ACT-ESL: About Us>VCU Staff
Dr. Seonhee Cho
Principal investigator/project director (PI), Dr. Seonhee Cho, is assistant professor in the department of Teaching and Learning at VCU. She specializes in Language and ESL education. Dr. Cho’s primary responsibilities of the project include hiring, supervising, and coordinating project personnel; program planning and curriculum development; recruitment of participants; leading the summer institute; providing supervision and training to technical assistants; budgetary expenditures; yearly and final report writing; and overseeing general daily operation of the grant.
Leslie Bohon
Project specialist, Leslie Bohon, has over 15 years of experience in working in international contexts and teaching ESL students, both at university and high school level. Ms. Bohon started her ESL teaching career in France with middle schoolers, and later moved to Spain to work with adults. Once back home in Virginia, her U.S. experience has included teaching ESL and directing international centers at the high school and university level. For ACT-ESL, Ms. Bohon works with a project team to plan, coordinate, and administer the project. Her responsibilities include assisting in planning, writing curriculum, and training for the summer institute, supervision/mentoring of the technical assistants, organizing annual teaching demonstration fairs, coordinating classroom observations, participating in end-of-year follow-up/re-training sessions, and facilitating data collection. Her interests include how culture impacts international student behavior in the American classroom and factors influencing international student success.
Barbara Gibson
Co-principal investigator (Co-PI) Barbara Gibson, the Associate Director of The Literacy Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University, provides administrative oversight for grant- and contract-funded projects with budgets. Ms. Gibson’s primary responsibilities of this ACT-ESL project are overseeing budget planning, monitoring daily expenditures, and annual reporting of budget expenditures to the funding agency.
Terry Franson and Terry Hathaway
Terry Franson is the CCPS ESL Specialist and Secondary Liaison. Terry Franson's and Terry Hathaway’s work together to connect the ACT-ESL project and CCPS teachers and administrators. The specific responsibilities of the senior personnel include recruiting and providing data on LEP students, promoting the Annual Teaching Demonstration Fair, and developing professional learning communities.
Dr. Susan McKelvey
Project evaluator, Dr. Susan McKelvey, is assistant Professor in the Foundations Department of VCU and has expertise in both qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Dr. Pannozzo is responsible for planning and coordinating project evaluation activities; developing all formative and summative assessment instruments; facilitating and supervising data collection, entry, and analysis; providing periodic feedback to the principal investigator regarding status of project implementation; maintaining and storing data; and annual reporting.
Dr. Valerie Robnolt
Dr. Valerie Robnolt is an assistant professor in Reading Education in the department of Teaching and Learning at VCU. Her research is focused on assessment and instruction of reading comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. Dr. Robnolt's primary responsibilities to the grant is to provide expertise in the reading content area, academic literacy in the Summer Institute curriculum development, and participate in other Professional Learning Community activities.
Technical Assistants
Technical Assistants (Content Specialists):Technical assistants’ duties include assisting summer institutes, making classroom observations, and providing one-on-one coaching to summer trainees. The technical assistants are M.J. Weaterford (English), Joel Dexter (Social Studies), Peggy Stevens (Science), Barbara Lange (Math).
Peggy Stevens, Science Technical Assistant
Ms. Stevens is a recent retiree from Robious Middle School, and previously Falling Creek Middle School, where she taught science and math for 15 years. During her tenure, Ms. Stevens completed mentor training with VCU, mentored teachers and trained student teachers, drafted three curriculum planning resources, and was nominated for awards in teaching excellence. In addition, she piloted the Math Reinforcement class where she helped to develop the curriculum. Ms. Stevens holds a B.S. in Mathematics with Biology endorsement from the College of William and Mary and a M.Ed. from Virginia Commonwealth University. In her spare time, Ms. Stevens enjoys traveling, reading, watching movies and helping others. Ms. Stevens is a regular volunteer at CJW Hospital (Johnston Willis location) where she has earned almost 1500 hours of service. She is also a judge for the Virginia Romance Writers Guild in their Holt Medallion Contest. At her church, she is the Register and coordinates the Christmas Families as well as the Foyer Groups (supper clubs). Currently she is taking tap dance lessons and plays in 3 bridge groups.
