New Faculty Member Impacts Special Education Program
Leah Wood joined the Special Education Program as a new faculty member in fall 2014. Wood earned her doctorate in special education and child development with a specialization in moderate and severe disabilities and an emphasis in general curriculum access, comprehension and technology and her master's degree in teaching from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. She earned her bachelor's in psychology with an education from Davidson College.
Wood developed and taught a new core reading methods course and has taken leadership roles in both the Teacher Quality and Performance and Becthel grants. She also helped redesign special education fieldwork supervision.
"Leah had an immediate and powerful impact on special education graduate students. Her energy and passion for educating children with disabilities has made a measurable and observable difference in our students' engagement," said Mike Reuf, program coordinator. "She has also begun to bridge the gap between general and special education."
The Multiple Subject Program Welcomes a New Faculty Member
Briana Ronan joined the Multiple Subjects and SABE (Spanish Authorization for Bilingual Educators) Programs as a new faculty member in fall 2014. Ronan earned her doctorate in education with a specialization in language, literacy and technology and her master's degree in International Educational Development from Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned her bachelor's in English and Spanish from The University of Texas at Austin.
In the Multiple Subjects program, Ronan teaches a course in first and second language acquisition. In the SABE program, she developed a new course on Latin@ experiences in US schools. Through her work on the Teacher Quality Partnership and in collaboration with local educators, she is supporting the implementation of California’s new English Language Development standards.
Ronan’s research interests are in multimodal and multiliteracy practices of emergent bilingual students and technology initiatives for academic language development.
Educational Leadership and Administration Program to Add New Faculty Member in Summer
Andrea Somoza-Norton will join the faculty of the Educational Leadership and Administration Program in July. Somoza-Norton currently serves as the Title III state director and English for speakers of other languages consultant for the New Hampshire Department of Education. She earned her bachelor's in education and master's in information technology in education from the University of Nevada, Reno, and her doctorate of education in leadership in schooling from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
As a former lead teacher and school administrator, Somoza-Norton has led several turnaround school improvement initiatives. Currently, she oversees federal grants, delivers technical assistance and professional development to school districts, and is involved in various statewide educational projects.
Her research interests are K-12 educational leadership and administration, particularly in the areas of creative leadership for innovation and transformation, system thinking and models, and implementation science. In addition, she is interested in the integration of information technology in education and English language learners programs and policies. Somoza-Norton is looking forward to joining the School of Education and College of Science & Mathematics.
