June 2013
Dr. Alison Grizzle ’10, a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) graduate, was named the 2013–2014 Alabama Teacher of the Year in May. She is a math teacher at P.D. Jackson-Olin High School in Birmingham, Ala. She will serve as an official spokesperson and representative for Alabama teachers for the next year.
Kenneth “Trey” Cox ’09, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate and an Ed.S. in Administrator Leadership for Teaching and Learning student, was named the principal of Patrick County High School in Stuart, Va., in May. He will start the position on July 1. He is currently the principal of Uwharrie Middle School in Trinity, N.C.
Benjamin Grey ’06, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate, was recently appointed the chief innovation officer of Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 in Arlington Heights, Ill. He will begin work in this position in July. He was previously the chief information officer for Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 in Oak Lawn, Ill.
May 2013
Kimberli Palmer ’12, an M.S. in Higher Education graduate, accepted a position as the director of academic success and retention in the office of student services at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind., in December. In this role, she is responsible for the development of new programs and services and the creation of strategies that support student success. She previously served as a registrar at Medtech, a college that specializes in high-demand health and nursing programs.
Dr. Gina Piccinni ’12, a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) graduate, was approved in March by the board of education to serve as the principal of Carman Trails Elementary School in Manchester, Mo. She previously served as principal of Null Elementary School in St. Charles
Dr. Christine Ermold ’11, a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) graduate, was recently hired as the director for elementary education and professional development for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District in Soldotna, Ark. She will begin work in July and provide leadership for more than 700 certified employees in the district. She previously served as the head learner for Sterling Elementary and Cooper Landing School. Dr. Ermold is also the president of the Kenai Peninsula Administrators’ Association.
Kim Harkreader ’11, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate, was recently named the Sumner County K–4 Teacher of the Year for the 2012–2013 school year. She is a fourth-grade teacher at J.W. Wiseman Elementary School in Portland, Tenn.
Melissa Long ’09, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate, was profiled in an article in The Times-Reporter in March about her passion for teaching and how she encourages students to pursue various professions as a teacher at Buckeye Career Center in New Philadelphia, Ohio.
Michele Mailhot ’09, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate, developed a national curriculum titled “Expedition Earth and Beyond” as a contractor for NASA. The program is designed to facilitate student-driven, authentic research projects that study Earth and compare it to other planetary bodies like the moon and Mars and support science, math, engineering, and technology subjects. Mailhot is a mathematics specialist for the Maine Department of Education and the secretary of the Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics.
La Tasha Bassette ’08, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) student, participated in the panel discussion “Developing Good Teachers” at Southern Methodist University (SMU) on April 3. The forum was sponsored by The Dallas Morning News and SMU’s Simmons School of Education and Human Development.
Dr. Douglas Tedford ’08, a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) graduate, recently partnered with Irene Barry, a Ph.D. in Education student, to help her produce online courses for rural students in Guatemala as a volunteer for the Rigoberta Menchu Tum Foundation. Dr. Tedford lives in Mexico City and works as an author, teacher trainer, researcher, and writer for Teaching Services Latin America. Barry was featured in “Aztec Teacher Develops Online Courses for Rural Teachers in Guatemala” in The Daily Times on April 8 for her role. She is a transition teacher at Aztec High School in New Mexico.
Ryan Twentey ’06, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate and a photography teacher at Parkville High School in Maryland, received the national Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) 2013 Outstanding Young Educator Award in March at ASCD’s 68th annual conference in Chicago. Twentey, who has taught for 12 years, was honored for his innovative teaching methods and his contributions to the school system. As an advanced placement teacher, he works closely with the Community College of Baltimore County to help students prepare for portfolio reviews that could earn them college credit for their high school art classes. He also worked on system-wide curriculum projects and served as the school’s career and technology education chair to help define skills that will make students successful in their chosen careers.
Dr. Deborah W. Proctor ’05, a Ph.D. in Education graduate, will be the co-chair of the Minnesota eLearning Summit 2013 in July on Northwestern College’s campus. She is the online and digital learning specialist for the Minnesota Department of Education in Roseville.
Maurna A. Rome ’03, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate, was profiled in the article “Rome Inspires Young Learners” in Kanabec County Times on March 7. The article notes that she recently received the Minnesota Reading Association Celebrate Literacy Award, earned certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and was nominated for Education Minnesota’s teacher of the year award. She is a first-grade teacher at Ogilvie Elementary School.
April 2013
Dr. John DeGarmo ’12, a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) graduate, was a guest speaker at the Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association Spring Conference in March and was a guest on the Rhonda Sciortino radio show on Feb. 20. Dr. DeGarmo recently created a series of webinars for foster parents. Topics include welcoming a foster child to your home, the dangers of online technology and social networking, responding to foster children’s needs in public schools, and coping after a foster child leaves your home. The webinars are available on his website. Dr. DeGarmo is the author of Fostering Love: One Foster Parent’s Journey (CrossBooks, 2012), a book about his personal experiences as a foster parent.
