Leasha Barry - FTCE (REA) - Professional Education Test The Best Teachers

Dr. Leasha M. Barry received her graduate training in Special Education, disability, and at-risk populations at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She is currently Assistant Professor in the Division of Teacher Education within the College of Professional Studies at the University of West Florida. Her work focuses on early intervention with at-risk populations, including individuals with disabilities and those who experience traumatic stress at home, and in educational and healthcare settings. Dr. Barry is interested in identifying and documenting developmentally appropriate supports and interventions that set the stage for independence and self-determination for individuals who are identified as at-risk.

Dr. Betty J. Bennett is currently an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of North Florida. Prior to this, she taught and was an administrator in the public school system for 15 years. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Florida State University. She has published materials in the areas of school discipline, leadership, and curriculum and standards-based education. Research pursuits include school violence, schoolwide discipline, culture, and the leaders role in assisting teachers in promoting a safe school/learning environment.

Dr. Lois Christensen is an Associate Professor within the College of Education at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Fort Myers, where she teaches courses in curriculum and professional development, serves as on-campus coordinator for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, and is the co-director of FGCUs National Writing Project. She is a former classroom teacher, curriculum coordinator, staff development director, and grant administrator. She has taught and held administrative positions in both the Iowa and Florida public schools. She holds masters degrees in reading and elementary school administration from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Loyola University of Chicago. Her primary interest involves developing effective instructional strategies that can be built upon from current studies in brain research.

Alicia Mendoza, Ed.D. , formerly chair of the Elementary Education Department at Florida International University, has held the position of Associate Professor at the same academic institution for the past 29 years. Prior to coming to FIU, she was an Associate Professor at Clarion State College in Clarion, Pennsylvania, and served as a consultant to Head Start classes in Western Pennsylvania. She also taught in the public schools of New York City. She earned an Ed.D. and an M.Ed. at the University of Miami, and a B.A. at Queens College in New York City. Dr. Mendoza has been the recipient of a Teaching Incentive award and an Excellence in Advising award during her time at Florida International University. She is the author of numerous published articles, book chapters, and curriculum materials.

Enrique Ortiz, Ph.D. , was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, but grew up in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He earned his doctoral degree from Louisiana State University in 1987. From 1976 to 1987, he worked as a middle school mathematics teacher, curriculum specialist, instructor, and supervisor in Puerto Rico and the United States. He worked as an Assistant Professor for the University of New Orleans from 1987 to 1989. Since 1989, he has worked as an Elementary Mathematics Professor for the University of Central Florida. He is very active in the education profession and has presented papers and in-service workshops both locally and nationally, developed curriculum materials, written professional books and articles, taught methods courses, supervised pre-service teachers, and conducted research studies in the area of mathematics education at local schools.

Migdalia Pagan, M.S. , was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, but grew up in New York City. She attended New York Citys public schools through high school. She received her bachelor of arts in elementary education and master of science in exceptional education from Hunter College, New York City. She received her specialist degree in multilingual and multicultural education from Florida State University. Ms. Pagan has taught in New York City and worked with Floridas Orange County Public Schools for 20 years. During her years with OCPS, she was a classroom teacher, an exceptional-education teacher, a curriculum specialist, a curriculum compliance teacher, a staff developer, and an educational consultant. Currently, she is a full-time instructor with the University of Central Florida College of Education. She is also a national consultant in the areas of literacy and ESOL. Her passion continues to be teaching with and learning from both youngsters and adult students.

Dr. Sally Robison received her bachelor of education and master of education degrees from the University of MissouriColumbia in mathematics education. She received her Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of NebraskaLincoln in mathematics education. For over ten years, she was a practicing teacher in the private and public schools of Missouri and Florida. For the past eight years, she has been a professor of mathematics education at Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Robison has published many articles and conference proceedings, chapters in textbooks, web pages, and teaching materials that have brought her international, national, and state recognition. She has presented her research at international, national, and state conferences. Her primary research focus is on the improvement of mathematics education, integrating curriculum for improved and connected learning, teaching children of limited English proficiency with effective ESOL strategies, effective assessment practices, and using technology to enhance instruction.

Otilia Salmn, Ph.D. , has been an educator for 28 years in bilingual multicultural education, and specializes in foreign languages and in English as a Second Language (ESL). She obtained her doctorate at the University of Florida in bilingual multicultural education. Dr. Salmn was a recipient of the Benito Juarez and Abraham Lincoln Scholarship, and studied at the University of Veracruz in Mexico. She was honored with a scholarship from UNESCO to study communication at the UNESCO School of Communication (ILCE) in Mexico City. Dr. Salmns first degree was from the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica. She is the author of Spanish Grammar Can Be Easy: A Students Companion and Cultural Linguistic Diversity in American Schools . Dr. Salmn has directed ESOL and Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) training for upcoming and practicing teachers. Dr. Salmn has taught in Mexico; in Kingston, Jamaica; at the University of Florida; and at Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio, where she was chair and professor of the foreign language department. Dr. Salmn presently serves as Associate Professor at the University of North Florida in the College of Education, and also works as a consultant for the teacher certification exams in Spanish and in English as a second language.