M.A., M. Ed., M.Phil., Ph.D., 092

Dr. Rita Brown-Holloway

 

EARLY SUCCESS

 

Energetic and driven towards scholarship her entire life, Dr. Rita Brown-Holloway was raised by single mother, Edith C. Brown, in Harlem, New York who instilled the value of academic achievement and community-building above all else very early on in Rita's young life. Dr. Brown-Holloway would graduate from the New York City Public School system's A. Phillip Randolph Campus High School in 1984 where she would be awarded the New York City Regents Award of Excellence in Social Studies, The APR Award of Excellence in Physics, and as a member of the National Honor Society. 

Dr. Brown-Holloway graduated Williams College (in Williamstown, MA) in 1988 with a B.A. degree in Philosophy where she was honored at graduation with the college's prestigious Grovesnor Memorial Award for “Student excellence, service, and commitment to the college community and beyond.” Additional honors would soon include a 1986 Mellon Foundation Award for urban community research; a 1998 Research Fellowship in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City; and a 2007 School Volunteer Award. Dr. Brown-Holloway would also be honored with Jersey City’s 2004 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Staff Development Award for her Diversity Development Institute (DDI) which provided Educational Diversity Training, Achievement Motivation Strategies, and Teacher Stress workshops to both urban and suburban school districts across the tri-state. Dr. Brown-Holloway became a voting member of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2011; a full member of the National Center for Crisis Management in 2009; a member of The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress in 2009, to name a few.

 

EDUCATIONAL & DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

 

With a belief and understanding that schools provide the first line of defense against abuse, mental illness, and other social ills for all Americans, Dr. Brown-Holloway very carefully fashioned a career that would allow her to successfully combine her love of teaching and education with her fascination with psychology and human development.  Dr. Brown-Holloway earned double Masters Degrees in Special Education & Reading from Columbia Teachers College.  Dr. Brown-Holloway would go on to earn her Ph.D. in Psychology from Columbia University's Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (with Specializations in School Psychology and Health & Behavior Studies) in 2009. 

 

Dr. Brown-Holloway, a celebrated School Psychologist, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist, and Psychological Evaluator has provided psychological testing, therapy, crisis intervention, teacher consultation, and educational programming for school district, communities, and organizations across the nation.  Through her multiple roles, Dr. Brown-Holloway has identified and treated thousands of children and adults with learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, autism, and the full gamut of mental health issues for over 25 years.

 

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION & SUPERVISION

 

Dr. Brown-Holloway completed her 092 Certification in Educational Leadership & School Administration at Sacred Heart University, successfully passing the nation's most rigorous, administrative qualifying examination, the Connecticut Administrators Test (CAT), in 2015. Coursework requirements included:

 

• Advanced Curriculum Development

• Assessment & Evaluation of Learning: Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis

• Teacher Supervision, Evaluation, and Staff Development

• Educational Law and Finance

• Leadership: Contemporary Educational Problems

• Technology and Information Management for Administration

 

The degree empowers Dr. Brown-Holloway with:1) a comprehensive, working knowledge of the Common Core State Standards and Curriculum required to engage and empower students with the necessary 21st century skills to succeed in college and beyond; 2) to inspire, supervise, and evaluate teachers and staff; 3) to motivate and assess student achievement; as well as, 4) build productive relationships with boards of education, superintendents, parents and other stakeholders within school districts.

 

DISPROPORTIONALITY REDUCTION & SPECIAL EDUCATION PREVENTION

 

Dr. Brown-Holloway, was selected as the Coordinator of Transition & Prevention Services of at the Bridgeport Learning Center, where she co-authored the Bridgeport Learning Center Camp (BLC Camp), a Pre-Referral/ Early Intervention program focused on providing behavior modification, social skills training, teacher training and consultation, classroom management, and parenting skills to urban "acting out" youth  in grades K-3. Aimed at reducing disproportionality in Special Education placement for underserved, minority youth, under Dr. Brown-Holloway's leadership, the BLC Camp prevented 72% of black and Latino youth entering her program from Special Education placement, while the number of program youth helped to successfully transition out of long-standing special education placements, and back to regular education, doubled.

 

STAFF DEVELOPMENT EXPERT

 

Since 2009, Dr. Brown-Holloway has worked extensively with schools, teachers, parents, and community leaders to resolve the psychosocial issues at the core of at-risk, minority students’ underachievement--with a specific focus on African-American boys. A pioneer within the new, urban classroom management movement, Dr. Brown-Holloway designed and piloted the nation’s first Responsive Behavioral Intervention Program (RBI) which debuted to unparalleled success within the Bridgeport Public School system in 2009. RBI's innovative, cognitive-behavioral modification system and was proven to reduce disruptive student behavior and school suspensions in the district by 63% and 50%, respectively. 

 

Dr. Brown-Holloway completed RULER’s Train-The-Trainer Training through the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence in 2015. Since that time she has served on the Ruler Charter Committee aimed at creating Emotional Intelligence charters for schools and classrooms. She has also served on the RULER Roll-Out Team charged with fully implementing RULER’S Emotional Intelligence Program with the Bridgeport Public Schools.

 

In 2016, Dr. Brown-Holloway became one of the first District-Wide Trainers of the Boys Town Education Model's Specialized Classroom Management System for the Bridgeport Public Schools---which has been found to effectively decrease disruptive student behaviors, increase academic engagement, and increase student life skills via its highly-structured behavior management system.  In addition, Dr. Brown-Holloway received her certification as a Level 4 Boys Town Fidelity Monitor, to ensure that classroom teachers and schools are providing the appropriate level and types of behavioral reinforcements and token economies, corrective strategies, classroom expectations, and social skills instruction proven to support all students and facilitate positive behaviors, reduce academic office referrals, and lower suspension rates.

