Kudos: Fields-Smith receives AESA Critic’s Choice Book Award; Doctoral student selected as a RWJF Health Policy Research Scholar

**Fields-Smith receives AESA Critic’s Choice Book Award**

Cheryl Fields-Smith, an associate professor in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice, was awarded the American Educational Studies Association’s (AESA) Critic’s Choice Book Award for her book, “Exploring Single Black Mothers’ Resistance Through Homeschooling.”

Each year, AESA committee members select several outstanding books that may be of interest to those in educational studies. Fields-Smith’s book expands the concept of homeplace with contemporary Black homeschooling positioned as a form of resistance among single Black mothers. Each chapter explores an individual mother’s experience and perspective in the decision to homeschool and the process of developing their practice.

“This book reveals the considerable diversity that exists within and among single Black home educators,” said Fields-Smith, who has researched Black homeschooling families for more than 15 years. “Single mothers expressed varying beliefs regarding motherhood, spirituality, and faith that gave them the strength to homeschool their children and forgo a career and income.”

[Read the full story on our website](https://coe.uga.edu/news/2020/09/fields-smith-receives-aesa-critics-choice-book-award).

**Student selected as Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar**

Shlon Smith, a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Educational Psychology, was selected to participate in a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation leadership program. These programs connect change-makers from every profession and field across the country to learn and work with one another in creating more just and thriving communities.

As a [Health Policy Research Scholar](https://healthpolicyresearch-scholars.org/), Smith will focus on improving policies and practices to increase access to mental health services for African American students in low-income communities. Her research fuses school psychology, health policy, and counseling services to improve African American student outcomes and dismantle educational systems of oppression that fuel the school-to-prison pipeline.