Kerri Ullucci was a student teacher at Falk during the 1997–98 school year. After completing her Master of Arts in Teaching at the University of Pittsburgh, Ullucci continued on to a PhD in Urban Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. Today, she says she has completed the circle by becoming a teacher herself. 

“I’ve been in schools pretty much every year of my life since I was five. I’ve never been out of the educator or student role.” For almost twenty years now, Ullucci’s focus has been teaching future teachers about issues of diversity and equity. 

“I work with the students on thinking through how social identity shows up in the classroom and ways we can make classrooms more supportive of all different kinds of kids. I love my job, despite there being a lot of heat and misunderstanding about this line of work right now.” 

Ullucci is also co-author of “Anti-Blackness at School: Creating Affirming Educational Spaces for African American Students,” a book that draws on decades of research to meaningfully address anti-Black sentiment in American schools. 

Thinking back to her student teaching days at Falk, Ullucci says many of her values have remained unchanged. “I’m [still] committed to social justice issues in schools, something that has been constant throughout my profession. I value relationships with students; that too is a constant. On the change side,” she adds, “I have more confidence than I did then, no doubt. I have a greater pool of knowledge and experiences to pull from when teaching.” 

Some of this knowledge and confidence, Ullucci says, can be traced back to Kisha Davis, who taught math and science at Falk from 1995 to 2002. “She was my mentor teacher for student teaching. I think my ‘vibe’ as a teacher was very much modeled after her. She was as loving as you can get, but she also wasn’t messing around. Kisha expected all students to do well, and sliding by was not acceptable. I’ve internalized that over the years.” 

Being mentored by Davis was also significant in that it helped Ullucci explore ideas that would later become central to her career. “The opportunity to work with somebody from a different racial background heightened my awareness about how race issues play out in classrooms," she says, adding that it’s “really instrumental to be in a setting where you’re being mentored by someone who has a different lived experience than you.” 

Ullucci says she first became interested in issues of race and equity as an undergraduate student studying history and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. By the time she got to Falk, she was entering her student teaching years with a critical eye and an “antenna up”—a perspective that helped her appreciate things like the diverse student body. 

“Falk was also committed to inclusion way earlier than other places. I concretely remember a professional development session where we were talking about best ways to support families in the LGBTQ community. This is a rare conversation, even now.” 

In addition to being a place for deep personal reflection and growth, Ullucci also emphasizes the cheerful nature of Falk. “It was just a fun, kind of joyful environment to be in, and that also stands out. It’s not that education isn’t a serious enterprise—of course, it is—but I think sometimes we forget that we’re working with small people, and they need moments of goofiness and childlike-ness.” 

“Working with youth really is the best,” she adds. “So much was done [at Falk] to meet kids where they were, nurture their own interests and build up their skills.” 

Outside of teaching, Ullucci has been married for 20 years to a fellow educator, has two teenage sons and one rescue dog, and spends her free time gardening, cooking for friends and family, and reading as much as possible.