(photo credit / WVTV)
AURORA – Dr. Gholnecsar “Gholdy” Muhammad was named the 2022 Waubonsie Valley Distinguished Alumna at the 22nd annual Indian Prairie Scholars Ceremony on Tuesday night.
A 1999 Waubonsie Valley graduate, Dr. Muhammad completed her undergraduate degree in education and graduate degrees in educational administration, curriculum and instruction.
Dr. Muhammad is an associate professor of literacy, language and culture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She studies Black historical excellence within educational communities with goals of reframing curriculum and instruction. She has been the recipient of the 2014 National Council of Teachers of English, the 2016 NCTE Jane Emig Award, the 2017 GSU Urban Education Research Award, the 2018 UIC College of Education Researcher of the Year, the 2020 American Educational Research Association, and the 2021 NCTE Outstanding Elementary Educator in English Language Arts.
She is the author of the best-selling book Cultivating Genius: An Equity Model for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy.