Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Health, Education and Human Development
College of Health, Education and Human Development
Clemson University
Kathy Headley is a professor of reading education and a faculty member at Clemson University since 1987. Dr. Headley began her career as an elementary classroom teacher and reading specialist in Georgia before completing her doctorate in reading from Auburn University. In addition to her position as associate dean, Dr. Headley continues her collaboration with the Center of Excellence in Adolescent Literacy and Learning as the research director, having previously served as co-director of the center.
The formation of the NDPC Fellows Program is an educational dream that has come to fruition. Having the Fellows work both directly on specific projects with and indirectly as liaisons for the NDPC will create dynamic relationships that will branch into multiple directions. As associate dean for research in HEHD, my goal is to facilitate those collaborative relationships and outreach endeavors. As Fellows, we will work diligently to support teachers and learners who are key to addressing the mission of the NDPC in our state and nation.
Dr. Jane Clark Lindle
Eugene T. Moore Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership
2004 – present: Eugene T. Moore Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership
Faculty of Leadership, Counselor Education, Human and Organizational Development
Eugene T. Moore School of Education
College of Health, Education, and Human Development
Clemson University
Student success in any realm, education, health, recreation, depends on relationships built in the community. School leaders are key to enabling these relationships through schools in creating a safe community for learning. My role at Clemson includes the development of school building leaders and school district leaders. Since 2004, five programs in Educational Leadership have been revised through five pilots in partnership with 16 different school districts. My research interests focus on school and community relationships, school safety, and the effects of educational policy on teaching and learning and relationships.
The formation of the NDPC Fellows opens an opportunity for ensuring that research on school engagement reaches practices and vice versa. Meta-analyses on dropout prevention and reviews of research on the various effective initiatives expand on the contribution that NDPC’s new online journal, Engage: An international journal on research and practices in school engagement promises. As the Editor for Engage, I’m particularly interested in seeing a more dynamic flow between research and practice.
Dr. Patrick O’Connor
Associate Professor in the College of Teaching Learning and Curriculum Studies at Kent State University
My primary duties at Kent State University are to coordinate teacher education programs in Career-Technical Education. The program prepares teachers for secondary education teaching and we also offer an endorsement for teachers with academic licenses who wish to work with students identified as dropout potential. In addition, my scholarly interests are in workforce and economic development especially the role of literacy and life-long learning. As employers demand more of employees, students must be better prepared to meet the demands of the current and future workforce.
I view both areas as contributing to keeping students in school. Career-Technical Education has a long history of appealing to students who prefer more contextual types of learning. And, as the workforce becomes more sophisticated, entering employees will need greater academic skills which require improved literacy. We have infused instruction for Career-Technical teachers in how to support their student’s reading and academic abilities.
I see the Fellows program as providing opportunities for people from many perspectives to study problems and explore solutions. I view the dropout problem as being multi-facetted and thus requiring multi-facetted solutions. I believe the Fellows program is an excellent example of a multi-facetted solution.
Mr. Terry Pickeral
President of Cascade Educational Consultants, Bellingham, WA
Terry Pickeral is the president of Cascade Educational Consultants providing leadership in: youth engagement, school climate, service-learning, civic development, education policy, state and district leadership and other practices to sustain quality education reform focused on equitable student and community engagement.
He has worked with students from high-risk environments and those marginalized from quality education experiences. He is a senior consultant to the National Center for School Climate and the co-chair of the National School Climate Council, a national consortium advocating for policies and practices in support of quality, equitable and engaging learning environments. He is also senior education consultant to Special Olympics Project UNIFY, a national initiative on social inclusion in schools.
I am particularly interested in developing and disseminating quality policy options federal, state and local policymakers and education leaders can adopt/adapt to create and sustain the conditions for student development and graduation from high school. Such policy options will be based on evidence and research to support quality practices, identify components of a safe and engaging school climate.
