village Voice, Jan. 8. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2008
"Analyze This: Psychotherapists in Wellfleet, MA." Cape Cod View Magazine August. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2007
"Small Order: The Closing of Tilden High School." The Village Voice. April. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2007
Siegel, Jessica and Samuel G. Freedman. "In Defense of Big Schools." Gothan Gazette.com. April. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2006
Creative Work
Creator of and writer and editor for website for the Brooklyn College Listening Project: www.bclisteningproject.org 2017
Creator and managing editor, NewsStand NYC, a New York City high school journalism website for both journalism students and their teachers. Launched in May. 2009
Awards, Honors and Fellowships
Whiting Foundation Public Engagement Fellowship for Fall, 2016. $40,000 plus $10,000 in expenses. For development of a website and exhibition, entitled Listening to Brooklyn, based on oral histories of Brooklyn residents interviewed by Brooklyn College students as part of the Brooklyn Listening Project. (Awards and Honors) 2016
Grant from the dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, to travel to Amsterdam in April to write about the reunion of a Sephardic family for an article for The Forward, "Four Hundred Years After the Flight From the Inquisition, the Da Costa Family Reunites and Remembers." $1,000. (Grants and Fellowships) 2014
Grant from the Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, to travel to Suriname during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, to continue documenting the Jewish community there for an article in Tablet Magaine.org, "The Jewish Community in Suriname: How Long Will It Survive?" $900. (Grants and Fellowships) 2014
McCormick Foundation grant, for "We're Not Dead Yet: The Fall--and Potential Rise--of High School Newspapers in New York City." February, $1,000. (Grants and Fellowships) 2010
Outstanding Journalism Educator for 2010, Deadline Club, New York City Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, June. (Awards and Honors) 2010
PSC-CUNY Grant, for "The Jews of Suriname: Change, Community and Identity in an Ethnic Mix." April. (Grants and Fellowships) 2010
McCormick-Tribune Foundation grant, for "Where Have All the High School Newspapers Gone?: Survey of the New York City Public High Schools to Investigate the Number, Breadth and Depth of High School Newspapers and Journalism Programs in New York City." August, $20,000. (Grants and Fellowships) 2007
PSC-CUNY Grant, for research on the history of Jews in Curacao, part of work on a book, Scattering of the Tribes: Sephardic Jews in the Caribbean. April. (Grants and Fellowships) 2007
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
How to Prepare for the Journalism World Out There After Your School Newspaper, Keynote speaker, College Newspaper Roundtable, Harvard Club, N.Y.C., April 8, 2016
(Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2016
"What Can English Teachers Learn From Journalists?" National Council of Teachers of English Convention. Nov. 23. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2013
"The Shifting Self: Brooklyn College Graduate English Conference." Respondent to three papers on trauma. April 28. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2012
Siegel, Jessica and Lori Ungemah. "Understanding the Transition From High School to College." The New Community College, at CUNY Conference on Best Practices in Reading/Writing Instruction. Nov. 10. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2012
"The History of the Underground Press and Liberation News Service: Presentation in History of the 1960s Class at Brooklyn College." Dec. 8. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
"Using the Web to Critique and Learn From National and International Newspapers in the Journalism Classroom." Conference on College Composition and Communication. April. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2008
Moderator, panel on breaking into online journalism at The New York Times online. CUNY Journalism Conference. November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2008
Presenter and chair, "Using Mike Rose's Lives on the Boundary in the Classroom" panel of three Brooklyn College graduate students and working middle school and high school teachers. Who Owns Writing Conference. Hofstra University. Hempstead, N.Y., October. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2008
Moderator, panel on launching new upscale African American magazine in Harlem. CUNY Journalism Conference. November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2007
Women Columnists' panel. CUNY Journalism Conference. November. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2006
Professional Leadership
Director of The Brooklyn College Listening Project, an interdisciplinary oral history project where students have created over 400 oral histories of family, friends, neighbors and strangers since 2015. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2017
Advisor to Graduate English Education Students, 2015-present
(Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2015
SEEK Advisor search committee, Nov. 2015-Mar. 2016
(Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2015
Member, Appointments Committee, English Department. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2014
Organizer, visit by journalist Samuel G. Freedman to speak about his book Breaking the Line: The Season in Black College Football That Transformed the Sport and Changed the Course of Civil Rights. Mar. 12. Funded by the Wolfe Institute and the dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2014
