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Working with students who spoke 20 different languages and represented 40 countries was a formative experience for Dr. Courtney Koestler and helped shape a career-long commitment to equity, diversity, and justice in education. Since beginning their career as a public school teacher in 1998, Koestler has worked as a K–8 classroom teacher, mathematics specialist, and instructional coach in culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse communities in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. These experiences continue to inform their work as a teacher educator, researcher, and community partner.

Koestler is currently a Professor of Teacher Education and Faculty Director of the Stevens Center for Literacy and STEM Education at ������Ƶ. Their research and scholarship focus on equity, diversity, and justice in mathematics education; critical (mathematics) literacy and agency; teacher inquiry in elementary mathematics classrooms; and creating more humanizing and equitable learning opportunities for children and teachers.

A central focus of Koestler’s work is helping educators consider how mathematics can become a space for students to explore meaningful questions about their communities and the world around them. Their scholarship examines how teachers and students develop agency, engage in critical literacy, and connect mathematics to social, cultural, and political issues. Koestler is particularly interested in how teachers can create learning environments in which students’ identities, experiences, ideas, and questions are valued and where all students have opportunities to experience belonging and agency and to engage in real action.

Koestler’s work is grounded in both research and classroom experience. During the 2022–2023 academic year, they returned to the elementary classroom as a third-grade teacher in a local Appalachian school district, researching the design and implementation of mathematics lessons and units connected to real-world issues. Their experiences working in Appalachian schools, together with their earlier work in diverse urban and suburban communities, have strengthened their commitment to understanding the ways that social and cultural contexts shape teaching and learning. These experiences also continue to inform Koestler’s work with prospective and practicing teachers.

Professor Koestler has participated in and led numerous research projects funded by the National Science Foundation and other organizations addressing mathematics education, teacher education and professional development centered on equity. They have published and presented nationally and internationally on mathematics teaching and learning, critical literacy, teacher inquiry, and equity and justice in education. Koestler is also an active leader in a number of professional organizations, including as a board member of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators and the ������Ƶ Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Koestler approaches education from a justice-oriented perspective, emphasizing that teaching is never neutral. They encourage educators to examine their own positionality, practices, and assumptions and to consider how their decisions shape students’ experiences of schooling.

“Teachers need to be aware of all of the messages we send to students every day. These messages are explicit and implicit in the kinds of talk we use, the picture books we read and have on our shelves, the tasks we pose, and everything else we do because of our power as teachers.”

In their role with the Stevens Center for Literacy and STEM Education, Koestler works to strengthen collaborations among ������Ƶ faculty, PreK–16 educators, students, community partners, and others. The center supports research, outreach, professional learning, and community partnerships focused on literacy and STEM education and on expanding innovative and equitable educational opportunities.

Koestler also works directly with schools and community organizations as a resource and collaborative partner. They are available to model lessons, co-teach, observe and provide feedback, consult, facilitate professional learning, and collaborate on educational initiatives. Across these roles, Koestler brings together research, classroom experience, and teacher education to support educators in creating more equitable, humanizing, and intellectually rich learning environments.