Education
professionals throughout the world often look to the Florida Center for
Reading and Research (FCRR) for help in understanding trends and issues
in teaching. Now its influence can be tapped locally at Gordon
College’s Graduate Program of Education when taking reading courses with adjunct professor Elissa
Arndt, Ph.D., in Reading and Language Arts from the School of Teacher
Education in the College of Education at Florida State University. In
April of 2005, Arndt—who graduated from Gordon in 2000—was invited to
work full-time at FCRR while also completing her doctoral studies at
FSU. She began
flying back to Boston from Florida once a month to teach in the
on-campus graduate program. In the process, she helped design courses
for Gordon’s reading specialist license. Because of its research and instructional scholarship, FCRR has
been a primary influence on reading policy in districts throughout the
country, and as part of Arndt’s work at FCRR, she reviewed reading
curricula and created reports to help teachers, principals, and district
personnel in choosing materials for effective instruction.
“Elissa
has been an integral part of our team here at FCRR, providing content
support to teachers through reviewing reading curriculum and providing
professional development for teachers in the areas of literacy and
intervention,” said Dr. Barbara R. Foorman, Francis Eppes, professor of
education and director at FCRR. “She helped train teachers in the
Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading, and I’m confident
she’ll provide the same essential services to teachers in
Massachusetts.”
Arndt says the level of compassion and professionalism students in the Gordon program have displayed has encouraged her.
The graduate education program attracts a diversity of local educators
interested in improving their classroom skills, working toward
certification, or beginning new careers.
“These
graduate students take ownership and responsibility to improve literacy
so they can better serve children,” Arndt said. “In an era in which
teachers must take accountability, Gordon’s students are proactive and
continue to improve their curriculum and instruction every day.”
Arndt
is also a certified speech-language pathologist and has worked in
elementary schools and at North Shore Children’s Hospital on Boston’s
North Shore. She plans to continue her research scholarship in reading
and provide leadership to curriculum and instruction.
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