RFTEN/ATE Conference Round Up:
February 19-20, 2006

RFTEN faculty, deans and consultants helped kick off the annual meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators with a 2 1/2 hour professional clinic on Sunday, Feb. 19, showcasing reading instruction and successful RFTEN project models. RFTEN faculty and deans also conducted a workshop on Monday, Feb. 20. Dr. Charles Hodge, a RFTEN Quality Assurance Coaching Consultant, served as facilitator for both the professional clinic and workshop. The RFTEN team also presented a series of interactive instructional sessions for nearly 100 pre-service teachers from Virginia Union University (a RFTEN/NCATE institution), Georgia State University, and from other Georgia-area colleges and universities. Dr. Shirley Winstead, a RFTEN Quality Assurance Coaching Consultant, served as the facilitator for the RFTEN portion of the Pre-Service Strand.

Mrs. Shannon Amiotte, Faculty, Oglala Lakota College
Mr. Art Fisher, Dean, Oglala Lakota College
Topic: Modeling the Five Essential Components of Reading

Shannon Amiotte, M.S. Ed, has been a full time instructor at Oglala Lakota College in Kyle, SD for two years. During that time she has been a Reading First Teacher Education Network faculty member. A National Board Certified Teacher as an Exceptional Needs Specialist, she primarily teaches special education coursework focusing on instructional strategies for meeting diverse learning needs. Amiotte and her husband, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, operate a family ranch on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

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Art W. Fisher, Dean of Education: Art is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a graduate of Oglala Lakota College. Art obtained his Masters in Education from Oklahoma City University in 1991. Fisher has several years teaching experience in K-8 elementary education and was the director of the Gifted and Talented Program at Red Cloud Indian School prior to becoming a full time faculty member at Oglala Lakota College. He has served in the Education Department of Oglala Lakota College for the last six years.

Mrs. Delores Williams, Faculty, Alcorn State University
Dr. Doris Gary, Faculty, Alcorn State University
Topic: A Focus on Tutorial Programs: Field Experiences and Community Involvement

Delores Williams is an instructor in the School of Education and Psychology and the Reading First Teacher Education Network (RFTEN) coordinator at Alcorn State University in Alcorn, MS. Williams served on the committee to construct the School of Education's instructional management plan and has worked as a Roots teacher in the comprehensive research based reading program, Success for All. She has also worked as Barksdale Reading Institute/Institutions of Higher Learning faculty for the implementation of Mississippi's scientifically-based reading research model into the undergraduate elementary education reading classes. Williams who has taught elementary school for more than 34 years in Mississippi and Louisiana, believes that all children can learn: "This philosophy has led me to strive to teach children to read so that they will become avid readers. They will be equipped to unlock doors to a whole new world of adventures where they can perform everyday tasks effectively and value reading as a source for obtaining information and pleasurable enjoyment." She earned her M.Ed from the University of Louisiana and her B.S. degree from Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena Mississippi.

Doris Gary is the Associate Dean in the School of Education and Psychology at Alcorn State University in Alcorn, MS. She also serves as the coordinator of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Coordinator at the university. Gary is a part of the first Reading First Teacher Education Network cohort of faculty trained to implement scientifically-based reading research strategies in reading courses offered at Alcorn State University in Alcorn, MS.

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Dr. Nancy Prosenjak, Faculty, California State University, Northridge
Topic: Using a Self-Study Model

Nancy Prosenjak is a Professor in the Department of Elementary Education at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Kent State University where she majored in English Language Arts Education and minored in Literature. She has taught grades 1-8 and also worked as a Reading Specialist. Prosenjak is a frequent presenter at state and national conferences and fulfills several leadership roles in the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) folio reviewer for English education programs seeking NCATE accreditation, manuscript reviewer for submissions to English Journal and WILLA, and member of the Women in Literacy and Life Assembly Advisory Board. As Co-chair of the Schools as Clinics Work Group for the Teachers for a New Era Initiative (teacher education reform) at CSUN, Prosenjak has led the conceptualization and piloting of a network of clinical sites in local schools. One of these clinical sites is Langdon Elementary School, a Reading First School and one of the University's Reading First Teacher Education Network-partner schools.

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Dr. Pauletta Bracy, Faculty, North Carolina Central University
Topic: Detecting Bias in Children's Literature

Pauletta Brown Bracy is on the faculty in the School of Library and Information Sciences at North Carolina Central University where she teaches courses in children and young adult services in school and public libraries. Bracy designed the course, Ethnic Materials for Children and Young Adults, which is a part of the curriculum in the library school. In addition, Bracy annually teaches a course in Young Adult Literature in the School of Education at North Carolina Central University. She has served in the NCATE Reading First Teacher Education Network project as a Quality Assurance Coaching Consultant.

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Dr. Gwendolyn Trotter, Dean, Alabama State University
Topic: RFTEN Intersections: Local, State and National: A Look at RFTEN Institutions in North Carolina, Missouri and Alabama

Having completed her Ph.D. at Southern Illinois University in 1972, Gwendolyn Trotter immediately received an Assistant Professor position at Loyola University of Chicago. She served as professor and administrator at Loyola University for 22 years. During the 22 years she spent two years at Grambling State as a visiting professor/administrator. Following Loyola and Grambling, she spent four years at Florida A&M as a professor and Coordinator of Research. Other experiences included administrative position at Central Michigan University and a Deanship at Butler University.

Trotter was Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness and Technology at Livingstone College. She was responsible for institutional research, accreditation, assessment, technology, telecommunications and special projects. She is the recipient of the Distinguished Educator Award from the Association of Teacher Education. She was the major author and lead consultant for the Historically Black Technical Support Network which assisted many Historically Black Colleges and Universities in attaining accreditation from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.

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Dr. Carrie Robinson, New Jersey City University
Topic: The Role of the RFTEN Quality Assurance Coaching Consultant

Carrie Robinson, a member of ATE since 1989, is professor and chairperson of the Department of Educational Leadership at New Jersey City University. Robinson served as president of ATE from 2002 - 2003. In addition, she has served on the ATE Board of Directors and chaired the Fiscal Affairs Standing Committee. As a Quality Assurance Coaching Consultant for the Reading First Teacher Education Network, Robinson has worked with two Maryland institutions, Coppin State University and Morgan State University.

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