Leaders of Literacy

Amber Nichols, the 2023 West Virginia Teacher of the Year, describes how a broadcasting degree, a teaching job in Arizona, and a move into kindergarten at Eastwood Elementary School in Monongalia County shaped her career.

Leaders of Literacy episode 61 has Becky Lewis and Samantha Statler unpacking family engagement for West Virginia educators, including the line that they are doing it "with families, not for families." Samantha cites the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement and the West Virginia Department of Education's core beliefs, including the point that school staff carry the main responsibility for building productive home-school relationships.

Claire McCoy says the STEAM Center treats "the environment as the third teacher," and she explains how that idea shapes a pre-K classroom on Marshall University's campus.

Becky and Samantha explain how classroom norms, emotional modeling, room organization, and teacher behavior shape learner-friendly culture at the start of a school year.

Becky Lewis and Samantha Statler center Leaders of Literacy episode 58 on teacher clarity, using Doug Fisher and John Almarode’s "Clarity and Learning" webinar as the anchor resource.

Hosts interview Dr.

Host Becky Lewis and co-host Brittany Fike discuss extended learning opportunities for student recovery with guest Darlene Dingus-Adkins, focusing on summer programming in Logan County.

This episode discusses culturally responsive education and school re-entry with expert John Lydon, focusing on early literacy strategies for educators.

Host Becky Lewis and co-host Brandi Turner discuss summer learning loss with experts from TNTP, focusing on strategies to strengthen early literacy in West Virginia.