RTI ACTION NETWORK - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Executive Co - Director of the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network
Debra Jennings is the executive co-director of the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network, a non-profit organization committed to working with parents and professionals to attain the educational rights of all children, thereby enabling them to become fully participating and contributing members of our communities and society.
Ms. Jennings has more than 15 years experience working with schools, parents, and communities in school improvement and other initiatives benefiting children and families. Ms. Jennings chaired Governor's Family Involvement Committee in New Jersey and participates on the NJ Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, NJ Teacher Quality Enhancement Consortium Advisory Board, the National Center on Special Education Monitoring & Accountability Advisory Board, the NJ Association of Partners in Education Board, the NJ State Improvement Grant Management Team, the Child Behavioral Health/Children's System of Care Implementation Advisory Committee, the Board of the NJ Parents' Caucus, and the Improving Minority Achievement Network Initiative. She is the founder of Concerned African-American Parents, and has served as a School Board member. Jennings directs SPAN's START (Statewide Technical Assistance Resources Team), funded by the NJ Department of Education in part through NJ's State Improvement which provides technical assistance and support to parents in local communities to develop and/or strengthen parent support groups.
At SPAN, she has developed numerous informational materials, including Parent Involvement, Choice and Notice under NCLB and Other Federal Laws; Parent's Guide to No Child Left Behind; the Family Guide to Selecting Supplemental Service Providers (2003). She has also developed numerous trainings, including No Child Left Behind & IDEA: Tools for Student Achievement; Choosing and Using Supplemental Service Providers; Parent-Professional Partnership in Developing your School's Parent Involvement Policy; The Parent's Role in Teaching and Learning; and Using Data to Make Decisions for School Improvement.
In addition to organizing people and projects, her professional background also includes economic development, real estate finance and construction. A graduate of Northwestern University, Ms. Jennings is completing further graduate study as the Kellogg Foundation NonProfit Management Opportunity Fellow of the Seton Hall University Center for Public Service Masters in Public Administration program.
Dr. Ann Casey previously served as the Director of the Minnesota Response to Intervention Center, providing professional development and coaching support for implementation of RTI to school personnel across the state. Dr. Casey was a major contributor to the development of the Minneapolis Problem Solving Model, an early form of Response to Intervention.
Her disciplinary background is School Psychology, but she has had other roles in schools including Early Literacy Director, and Special Education Administration.
Ann spent 19 years in the Minneapolis Public Schools where she was a major contributor to the development of the Minneapolis Problem Solving Model, an early form of Response to Intervention. One of her educational passions has been early literacy instruction, and she has been active in advocating for systems changes that are necessary so more children leave their primary years well prepared to be proficient readers.
Other areas of professional interest include behavioral consultation and the problem-solving process. Dr. Casey received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in Educational Psychology where Jim Ysseldyke and Stan Deno were her mentors.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Special Education
Dr. David Allsopp is Professor of Special Education in the College of Education at the University of South Florida. Prior to his work in higher education, Dr. Allsopp was a middle school teacher for students with learning disabilities and emotional-behavioral disorders.
Dr. Allsopp teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate levels focusing on courses related to effective instructional practices. His research and writing interests include effective mathematics instruction for students with mild/moderate learning difficulties, effective practices for developing successful social-emotional/behavioral outcomes for students, learning strategy instruction for adolescents and adults with LD & ADHD, and the integration of technology in preservice and inservice teacher preparation.
Dr. Allsopp has authored or coauthored several books (most recently Teaching Mathematics Meaningfully: Solutions for Reaching Struggling Learners, Paul H. Brookes Publishing), is published in multiple peer-reviewed journals, has published chapters in edited books, and has made presentations at international, national, and state conferences. He has successfully written both federally funded and state funded grants and is co-developer of two free comprehensive multi-media professional development website resources for educators related to effective instructional practices for students with disabilities.
