91短视频

After 28 years in the classroom, Angela Baylor is readying herself for new challenges as a reading specialist. A graduate student in the program at 91短视频, she now has some financial help to make her dream come true: She is the 2017 recipient of the .

Baylor taught third grade for 23 years, and then first grade for five, at W.H. Keister Elementary School in Harrisonburg. Along the way she supported her husband鈥檚 professional growth and parented three children who are now teenagers. With the help of the scholarship, Baylor鈥檚 own goals of earning a master鈥檚 degree and reading specialist endorsement 鈥� and working as a reading specialist at Keister 鈥� are about to become reality.

In her new role, Baylor will collaborate with other teachers at various grade levels to help struggling readers. Baylor says her nearly three decades in various classrooms help her see the bigger picture of reading development.

鈥淲hen children are learning to read, they need different pieces of what we call a reader鈥檚 diet. My years in the first- and third-grade classrooms equip me to better understand what children need as they move through the emergent, beginning, transitional and intermediate reading stages,鈥� she said.

Those decades also deepened her appreciation for her ongoing studies. 鈥淚 bring a ton of experience to my coursework, so it all makes sense,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 very real.鈥�

Administrators at Keister, including Principal Julie Zook and Assistant Principal Mark Miller, supported Baylor鈥檚 scholarship application.

Baylor is 鈥渉ighly respected,鈥� 鈥渋nnovative,鈥� and shows 鈥渋ncredible leadership,鈥� Zook wrote. Miller added that Baylor is a 鈥渓ifelong learner.鈥�

Those qualities contribute to motivation for a teacher-student who as part of her coursework completed a 60-hour literacy practicum and in the coming year will undertake action research.

鈥淭he drive for ongoing professional learning and growth is essential for any teacher,鈥� said Meg Sander, director of 91短视频鈥檚 MA in Education program, 鈥渂ut the experience brought by veteran teachers who rise to new challenges 鈥� as Angie is doing 鈥� can make them especially effective.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a good thing to stretch yourself, no matter what your age,鈥� Baylor said.

The Linda Heatwole Bland Literacy Scholarship is awarded annually to a local educator enrolled in graduate studies at 91短视频. A retired , Bland says she learned to value literacy education and the benefits of professional connection while earning a degree in elementary education at 91短视频.

“I was especially thrilled when I learned that Angie Baylor was the recipient of the literacy scholarship,” Bland said, “because she was a teacher with whom I worked in Harrisonburg City Schools. She was an exemplary classroom teacher and will be a wonderful reading specialist and role model for other teachers in her school.”

After graduating in 1964, Bland taught in Ohio and West Virginia before returning to Virginia. She worked in Augusta, Shenandoah and Rockingham county schools, and joined Harrisonburg City Schools as a read颅ing supervisor in 1986. She eventually led the division in establishing the English as a Second Language program and piloting the city鈥檚 dual-immersion programs until her retirement in 2002.