Dr. Catherine S. Bridges ’11, a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) graduate, was named Elementary Administrator of the Year by the Texas Classroom Teachers Association (TCTA) in February. She was nominated by the Grand Prairie Classroom Teachers Association, a local affiliate of TCTA. In the nomination, leaders praised Dr. Bridges for her open-door policy and welcoming attitude toward staff and parents. She is the principal of Juan N. Seguin Elementary School in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Morgan Carter ’11, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate, was named the founding principal of Providence Mayoral Academy Elementary in Providence, R.I., in February. The school is set to open in August and is part of Achievement First, a network of 22 nonprofit public charter schools. Previously, she was the founding principal at the network’s Amistad Academy Elementary in New Haven, Conn., eventually becoming dean before joining Achievement First’s principal-in-residence program.
Amy R. Brown ’04, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate, was named the director of National College’s Florence campus in Kentucky. She previously served as the director of education and dean at Lincoln College of Technology in Cincinnati, Ohio.
March 2013
Gloria J. Brown-Brooks ’12, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) and Ed.S. in Teacher Leadership graduate, led a presentation at the California Mathematics Council in December. She also presented to rural principals at the San Benito County Office of Education in October.
Dr. Kimberly Handy ’12, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) graduate and an Ed.S. in Reading and Literacy Leadership student, presented the paper “Working With Biological Families: Can I Go and Live with My Uncle Eddie?” in February at the National Association of African American Studies Conference in Baton Rouge, La. She also recently had the paper “Analysis of Educators’ Perceptions Regarding Career and Technical Education, Academic Content, and Blended Curricula” published in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education (Vol. 1, Issue 1). Dr. Handy is a language arts teacher in the Anchorage (Alaska) School District.
LaTasha P. Bassette ’08, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) student, was named the 2012 Teacher of the Year at the Harold W. Lang Sr. Middle School in Dallas, Texas. She is currently the English as a second language (ESL) department chair and an eighth-grade ESL teacher.
Stacie Padgett ’08, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate, was named assistant principal of Hillcrest Elementary School in Lake Wales, Fla., in January. The search committee chose her from among nearly 50 candidates. She most recently served as interim assistant principal at Hillcrest.
Olivia McGlothin ’05, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate, was named Teacher of the Year at Russellville Elementary School in Tennessee. The fourth-grade teacher serves as a mentor to new teachers, student teachers, and practicum teachers.
Dr. Bonnie Beardsley ’03, a Ph.D. in Education graduate, was recently named dean of the Northwestern College Violet Schumacher School of Nursing in Bridgeview, Ill. She previously developed curriculum at Western Governors University in Salt Lake City; served as the associate director for the school of nursing at Aurora University in Illinois; was a professor and chairwoman of the department of nursing at Olivet Nazarene University’s Rolling Meadows, Ill., campus; and was the founder and director of the nursing graduate degree program at Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill.
February 2013
Dr. Chantrell Bruton ’12, a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) graduate, recently received a grant from the international education honor society Kappa Delta Pi. Dr. Bruton plans to use the grant to purchase auditory materials to help her English language learner students in the area of reading comprehension.
Dr. Catherine Bridges ’11, a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) graduate and principal of Juan Seguin Elementary School in Richmond, Texas, was recently named the 2012–13 Administrator of the Year in the elementary school category by the Texas Classroom Teachers Association (TCTA). She was nominated for her open-door policy and welcoming attitude toward staff and parents. Prior to becoming principal of Juan Seguin Elementary, Dr. Bridges was assistant principal of Daniels Elementary Academy in Grand Prairie.
Dr. Brucetta McClue Tate ’08, a Ph.D. in Education graduate, published Jolly Meets Cyber Air Bully (AuthorHouse, 2012), her second book about the character “Jolly the Computer” designed to engage children about technology. She also will lead a presentation in March on bullying, gender equity, harassment, drop-out anticipation, and solutions at the Race, Gender & Class 2013 Conference in New Orleans, La.
Amanda Wheeler ’06, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate, was named Lewisburg Primary School’s 2012–13 Teacher of the Year in Memphis, Tenn. She was profiled in The Commercial Appeal (Jan. 3), where she explained why she chose to become a teacher.
Tequila Pennington-Calwise ’03, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate and a third-grade teacher at Euclid Park Elementary School in Cleveland, Ohio, won Essence magazine’s first annual “Hardest-Working Black Woman in America” contest for meeting the challenges of inner-city education, running a nonprofit, and maintaining her work-life balance. She was featured in the article “Higher Learning” in the magazine’s January 2013 issue.
January 2013
Dr. Chantrell Bruton ’12, a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) graduate, was selected as a Kappa Delta Pi Georgia State Delegate in August. During her two-year term, she will actively engage the state’s constituents and build communities of idea sharing, support, advocacy, and collaboration. She is a first-grade teacher at Southside Elementary School in Cairo, Ga., and an adjunct faculty member with the National Institute for Professional Practice in partnership with Wilkes University.
Nanette Lehman ’10, an M.S. in Education (M.S.Ed.) graduate and a second-grade teacher at Haines Elementary, was recently named Oregon Teacher of the Year 2012–13. In this role, she will serve as a spokesperson and representative for Oregon teachers and will attend the National Teacher of the Year forum in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Richard Valenta ’10, a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) graduate, was named assistant superintendent for human resources in the Birdville Independent School District in Haltom City, Texas, in November. He starts the position in January 2013. Formerly the district’s director of personnel services, he was responsible for employee recruitment, hiring, salaries, benefits, staffing projections, and employee services.
Read accomplishments from previous years.