Dr. Don Deshler is director of the Center for Research on Learning (CRL) and the Gene A. Budig Professor of Special Education in the School of Education at the University of Kansas.
The CRL's work addresses ways to close the large "achievement gap" and reduce the escalating drop out rate within a world in which students must be prepared to meet increased academic and employment standards. Deshler and his colleagues have completed in excess of $174 million of contracted research and development work related to the Content Literacy Continuum - a tiered intervention framework for raising literacy achievement for all adolescents.
Deshler serves as an advisor on adolescent achievement to several organizations including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the National Governor's Association, the Alliance for Excellent Education, the Council on Families and Literacy, and the U. S. State Department. He recently received a presidential appointment to serve as a member of the National Institute for Literacy Advisory Board.
He has presented on matters of educational policy regarding adolescent literacy to the nation's governors at the James B. Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy and has testified in Congress and several state legislatures on secondary school reform. Through the Aspen Institute, he has worked with members of Congress to shape policies addressing the challenges of high school reform .
Dr. Douglas Fuchs received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in educational psychology with an emphasis in special education and school psychology. During his career he has taught first graders with serious emotional problems in a special school in Baltimore; taught in a fourth-grade classroom in Pennsylvania; and was staff psychologist for the Minneapolis public schools' special education preschool program.
He currently holds the Nicholas Hobbs Endowed Chair in Special Education and Human Development at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, where he is also co-director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Reading Clinic. Dr. Fuchs has been principal investigator of 35 federally-sponsored research grants, most of which have come from the U.S. Department of Education. This research has focused on the development of pre-referral interventions, peer-assisted learning strategies in reading and math, curriculum-based measurement procedures, and methods of reintegrating students with high-incidence disabilities into mainstream settings.
He is the author or co-author of more than 200 articles in peer-review journals, and has won best paper awards for several of these publications, including the American Educational Research Association's Palmer O. Johnson Award, the American Psychological Association's Fellows' Award (Division 16), the Samuel A. Kirk Award (Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children), and Best Paper of the Year Award (National Association of School Psychologists). He was recently identified by Thompson ISI as one of 250 most highly cited researchers in the social sciences.
In 2001, he was named Joe B. Wyatt Distinguished University Professor by Vanderbilt University. With Lynn Fuchs in 2003 and 2005, respectively, he was given the Career Research Award by the Council for Exceptional Children and the Distinguished Researcher Award by the Special Education Research SIG of the American Educational Research Association. From 1987 to 2002, he was co-editor of The Journal of Special Education.
Dr. Judy Elliott is the Chief Academic Officer for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Some of Dr. Elliott's many interests include effective instruction for students with diverse learning and behavior needs, IEP development and its alignment with standards and assessments, decision-making for accountability, and accommodation and assessment of special populations.
She has trained thousands of staff, teachers, and administrators in the United States and abroad, in the areas of inclusive schooling that include: linking assessment to classroom intervention, strategies and tactics for effective instruction, curriculum adaptation for students with mild to severe disabilities, and collaborative teaching. She received her degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her most recent writing efforts include: Strategies and Tactics for Effective Instruction-II; Timesavers for Educators; Testing Students with Disabilities: Practical Strategies for Complying with State and District Requirements (2nd ed); Improving Test Performance of Students with Disabilities on District and State Assessments (2nd ed.); Response To Intervention: Policy Consideration and Implementation; and Response to Intervention Blueprints: District Level (NASDSE, 2008).
Job Titles:
- Director of the National Center for Learning Disabilities ( NCLD )
Dr. Kathleen Whitmire is the Director of the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) RTI Action Network. She came to NCLD from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association where she served as the Director of School Services in Speech-Language Pathology, leading practices programs for over 50,000 speech-language pathologists working in the schools. Prior to that, she held positions as a clinic supervisor and lecturer at Syracuse University and as Assistant Professor and Chair of the Communication Disorders Department at The College of Saint Rose. She began her career as a school-based clinician in California and New York, where she worked for fourteen years.
