Carlow Education Department

We are thrilled to announce a grant award to inspire the next generation of special educators. Congratulations MiIsha Reid, PhD and Rachel Griffo, PhD! https://lnkd.in/eP9byFyN

Career Change to Education Amanda Vitte, a graduate student in Early Childhood Education, lives in Scenery Hill, PA, but she is originally from Daisytown, Pennsylvania. For 20 years, Amanda worked with her parents at their family business in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. "When we decided to retire our business, I knew I had to start a new chapter in my career, and teaching always had a place in my heart," Amanda explained. "I selected Carlow because of the ease of completing my graduate program virtually with online classes and the high praise that Carlow receives in our Pittsburgh area." "Currently, I am an emergency substitute teacher for the Bentworth School District. Each day is exciting because one day I can be with 3rd grade students teaching them all about seeds, the next day I could be with kindergarteners helping them learn their letters and sounds, or I can be in the gym leading a physical education class. I always tell my leaders that I will go where they need me because it provides me with new challenges and new experiences to grow from. I enjoy substitute teaching because I get the opportunity to know the majority of our student body and they in turn get to know me." "I love how Carlow’s Education Program allows us to be ourselves and incorporate ourselves into the classes and assignments. Each class feels like a family after we get to know each other and interact with each other. I have really been thankful for things that we learn in class that can be directly utilized in the elementary classroom. I appreciate the diverse classes we have had and the intelligence and experience of our professors. It wonderful to get feedback from them, I feel like they always have our back in this program," Amanda shared.

Dr. Sean Freeland, Assistant Professor of Education and Program Director for Secondary Education, was selected as a STaR Program Fellow; he recently returned from the immersive retreat in Park City, Utah. The Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) STaR Program is a fellowship for early career university faculty focusing on Service, Teaching, and Research in Mathematics Education. Sean shared, "I was one of 20 early career faculty selected for the fellowship across the country. It is designed to address common challenges related to developing leadership and service skills, teaching mathematics content and methods courses, and establishing a research agenda. One important way the program addresses these challenges is by providing opportunities to network with other new mathematics education faculty." The program is an immersive retreat experience in Park City, Utah in which fellows form Manuscript Review Groups, Teaching Interest Groups, and Research Interest Groups to collaborate on common interests and innovative practices. These groups met multiple times throughout the week and they will continue to meet throughout the academic year and beyond. There will be a reconvening of the fellows at the AMTE Annual Meeting in Reno, Nevada in February 2025.

Undergraduate apprenticeship student and early childhood education major Riley Rubenstein is volunteering with North Hills Cares this summer, a nonprofit organization participating in the Summer Food Service Program providing free meals for children 18 and younger across the country throughout the summer. North Hills Cares feeds an average of 150 children a day. Riley creates activities for children at North Hills United Presbyterian Church, where the meals are made, as part of a service learning project in a summer education course, Professional Communities of Practice, taught by Dr. David Price.

Our summer newsletter highlights exciting student features and faculty and staff updates. https://lnkd.in/ehqc6r7A

A generous grant from the Peirce Family Foundation provides $7,000 scholarships for graduate students pursing their Reading Specialist Certification or students pursing the Dyslexia certificate as part of the new EdD program in literacy. For more information, contact Ann Bisignani: [email protected] Reading Specialist MEd program: https://lnkd.in/e_YNN9_p

Art Education Program Director, Sarah Zeffiro, spent a week at Fallingwater this summer working with high school students.

Faculty, staff, and student teaching supervisors attended Carlow's Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning Summer Institute centered on the theme of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The keynote address was presented by author Loui Lord Nelson (pictured third from left), and all participants received a copy of her text, Design and Deliver: Planning and Teaching Using Universal Design for Learning. Several faculty members presented break-out sessions during the conference: Dr. MiIsha Reid, Dr. Patricia McMahon, Dr. Marissa McClure Sweeny, Dr. Keely Baronak.

Carlow's Education team for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Noyce Scholars grant attended the national conference in Washington, DC. Picture l-r Dr. Rachel Griffo, Ann Bisignani, and Dr. Sean Freeland (PI). The Noyce Scholars Program provides significant tuition support for aspiring STEM educators. This program is open to anyone with a background in mathematics, Biology, or Chemistry who desires to be a high school educator in a high need/under-resourced district. For more information, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eCHDWfiM

Carlow's Education team for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Noyce Scholars grant attended the national conference in Washington, DC. Picture l-r Dr. Rachel Griffo, Ann Bisignani, and Dr. Sean Freeland (PI). The Noyce Scholars Program provides signifianct tuition support for aspiring STEM educators.