Ed.D. Alum is “Teacher of the Year” and INTERNATIONAL EDUCATOR

Congratulations to Dr. Dana Mason (M.A. Ed Tech and Ed.D., Cohort 7), Technology Teacher at Harris Community School in Bayonne, who earned the school’s Teacher of the Year Award.

Dr. Mason is also is the lead educator and a board member with the not-for-profit organization We are GUTSY, Inc (Guyanese United to Serve Our Youth). This organization focuses on building character education skills for students by providing 21st century learning experiences and training for educators in Guyana. Dr. Mason developed an online social learning community to accompany virtual professional development for educators in Guyana to help establish new techniques and curriculum for teachers, as well as sessions for families and caregivers.

Dr. Aileen Matias-Castro (M.A. Ed Tech and Ed.D., Cohort 7) became a trainer with We are GUTSY, Inc., and together with the GUTSY Trainers and the support of the Ministry of Education, were able to host a Character Education Camp at St. Stanislaus College in Georgetown, Guyana.

This camp incorporated six schools and one community center from regions three and four in Guyana, with a total of 250 students and over 50 teachers that participated in the training. Drs. Mason and Castro will be continuing with training teachers through the year and look forward to planning for future visits to Guyana. Dana Mason and Aileen Matias-Castro pictured on left; GUTSY team pictured on right)

Ed.D. Alum Appointed Union City Principal, EXPERT IN EDUCATION AND VIRTUAL REALITY

Dr. Katie Kirby (Ed.D., Cohort 7) was appointed Principal at Robert Waters Elementary School in Union City, NJ. She has worked in Union City for the past 19 years as a teacher, technology coach, supervisor, assistant principal, and most recently, Principal. In addition to her administrative duties, Dr. Kirby is also the HIB District Coordinator and has been a committee member on the Hudson County Social Emotional Character Development Consortium.

She is also a highly sought-after consultant on virtual reality in education and was recently profiled on the LBX Virtual Reality web site.

(Katie Kirby pictured above.)

Technology, Writing, and COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Congratulations to Dr. John Findura (Ed.D., Cohort 6). This year Dr. Findura published the results from his dissertation in The Learning Assistant Review. The article is “Best Practices in Education Technology in TwoYear Community College Writing Centers.” John investigated the successful practices of community college writing labs across the United States. (John Findura pictured below.)