Ronald Cunningham
Dual-degree student,
Master of Jurisprudence-Ph.D. in Urban Education Studies
Ronald Cunningham is a Ph.D. student in Urban Education Studies at IU Indianapolis’s School of Education. He was in his third year of the program when he discovered a need to gain an understanding of law as it relates to education policy. He began his Master of Jurisprudence studies at IU McKinney in Fall 2020.
“I have always been interested in policy and law as it relates to education,” Cunningham said. He was introduced to Critical Race Theory in his doctoral program, and that serves as the theoretical framework for his primary graduate research, along with Critical Legal Studies. “As I desired to strengthen my critical lens, I concluded my writing and research would be more refined if I deepened my understanding of both along with an understanding of educational policy and law.”
Working as a paralegal at a prestigious law firm in Washington, D.C., after completing his undergraduate studies, Cunningham described his life at that time as comfortable. Then a friend reminded him of his “lifelong aspirations to not only strive to be successful but in doing that commit to work that was relevant and would have an impact on disenfranchised people,” Cunningham said. “That conversation prompted me to make an immediate shift into K-12 education and despite some challenges along the way, I haven’t looked back.”
Cunningham worked for 22 years as a K-12 educator in schools in Washington, D.C.; Atlanta, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; Cleveland, Ohio; Oakland, California; and in Indianapolis. He graduated from Georgetown University and completed his graduate studies at Howard University. Cunningham works as an instructional coach at The PATH School, an IPS Innovation school. In addition, he teaches undergraduate students in the School of Education’s teacher training program. Prior to his work at IU Indianapolis, Cunningham was a guest instructor for two summers at Dillard University, and one summer at Georgetown.
Cunningham has what he terms “a healthy obsession” with programs that purport to revolutionize urban education. “Teach For All, Teach for America, The Relay Graduate School, KIPP Schools and other white neoliberal educational organizations assert a commitment to revolutionizing urban education while authoring a system of educating students of color that is as racially hostile as the system they profess a desire to dismantle,” Cunningham said. “My graduate work aims to interrogate different aspects of this practice.” His goal is to become a faculty member at a university where he can continue to work with pre-service teachers yet play a more impactful role in shaping what their preparation looks like.