A nationally-certified speech-language pathologist, Dr. Whitmire is a board-recognized specialist in child language and Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She has authored more than 25 journal articles and chapters, has served as guest editor for three professional journals, and sits on the editorial board of Topics in Language Disorders.
She has presented extensively at the state and national levels on issues related to academic and social implications of disabilities in school-age children and adolescents, with particular interest in learning disabilities, stuttering, and deafness. She has also served in a variety of capacities for regional and state professional associations and boards, for which she has received two Distinguished Service Awards and a Special Citation. Dr. Whitmire received her M.A., M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of Rochester.
Dr. Richard Long has helped shape federal education policy for two decades. As Director of Government Relations for the International Reading Association he has worked with both the House and Senate to fashion laws such as IDEA and ESEA and to shepherd these laws through the rulemaking process of the Department of Education. He has been a valuable resource on reading issues for both houses when key federal education laws come up for reauthorization. He works tirelessly to keep the reading community's message alive on the Hill.
He has been with the Association since 1978. He began as a part-time employee after serving on the staff of Congressman James W. Symington and working as Coordinator of Multidisciplinary Interventions at the George Washington University (GWU) Reading Center. While with the Association he completed his Doctoral work at GWU focusing on counseling, reading, and public policy and began consulting with USA Today, the World Health Organization, and several U.S. government agencies and education groups. He was president of the U.S. Coalition for Education For All and chaired the North American Consultation for the Education For All program.
Elaine Niefeld was Associate Director of the RTI Action Network. She was the project manager for the RTINetwork.org Web site, responsible for content development for the site. Before joining NCLD, Ms. Niefeld was the Director of Publications for the International Dyslexia Association.
A publishing professional with over 15 years' experience, Ms. Niefeld previously served as Editorial Director and then Publisher for Brookes Publishing Co., an independent publisher of resources for human service professionals working in education and disability-related fields. Prior to joining Brookes Publishing, she worked for the Johns Hopkins University Press.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of Education Programs at the National Center for Learning Disabilities
Karen Golembeski is the assistant director of education programs at the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). She leads several education programs and collaboratives for the organization focused on supporting NCLD's efforts in the areas of learning disabilities, Response to Intervention (RTI), and early childhood education. Based out of NCLD's Washington, D.C., office, Karen's previous work with the organization includes serving as NCLD's assistant director of public policy and directing the organization's Get Ready to Read! initiative.
Before joining NCLD, Karen worked as a special assistant to former Governor Bill Richardson, was the deputy director of the Scheduling Advance Office at the Department of Energy during the Clinton/Gore administration, and served as a White House intern for Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Karen holds a B.A. in humanities and early childhood education from Lesley College and an Ed.M. in education policy from the Harvard School of Education.
Job Titles:
- Certified School Psychologist
Dr. Mary Beth Klotz has served as the National Association of School Psychologists' (NASP) Director of IDEA Projects and Technical Assistance since 1999. She is NASP's primary liaison for numerous coalitions and grant projects including, NCLD's RTI Action Network, the National Center on Response to Intervention, the IDEA Partnership Project, the National Center on Student Progress Monitoring, and the Learning Disabilities Roundtable.
In addition, Dr. Klotz has represented NASP on the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities since 2001, and was elected chair of the NJCLD for 2006 though 2009. She coordinated the development and production of NASP's award-winning, multi-media training resource, "Portraits of the Children: Culturally Competent Assessment" and developed the Culturally Competent Practice webpage on the NASP Web site. Dr. Klotz writes the "IDEA in Practice" column and numerous other articles for the Communiqué, NASP's professional newspaper. She also develops fact sheets and informational resources for the NASP website and e-newsletters. Dr. Klotz presents a variety of IDEA related training sessions at NASP's annual convention and summer institutes, as well as for other educational organizations.
