25 Years in Education
I taught high school English for more than 20 years and then taught K-12 English language development for a few more—all in my native southern VA.
Now, I work as a district-level English language development (ELD) partner in Tulsa, OK, coordinating secondary ELD and supporting teachers and school leaders. Since January 2022, I’ve been teaching online graduate literacy classes for The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. Starting August 2023, I also teach in-person reading classes for Tulsa Community College.
I hold a PhD in literacy from St. John’s University in NYC; an MEd in TESOL from Regent University in Virginia Beach; and a BA in English, journalism and communications from Averett University, Danville, VA.
My research interests usually center where language, literacy, and culture intersect—especially in the areas of culturally responsive pedagogy, multiliteracies, teacher efficacy, language acquisition and connecting current research with classroom practices. My dissertation study investigated the culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy of secondary teachers during emergency online learning.