Kenneth Campbell (BAE ’71, MED ’80, Spec. Ed.) taught for 36 years before becoming president of the Great Leaps Reading and Fluency Materials company.

According to the website, “Ken was teaching children with learning disabilities at North Marion Middle School and realized that both classroom time and solutions were lacking in helping children learn to read. He began developing and practicing his Great Leaps Reading Program in 1991. A well-known professor from the University of Florida, Cecil Mercer, was touring local schools and witnessed an intriguing incident at Ken’s school. Dr. Mercer heard a young man tell the principal, Scott Hackmyer, that he wanted an assembly time moved so that it would not interfere with his reading lesson.”  After witnessing this and other events involving Campbell’s program, Dr. Mercer performed a trial at Buchholz High School.  “The trial was a huge success,” as stated on the website, “Ken was urged to publish and Great Leaps was launched”.

The Great Leaps program is in all fifty states and over forty countries.  They are one of three companies chosen for reading interventions in New York City and have received acceptance from the Florida Center for Reading Research and the Minnesota Literary Council.

For more about the Great Leaps program, click here.

 

Robert Askren (BAE ’63) has been devoted to “life long learning”.  He earned a MEd in English and a PhD in Counseling as part of his learning career. Askren also earned a Master’s degree at Virginia Theological Seminary in 1966 to prepare for ordination as an Episcopal Priest. He served in parish ministry in Florida for 45 years before retiring in 2006.  During his ministry, Askren taught classes for local colleges. After his retirement, Askren began work at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida where he taught English, Latin, French and Spanish as adjunct faculty. In 2005-2006, Askren taught college writing for Purdue University in Indiana while serving as interim rector for a local Episcopal Church for two years.

Askren serves as Canon for Adult Education for St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Jacksonville, where he is director of The Institute for Christian Studies.  He is a Florida certified teacher in Language Arts, grades 6-12 and is currently attending COE’s Distance Learning program to renew his teaching certification for 2013.

 

 

 

 

Sarah Hickey Cheshire (MED ’06, Social Studies Ed.) has been named Teacher of the Year at Fort Clarke Middle School in Gainesville, Florida.

Sarah completed the Pro-Teach Master’s program and is still close to some of the professors and classmates. “The program offered at UF is invaluable and I feel very fortunate that I was given the opportunity to attend,” says Sarah.

She has been teaching at Fort Clarke for 6 years. For 5 years Sarah taught regular and gifted Geography classes and this year she is teaching gifted U.S. History.

Sarah is the Social Studies Department chair at Fort Clarke and the 8th grade Student Council Sponsor.

“I feel that teaching is the best profession in the world.  I have never dreaded going to my job and I get the opportunity to laugh and see the world through a child’s eyes every day. Nothing beats that!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The UF College of Education hosted a luncheon on October 14th for this year’s Grand Guard visitors. The luncheon was held at the P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School and activities included a tour of the school,musical  performance by PK’s students, and updates on the many exciting initiatives at the College of Education.

Attendees were also able to meet the new COE dean, Dr. Glenn Good, and PK’s newest director, Dr. Lynda Hayes.

 

 

 

ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
10-26-11
Brian Dassler (COE 2002 graduate)

COE graduate Brian Dassler (MEd “02, English Education) and David Colburn of UF’s Reubin Askew Institute co-authored a guest opinion column in the St. Petersburg Times urging policymakers not to embrace virtual schooling—especially for-profit virtual schools—as a cure-all for problems in public education.” Dassler is principal of a KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) High School in New Orleans.