 

DIVERSITY TRAINING & MULTICULTURAL EXCELLENCE

 

A long-time Diversity Trainer and expert in the field, Dr. Brown-Holloway created the Diversity Development Institute in 2004.  Her exemplary training of the entire district’s educators, administrators, and pupil support staff earned her the Jersey City Board of Education’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Staff Development Award.  Since then, Dr. Brown-Holloway has trained hundreds of educators and pupil support staff in Mandated Multicultural Excellence and Diversity leading to the Diversity-Certified Educator & Diversity-Qualified Administrator credential.  Dr. Rita Brown-Holloway is also the President and Founder of the United Diversity College responsible for awarding the nation’s first installment of U.S. Diversity Cards™ and Diversity Degrees™ for professionals in education, business, mental health, law enforcement, and more.

 

ADJUNCT PROFESSOR 

 

Dr. Brown-Holloway joined the staff of New York University as an Adjunct Professor of Psychology in 1995. While at NYU, Dr. Brown-Holloway had the pleasure of teaching several courses including:

 

• Introduction to Psychology

• Abnormal Psychology

• Psychobiology

• Statistics

 

During that time, Dr. Brown-Holloway also impressed the need for Academic Stress Management for college students and developed the Collegiate Academic Stress Management & Reduction Training Institute to prevent anxiety and depression, substance abuse, suicidality, as well as, academic failure in college students across the nation.

 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

In August 2010, Dr. Brown-Holloway was selected by the Department of Education's Office of Special Education Projects (OSEP) as a national expert and presenter for OSEP's Mega Conference in Washington, D.C. Dr. Brown-Holloway's presentation "Beyond Disproportionality: A Culturally-Sensitive, Multi-Modal Approach to Special Education Prevention" was followed by a keynote address by White House Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The conference was heavily attended by over 1200 special educators, Disability Advocates, Parent Leadership Centers, and policymakers from across the nation. In November 2010, Dr. Brown-Holloway was invited to the U.S. Senate where she was among 100 other national leaders honored for their commitment, service, and innovations in Special Education at the U.S. Department of Education’s 35th Anniversary Celebration of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

 

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH

 

Dr. Brown-Holloway’s proudest accomplishment includes her sole authorship of The BOSS © (Barack Obama Student Survey) and the BOPIS (Barack Obama Psychological Impact Study), the first psychological studies designed to explore the impact of Barack Obama's historic election on the academic achievement, behavior, dreams and aspirations, and psychological well-being of American youth and adults, in general, and African-Americans and people of color, in particular. The Research findings suggest that the election, presidency, and role model of President Barack Obama increased the self-concept, self-esteem, and achievement motivation of Americans across race by 80%, 74%, and 93%, respectively in 2009. Dr. Brown-Holloway's newest research on the impact of systemic racism and discrimination on African-American and Latino peoples of color's physical and mental health and behavior will debut in her upcoming book and docu-series, Color Recovery™.

 

NEWS & MEDIA 

 

Dr. Brown-Holloway's cross-categorical success psychology and education; behavior modification, stress/anger management, bullying, teen pregnancy, parenting issues, diversity and more landed her a National television spot on NBC's Weekend TODAY Show as well as numerous appearances on NBC's "LX New York" television show. Dr. Brown-Holloway has also appeared on television shows for Cablevision including "The Education Notebook" and the "Our Lives" Talk Show. Highly sought after on the academic lecture circuit for her innovative and timely workshops, (among them: "Motivating African-American Youth To Greater Academic Achievement" and "The PsychObamalogical Effects of Barack Obama's Presidency on American Youth"), Dr. Brown-Holloway had the honor of sharing the stage with former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in 2010; Dr. Cornell West and Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu in 2012; and Dr. Steve Perry and Geoffrey Canada in 2013. In 2016, Channel 12 News featured Dr. Rita Brown-Holloway and her Black Boy Rise! Achievement Motivation Initiative along with an interview by Senator Richard Blumenthal praising Dr. Brown-Holloway for her innovative community efforts.

 

STATISTICIAN 

 

Dr. Brown-Holloway, also a statistician, has extensive training and teaching in statistical analysis, experimental design, multivariate analysis, program development, and program assessment. Dr. Brown-Holloway designed Esurveyglobal.com, a web-based survey company, with the express intent of collecting the opinions and experiences of the global community on issues of psychology, education, politics, economics, pop-culture, and more as they affect the psychological well-being of the world community on an ongoing basis.  EsurveyGlobal.com is increasingly used by school districts and organizations to collect and analyze data required to facilitate data-driven programming, decision-making, and interventions throughout the country.

 

ACTIVE LEARNING

 

Staying true to her diversity of spirit, Dr. Brown-Holloway is a proud Doctoral Member of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology, an organization aimed at enhancing personal development and well-being throughout the lifespan via sport, exercise, and physical activity. As early as August 2007, Dr. Brown-Holloway’s innovative, active- learning programs, Rap2Read! and The SAT College, which was found to motivate student learning through the incorporation of urban music, dance, and a variety of performance art into the acquisition of reading/phonics skills, SAT vocabulary knowledge, as well as, math and history learning, debuted to rave reviews in the Connecticut Post and News Channel 12. Dr. Brown-Holloway is also the author of the U.S. Excel Games (USXL) successfully piloted in 2014 in Bridgeport CT and scheduled to make its national debut in Spring 2019 with various Olympic-type, individual, and team sports, infused with academic learning and skills acquisition in the critical areas of Reading, Language Arts, and Writing; Math and Science/STEM; PSAT & SAT skills mastery; as well as socio-emotional learning and Health & Fitness.