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School Department News

School of Education

WCU Student Named Outstanding Intern
Thursday, May 9, 2013 - 4:25pm

Hattiesburg, Miss., May 9, 2013 - Hanna Moore of Richton, a senior elementary education major at William Carey University, was recently named a 2013 Outstanding Teacher Intern by the Mississippi Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (MACTE). During a ceremony at the Mississippi Department of Education building in Jackson, she was honored alongside other outstanding teacher interns and met Interim State Superintendent of Education Dr. Lynn House.

Moore is currently student teaching at Runnelstown Elementary School in Petal. She has also worked as a substitute teacher in the Richton school district, and as a student worker in the WCU admissions office. Since her freshman year at WCU, Moore has maintained a 4.0 GPA and been named to the President’s List for four consecutive years. She is also a member of Alpha Chi National Honor Society and a Carey Scholar. Carey Scholars are select students chosen to be part of the Presidential Honors Program based on academic excellence.

Affiliated with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, MACTE is vitally interested in the support and enhancement of all aspects of education in Mississippi. Its members work cooperatively within the organization, as well as with the Mississippi Department of Education and other state-wide education groups.
 

WCU Hosts Eighth Annual Young Authors Celebration
Monday, March 4, 2013 - 3:34pm

Hattiesburg, Miss., March 4, 2013 - William Carey University’s School of Education hosted the eighth annual Young Authors Celebration (YAC) on Friday, March 1. First to eighth graders from area schools were invited with their teachers and parents to attend this program. Special guest speaker this year was Robert St. John, owner of the Purple Parrot Café and Crescent City Grill, and writes a weekly column and several cookbooks.

Almost 300 students from 7 schools participated in YAC. Participants included Columbia Academy, J.E. Johnson Elementary of Bassfield, New Hope Elementary of Collins, North Jones Elementary of Laurel, Oak Grove Primary of Hattiesburg, Purvis Upper Elementary, and The Dynamic Dyslexia Design School (The 3-D School) in Petal. The featured authors and illustrators were: Mr. Rick Anderson, Fleur Bradley, Kym Garraway, Dr. Ben Hornsby, Jenny Kemp, Jean Sauls, Barbara Tillery, and Diane Williams.

Educators who sign up to be a YAC teacher hold a writer’s workshop in their classrooms, where their students learn about the drafting, editing, and publishing stages of writing and illustrating through hands-on experience. The students bring their books to the YAC event at WCU to share their work. All children who wish to participate are accepted.

The YAC event gives students the opportunity to meet regional authors and illustrators, tour WCU’s campus, have lunch, participate in a book fair, attend workshops on writing and illustrating, meet WCU student teachers and share their books with other students.              
 

WCU Hosts Dyslexia Institute
Thursday, September 20, 2012 - 4:01pm

Hattiesburg, Miss., September 20, 2012 - The School of Education at William Carey University, in partnership with the Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Association, presented a Dyslexia Institute on September 6 on the Hattiesburg campus. The sessions included “Screening Students in Kindergarten and 1st Grade for Dyslexia” and “Dyslexia for Diagnosticians.” The Dyslexia Institute sessions were led by Rep. Larry Byrd, state representative, District 104; Dr. Cena Holifield, founder and executive director of The Dynamic Dyslexia Design School (The 3-D School) in Petal; Elesha McCarty, speech pathologist with Strategies Therapy Group in Hattiesburg; and Dr. Jane Herrin, an educational consultant licensed psychometrist.
Rep. Byrd authored House Bill 1031 and on May 23, Gov. Phil Bryant signed the Bill into law. One of the groundbreaking components of the Mississippi Dyslexia Law states that after July 1, 2012, all students must be screened for dyslexia in the spring of kindergarten and in the fall of first grade.
To assist schools with dyslexia screening, the Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Association created a dyslexia screener that meets the standard as set by House Bill 1031.  During the institute at WCU, the screener was introduced and teachers were instructed on its administration.  Every teacher was given a screener and an instructional DVD as part of the institute.
 

