Chris Reynolds is a 2019 graduate of the Lerner College’s Master of Arts in Economics and Entrepreneurship for Educators (MAEEE) program and currently resides in Fort Collins, Colo. He was recently named a Milken Educator Award recipient, one of the nation’s most prestigious honors for educators. Reynolds reflects on how the MAEEE program strengthened his economic expertise, instructional leadership and ability to create meaningful impact for students and fellow educators.
What is your job title and name of school, district, or organization?
Assistant Principal/Economics Instructor, Liberty Common High School
What exciting news or accomplishments have you been a part of?
I was awarded the Milken Educator Award in March, which includes recognition at a school assembly, the Milken Forum in Los Angeles, and the State Board of Education. More details about the events and my work are detailed here: https://www.milkeneducatorawards.org/educators/view/chris-reynolds
Why is this news valuable to your colleagues or educators considering the MAEEE program?
The opportunity to study in-person and with other educators at UD can create new opportunities not only for your career but to more meaningfully impact students as an economics content expert.
What did you learn through your MAEEE experience that you wouldn’t have learned anywhere else?
The combination of in-depth economic training and the skills/vision to train other instructors is unmatched. The importance of content-rich instruction in education has been waning and the MAEEE program re-centers the need for content experts in the classroom, specifically the rigorous and precise nature of marginal analysis and economic reasoning.
Describe an important connection you have made through your graduate program (personal, professional, peers, mentors, professors, etc.)
Time on campus with professors was one of the best parts of the program, and a summer AP seminar with Jacob Clifford was the catalyst for joining the program.
What other opportunities has the MAEEE degree provided you?
I was able to develop curriculum for two different school organizations and the MAEEE degree was a meaningful part of moving into school leadership.
If you were to describe your classmates in one word, what would that be?
Dedicated!
Fill in this sentence: “The MAEEE graduate program helped me become…”
envisioned as a content expert and an instructional leader.
What piece(s) of advice would you give to current MAEEE students or prospective applicants?
Find a way to make it happen. Carting the whole family out to Newark from Colorado for two summers was one of the best decisions my wife and I ever made. No matter your stage of life, it is a great adventure and completely worth the hard work.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I had the chance to support our Blue Hens in Boulder when they came out to Colorado to play CU in September.