A shining star in the Department of Teacher Education is Professor Heather Casey who is currently an Associate Professor of Literacy Education. Casey developed and coordinates the innovative, new Literacy Strand in the Teacher Leadership program in the School of Education. She is also site director of the National Writing Project at Rider University, past co-chair of the International Literacy Association’s Adolescent Literacy Task, and co-chair of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Reform Task Force. She is a former middle school language arts teacher, certified elementary teacher and Secondary English Educator, Reading Specialist, and Supervisor who earned her Ph.D. from Rutgers University in the area of Literacy education.
At Rider, Casey teaches courses in Emergent Literacy, Literacy Learning in the Elementary Grades, Middle School Literacy development, Disciplinary Literacies, and hybrid undergraduate and graduate courses in the area of multimodal teaching and learning and curriculum, instruction and supervision in Literacy Education. Her scholarship focuses on adolescent literacy and the use of collaborative learning structures and new literacies to motivate and support adolescent literacy development and engagement. She has presented locally and nationally on these topics and published multiple articles and book chapters in these areas. Currently, she is co-editing a series Literacy Practices that Adolescents Deserve with the International Literacy Association E-ssentials publications and is writing a book that will be published in 2017 titled Literacy Learning Clubs which draws on her work as a classroom teacher, teacher educator and researcher.
Last year, Casey led the development of an online literacy strand for Rider’s Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership. The program is a direct response to the local, state and national need to support literacy teacher leaders both in the classroom and those who are taking on roles as reading specialists, literacy coaches, grade level coordinators, curriculum supervisors, and building principals within the context of 21st century learning environments. The concentration is designed to meet the diverse needs of pre-K-12 teachers with a specific interest in literacy education. The courses are either fully online or hybrid. The possibilities for graduate work are many:
For students enrolled in Rider’s Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership the opportunity to concentrate in Literacy with the option of pursuing the NJ Reading Specialist endorsement
An endorsement only program leading to certification as a NJ Reading Specialist for students with an earned Masters degree in Education at Rider or elsewhere
The opportunity for non-matriculated educators interested in specific knowledge about literacy education to come to Rider (either in person or virtually) for a course to deepen that knowledge
The National Writing Project
The National Writing Project @Rider (www.nwprider.org) is an organization committed to supporting area K-12 educators. NWP@Rider is currently engaged in a two year grant project to support the development of teacher leaders and just completed a yearlong grant to partner with an area high needs school on integrating writers workshop with Common Core State Standards. In addition, NWP@Rider offers multiple on-campus learning opportunities for pre-service and practicing teachers that are held throughout the year.