Dr. Klotz is a nationally certified school psychologist and a certified special education teacher and administrator. Her previous work experience includes 15 years of direct service in public school settings in Maryland as a school psychologist and a special education teacher working with students with learning disabilities and emotional disorders. Dr. Klotz received her doctorate in special education with minors in psychology and counseling from the American University, Washington, D.C.
Job Titles:
- Director of School Transformation for the National Center for Learning Disabilities
Stevan Kukic is the Director of School Transformation for the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), focusing on the needs of students with LD and other learning difficulties. He is the past chair of the Professional Advisory Board for NCLD and served on the Board of Directors for the Center as chair of NCLD's Public Policy committee. Steve was given the Distinguished Education Achievement Award by NCLD and the Glenn I. Latham Annual Excellence Award by the Center for Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education in 2012.
For nearly 13 years, Steve was Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Cambium Learning Group, specializing in reaching the tough to teach with proven and practical interventions, technology, services, and consultation. Previously, Steve worked as an independent consultant, primarily with Franklin Covey Company's Education Division, facilitating the use of principles based on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with individuals and organizations. Before that, Steve served for 11 years as Director for At Risk and Special Education for the Utah State Office of Education, providing leadership for state and federal programs for these children and youth in need. Steve is a Past President of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. For five years prior to his state position, he directed a statewide center for technical assistance related to the education of students with disabilities.
Thomas P. Komp is the Principal of Boulevard Elementary School in Gloversville, NY.
A former Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE)/Committee on Special Education (CSE) chairperson, Mr. Komp has been an elementary principal for 16 years--participating in writing two "Reading First" grants administered through the New York State Education Department as well as various Pre-K grants administered through state and Federal agencies.
Mr. Komp has been instrumental in the design and implementation of an effective core/intervention program at Boulevard Elementary, through the use of a shared leadership model and the consistent use of student data to drive instructional/program decisions.
His experience and leadership has resulted in his participation in several national/state organizations to help promote the use of student data in any decision making process, including: IDEA Partnership, RTI Focus Group Panel Member, (June 2006); IDEA Partnership; RTI Work Group Participant, (July 2006); New York State, RTI Focus Group Member, (September 2006); NASDSE National Conference Presenter, "Using Evidenced Based Practices to Ensure Results for All Students," (November 2006); Regional NYS BOCES training of Administrators in RTI implementation, (2007); and RTI National Summit facilitator and planning team member, (2007). Mr. Komp was awarded the 2008 New York State Elementary School Principal of the Year award by the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS) and the NAESP 2008 National Distinguished Principal Award. In 2010 the National Center for Learning Disabilities presented Mr. Komp with the Bill Ellis Teacher Preparation Award.
Mr. Komp received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Education from the State University of New York (SUNY), College at Cortland and his Master's Degree and Certification in Educational Administration through the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair of a Committee
Virginia Buysse, Ph.D., (PI) is a Senior Scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute. She directs a program of research on Recognition & Response (R&R), a model of Response to Intervention (RTI) for pre-kindergarten programs with funding from the US Department of Education (Institute of Education Sciences) and the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.
Dr. Buysse serves as Co-Chair of a committee that is leading an effort to develop and validate a joint position statement on RTI in early childhood, sponsored by three leading professional organizations in early childhood: the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and the National Head Start Association (NHSA). She is Co-PI of the Center on Early Care and Education Research for Dual Language Learners, funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation). She is also Co-PI on the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion and Co-PI on CONNECT (National Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge), both funded by the U.S. Department of Education (OSEP). She is President of the National Division of Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC); serves on the technical work group for the Evidence-Based Practice initiative within CEC, is Associate Editor of the Journal for Early Intervention, and serves on the editorial boards of many other leading journals in early childhood and early intervention.
Buysse has authored or co-authored over 65 articles in peer-refereed journals as well as several books on evidence-based practice, program quality, consultation and coaching, and a forthcoming edited handbook on RTI in early childhood and another on educational practices for diverse young learners.