Steering Committee for The Brooklyn College Listening Project, a cross-campus community interview and oral history project, 2014-present (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2014
Member, Appointments Committee, English Department. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2013
Member, organizing committee, Global Media: Ethics of Representation Conference. Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. March 15-16. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2013
Organizer, "Photojournalism Using Smartphones" two-session workshop for journalism students with photojournalist Fran Antmann, May 10 and 17. Funded by the dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2013
Member, Appointments Committee, English Department. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2012
Member, Appointments Committee, English Department. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2011
Organizer, visit by Juan Gonzalez, Polk Award-winning New York Daily News columnist and investigative journalist, to speak about his book News for the People: The Epic Story of Race and the Media. Dec. 12. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2011
Member, Appointments Committee, English Department. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2010
Member, Appointments Committee, English Department. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2009
Organizer, 6th New York City High School Journalism Conference, November. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2009
Siegel, Jessica and Peter Taubman, co-organizers, Day of the Poet, where students and teachers from high schools all over Brooklyn write and perform poetry. May.
(Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2009
Chair, Admissions Committee, Faculty Council. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2008
Organizer, NYC High School Journalism Conference. Baruch College (CUNY). December. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2008
Siegel, Jessica and Peter Taubman, co-organizers, Day of the Poet, where students and teachers from high schools all over Brooklyn write and perform poetry. May.
(Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2008
Chair, Admissions Committee, Faculty Council. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2007
Co-organizer and presenter, forum on "Teaching the Levees," a curriculum designed to teach Spike Lee's film When the Levees Broke. Nov. 8. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2007
Organizer, NYC High School Journalism Conferece. Baruch College (CUNY). April. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2007
Organizer, NYC High School Journalism Conference. Baruch College (CUNY). December. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2007
Organizer, reception for Frank McCourt, speaking about his book Teacher Man. May. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2007
Siegel, Jessica and Peter Taubman, co-organizers, Day of the Poet, where students and teachers from high schools all over Brooklyn write and perform poetry. May.
(Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2007
Organizer, New York City High School Journalism Conference, Baruch College (CUNY), December. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2006
Siegel, Jessica and Peter Taubman, co-organizers, Day of the Poet, where students and teachers from high schools all over Brooklyn write and perform poetry. May.
(Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2006
Organizer, New York City High School Journalism Conference. Baruch College (CUNY). December. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2005
Siegel, Jessica and Peter Taubman, co-organizers, Day of the Poet, where students and teachers from high schools all over Brooklyn write and perform poetry. May.
(Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2005
Organizer and director, Teachers and Writers Collaborative, a forum of Brooklyn College School of Education teachers and student teachers reading their own writing, spring. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2004
Siegel, Jessica and Peter Taubman, co-organizers, Day of the Poet, where students and teachers from high schools all over Brooklyn write and perform poetry. May.
(Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2004
Organizer, speech and visit by Pedro Noguera, Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education at the New York University Steinhardt School of Education, on the challenges facing public education. December. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2003
Siegel, Jessica and Peter Taubman, co-organizers, Day of the Poet, where students and teachers from high schools all over Brooklyn write and perform poetry. May.
(Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2003
Siegel, Jessica and Peter Taubman, co-organizers, Day of the Poet, where students and teachers from high schools all over Brooklyn write and perform poetry. May. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2002
Other Professional Activities
Collected, wrote and submitted the recertification report for the Brooklyn College Adolescence English Program to the National Council of Teachers of English under the requirements of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. 2010
Collected, wrote and submitted the recertification report for the Brooklyn College Adolescence English Program to the National Council of Teachers of English under the requirements of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. 2009