When asked why working with the ACT-ESL teachers is meaningful for her, Ms. Stevens replied, “I remember when I was a young teacher and a veteran teacher was instrumental in helping me to get off to a good start. I want to "pay it forward" and share my expertise with others. Helping someone refine their skills in learning new methods is very rewarding to me. We all want to be the best that we can be and helping others reach their potential is very satisfying to me."
Joel Dexter, Social Studies Technical Assistant
Mr. Dexter has enjoyed over 30 years of teaching Civics, Economics, World History, and European History at Meadowbrook and James River High Schools. During his tenure, Mr. Dexter was Department Chair as well as student teacher mentor. From 2000-2004, he was the K-12 Social Studies Specialist for Chesterfield County. Also, he helped plan and fund the annual state social studies conferences, was the treasurer of the state social studies specialist organization (The VCSSSCE), and has conducted numerous presentations. The most recent presentation was at the state conference on teaching about Japan as the result of a seminar in Colorado that was competitively awarded to teachers from across the US.
Mr. Dexter’s awards include an R. E. B. Award for Excellence in Education, two Fulbright grants to China and Mexico, and an English Speaking Union Scholarship to Oxford. For the last three years, Mr. Dexter served as the Civics Specialist for the Virginia Department of Education. Mr. Dexter holds a B.A. in History and an M.Ed. from the College of William and Mary. In his spare time, Mr. Dexter enjoys visiting museums and performances, traveling, gardening, reading, and cutting and splitting wood.
When asked why he enjoys mentoring teachers, Mr. Dexter replied, “Observing the teachers gives me the chance to see good teaching, offer suggestions on improving things, and also to interact, to a certain extent, with students. I don't miss the paper work involved in teaching, but I do miss the kids. So this helps in that department. Who knows, I may go back to teaching at some point and will have lots of good ideas for lessons because of this experience."
Barbara Lange, Math Technical Assistant
Mrs. Lange is a math specialist with more than 36 years of teaching and supervising experience. Her wide range of experiences has included middle school, high school, corporate, community college, and distance learning classrooms. She developed practice SOL math tests as well as served as SOL supervisor to three Chesterfield County high schools. Mrs. Lange has experience working with all kinds of students, including ESL, accelerated, and special education. She recalls that one of her most valuable and advantageous experiences was growing up as an “Army brat” where she was able to enjoy cultural interaction and life lessons that “cannot be learned between the walls of a classroom”. Mrs. Lange earned her B.S. in Math from Campbell University and an M.Ed. in Supervising and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. In her spare time, Mrs. Lange enjoys golfing, developing her watercolor skills, and spending time with her husband, daughter, and four grandsons.
When asked why the ACT-ESL project is meaningful for her, Mrs. Lange replied, “I have always had a passion for teaching. However, I was wooed away from education in the mid 80’s by ATT Microelectronics and I thought I’d never return to education. In the 90’s, I learned the meaning of the term 'lay off.' I gladly returned to the classroom. I appreciate that a school, a classroom, is a special place. It’s an atmosphere filled with friendships, mental stimulation, and talented students who make you laugh and cry all in the same day. Students in the 21st century can become anything they desire to become. The trick is to teach them how to do that no matter what country they hail from or what language they speak."
M.J. Weatherford, English Technical Assistant
Mrs. Weatherford is a reading specialist with more than 20 years of teaching experience in reading/language arts in Chesterfield and Henrico counties. She also served for eight years on the grade 8 reading SOL review committee. Her experience on this committee led her to co-author the book SOL Grand Slam: Virginia End of Course Reading. Mrs. Weatherford and Mrs. Lively recently finished the manuscript for a second test preparation book the SOL Grade 8 Writing Test, which should be available winter 2008. Mrs. Weatherford is also a former President of the Secondary Reading Council of the Virginia State Reading Association (VSRA) and actively presents at conferences. Mrs. Weatherford holds a B.A. in English from Mary Washington College and an M.Ed. from Virginia Commonwealth University. In her spare time, Mrs. Weatherford enjoys quilting, gardening, and, of course, reading.
When asked why she enjoys working with teachers on the ACT-ESL grant, Mrs. Weatherford replied, “Working with teachers as part of this grant has been rewarding for two reasons: 1) I have observed many examples of excellent teaching that reflect the SIOP training from this summer. As a result these teachers are successful with all of their students, not just those who are English language learners. 2) Collaboration with teachers in this problem allows us to develop strategies to solve problems and concerns. Then I actually observe the difference these ideas make in the classroom."