District Teachers of the Year Honored at WCU Phi Delta Kappa Meeting
Tuesday, June 19, 2012 - 3:52pm

Hattiesburg, Miss., June 6, 2012 - District Teachers of the Year from the southern part of the state were recognized during the monthly Pinebelt Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) meeting at William Carey University on May 29.  Phi Delta Kappa is a professional association for educators, and the Pinebelt chapter includes teachers from elementary through university level.

 “This is a very big milestone for these teachers’ professional careers and we wanted to honor them through Phi Delta Kappa,” said Dr. Barry Morris, dean of the WCU School of Education.

The Mississippi Teacher of the Year Program is sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) and the Mississippi Teacher Center. It recognizes outstanding achievement by public school teachers. Each local school district chooses a District Teacher of the Year, and then the MDE selects Mississippi’s 2012 Teacher of the Year.

The District Teachers of the Year present were Rachel DeVaughan of George County School District, Eleanor Joiner of Moss Point School District, Denise Minor of Hattiesburg Public School District, Daphne Nelson of Perry School District, Cynthia Sutfin of Poplarville Separate School District, and Stacey Todd of Lamar County School District. Todd, who teaches special education at Oak Grove High School, was recognized for being Mississippi’s 2012 Teacher of the Year.        

In addition to recognition of the district teachers and Mississippi teacher of the year, Lisa Hurst of Byram was presented with one of PDK’s student scholarships for $500. Rachel Thornhill, a WCU elementary education major, was presented with a student scholarship of the same amount during a Pinebelt PDK meeting on April 19.

Other District Teachers of the Year included Constance Roth, Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District; Stacy McDaniel, Columbia School District; Jane McGlocklin, Covington County School District; Travis Holifield, Forrest County School District; Dorshandrell Pitts, Gulfport School District; Melanie S. Ladner, Hancock County School District; Suzanne Jennings, Jackson County School District; Herdie Booth, Jefferson Davis County School District; Sheron Renee McRee, Jones County School District; Vernice M. Goode, Laurel School District; Lauren Ward, Long Beach School District; Tokie Young-Butler, McComb School District; Glenda Richard, North Pike School District; Samantha Switzer, Ocean Springs School District; Robert Lee Moore, Pascagoula School District; Melissa McKenny Harris, Pass Christian Public School District; Tracy Stockstill, Pearl River County School District; Teresa Jean Loper, Petal School District; Lisa Howie, Picayune School District; Hugh O. Thoms, Richton School District; Traci Brown, Simpson County School District; Angela Benefield, South Pike School District; and Shirley Curry, West Jasper School District.

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WCU Hosts Seventh Annual Young Authors Celebration
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - 8:50am

William Carey University’s School of Education will host the seventh annual Young Authors Celebration (YAC) on Friday, March 2. First to eighth graders from area schools are invited with their teachers and parents to attend this program. This year, over 600 students from nine schools are participating in YAC. Participants include Lillie Burney Elementary of Hattiesburg, Rowan Elementary of Hattiesburg, New Hope Christian Academy of Jackson, West Marion Elementary of Columbia, Runnelstown Elementary of Perry County, Thames Elementary of Hattiesburg, Purvis Elementary of Purvis, Tylertown Elementary of Tylertown, and Prentiss Elementary of Prentiss.

Educators who sign up to be a YAC teacher hold a writer’s workshop in their classrooms, where their students learn about the drafting, editing, and publishing stages of writing and illustrating through hands-on experience. The students bring their books to the YAC event at WCU to share their work. All children who wish to participate are accepted.
The YAC event gives students the opportunity to meet regional authors and illustrators, tour WCU’s campus, have lunch on campus, participate in a book fair, attend workshops on writing and illustrating, meet WCU student teachers and share their books with other students. A grant from Target will assist in making this event possible. For more information, contact Dr. June Hornsby, professor of education and director of student teaching at WCU, at (601) 318-6140.