Lance Ozier (Secondary English Education)

Published in ConnectED Newsletter - Volume 6 - Issue 1 - August 2022

An Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Secondary English Education program, Lance Ozier has a B.A. in Elementary Education from Oglethorpe University, an M.A. in Sociology and Education from Columbia University, and an Ed.M. and Ed.D. in English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Professor Ozier began teaching at The City College of New York in the spring of 2009. This is his 29th consecutive semester at CCNY, not counting summers! His teaching experience began as a 1st grade teacher in Atlanta. “At the time, it was the Southeast's most diverse public elementary school. My students came from all over the world and spoke dozens of different languages,” he said. When he came to New York City for graduate school, he worked as a literacy coach at a middle school in the South Bronx. “I learned quickly that my training as an elementary school teacher was useful for supporting adolescent students who were still learning to read. Eventually, I worked in public high schools in the Bronx and Brooklyn implementing various literacy programs, teaching writing, and supporting teachers with professional development.”

When he came to CCNY, Professor Ozier was already teaching pre-service teachers at Teachers College. “In the early years, I would finish teaching my TC course and literally run up the street to teach my course right afterwards at CCNY.” As a product of public schools himself, he has a strong commitment to education as a public good, and specifically the role of public institutions to prepare teachers to be successful in public schools. He says, “as a teacher, I first think of myself as a learner: each semester brings new insights into how we can think differently about a topic and solve problems together. My students, therefore, are my greatest teachers; and despite being "pre-service," they are not empty vessels to be filled, as the saying goes, yet rather students are fires to be ignited.”

As a faculty member in the Secondary English Education program, Professor Ozier has the opportunity to teach students across the School of Education in courses required for students in every program. “We have a lot of fun exploring what literacy is, how issues of identity intersect with our language learning, and most importantly, we model and practice practical strategies all teachers can use in their classrooms for supporting their own students to show up as their authentic selves in school spaces.” He also loves when he gets to teach our Secondary English Education students in courses diving deeply into short stories and novels, and composing texts together.