Dian Prestwich
Dian Prestwich has worked in the field of education since 1995, including 7 years at the University of Kansas as an Associate Teaching Professor, 6 years at the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) as the Assistant Director for the Office of Literacy, 9 years teaching the primary grades, and 5 years serving as an instructional coach. Dian also has 7 years of experience as a national trainer of Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS), LETRS Foundations, and LETRS for Early Childhood.
In addition to her role as contributing faculty for Walden University’s Richard W. Riley College of Education & Leadership, Dian is a consultant with 95 Percent Group. Dian chose to join the 95 Percent Group team because of her passion for ensuring every student has a knowledgeable teacher who is prepared to ensure every child’s success as a literacy learner.
Dian received her BA in Elementary Education from Northwestern State University and her Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Lesley University. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree from Walden University in 2012. Her dissertation, Measuring Preschool Teachers' Perceived Competency and Knowledge of Oral Language Development, included the development of an instrument to measure preschool teachers’ perceived competency and knowledge of strategies for language development.
Dian has been married for 28 years and has 3 children. Her oldest son, Evan, is a Navy veteran and is majoring in construction management at Colorado State University. Her middle child, Chase, is a junior at Northwestern State where he is a pitcher on the baseball team. Her youngest child, Emma, just celebrated her 16th birthday and is enjoying the freedom of driving. In her free time, Dian enjoys reading, exercising, watching her son play baseball, and spending time with family. Dian lives in Frederick, Colorado.
Courses Taught
READ 6705 - Reading and Literacy Today
READ 6706 - Literacy Development PreK-3
Education
PhD, Walden University
Master of Education, Lesley University
Bachelor of Arts, Northwestern State University
Publications
Prestwich, D. (2015). Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Teaching all Children to Read.
Prestwich, D. (2015). Perspectives from the field: Educators share what they have learned. Perspectives on Language and Literacy: A Quarterly Publication of The International Dyslexia Association
Presentations
Prestwich, D. (2017). Connecting OWL (Opening Worlds of Learning) to the Cognitive Domain.
Prestwich, D. (2015). Continuous Improvement through Classroom Walkthroughs.
Prestwich, D. (2015). Phonological and Phonemic Awareness.
Prestwich, D. (2014). Building an Effective System for Teaching all Learners to Read at the Elementary Level.
Prestwich, D., Scheffel, D. (2014). Special education reform: Paradigms and pretenses.
Prestwich, D., Bamberry, L., Meyers, C., Boyer, M. (2012). Leveraging and sustaining the education reform agenda to improve literacy outcomes.
Prestwich, D., Scheffel, D. (2010). The Colorado Basic Literacy Act.
Prestwich, D., Almeida, P., Heronema, K. (2008). Accelerating English language acquisition: How it's Possible.