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>> Meet Some of Our EASTCONN Staff <<
EA Aschenbrenner, Director of Early Childhood Initiatives, was one of the developers of the Connecticut Department of Education’s Preschool Curriculum & Assessment Frameworks. EA has been at EASTCONN for twenty years. During that time she coordinated the Early Childhood Network, facilitated the development of the School Readiness Councils, and worked with a variety of early childhood programs and parents to support children’s learning and program quality. Prior to coming to EASTCONN, EA has taught and/or directed early childhood programs in Connecticut, Texas and California. [Top] Vivian Batterson Vivian Batterson is a Staff Development Specialist/School Psychologist in EASTCONN’s Department of Training & Development. She provides consultation, training and technical assistance to educational personnel regarding students’ social/emotional/behavioral needs and challenges. Vivian addresses areas such as: teaming and collaboration, violence prevention/conflict resolution and other related topics. She facilitates groups to achieve desired outcomes and assists Local Education Authorities (LEAs) to develop school-family-community partnerships. Vivian holds a Sixth Year Diploma in Educational Psychology; a M.A. in School Psychology, and a B.A. in Psychology. [Top]
Dotty Budnick is the Director of Communications at EASTCONN, responsible for overseeing the production of agency publications, the Website, promotional events, and marketing support to the over 100 programs and services that the agency offers. She has been at EASTCONN since 1983 managing a variety of programs and initiatives including organizational development, total quality, dropout prevention, substance abuse prevention. at-risk youth programming, and a variety of state and federal job training programs. Dotty has a B.A. in Psychology from Boston University and a M.S. Ed. in Counseling from the University of Bridgeport. She is a certified trainer for Zenger-Miller Leadership Development, CASAS Employability Competency System, Total Quality Management, and MTI Workplace [Top] Cathy Smith-Carolan Cathy Smith-Carolan, EASTCONN Staff Developer, is a CT Certified educator and has been an interdistrict diversity grant coordinator for the past three years. Before coming to EASTCONN, she taught humanities in American, British and international schools for fifteen years. [Top] Nancy CelentanoEASTCONN Regional Education Service Center Windham Mills, Bldg. 1, 3rd floor, 322 Main Street, Willimantic, CT 06226 Phone: 860/455-0707; Fax: 860/456-9407 npotter@eastconn.org Nancy Celentano has been a trainer and consultant for EASTCONN since 1988. She has developed and delivered a variety of training designs including Effective Teaching, Teacher Evaluation, Mentoring/Collegial Support for Teachers and Student Assessment. Nancy has been a key contributor to the development of BEST Portfolio Scorer Training and Beginning Teacher Seminars and is presently the Director of BEST Training for the State of Connecticut. Nancy has recently developed a CD-ROM training program for the State Department of Education that will enable districts to identify what the Professional Teaching Standards look like in classrooms and explore how they can successfully implement them in their new Teacher Evaluation/Professional Development Plans. [Top]
As EASTCONN'S Technology Specialist, Jane Cook provides computer consulting services to EASTCONN staff and school districts, coordinates grant projects, provides technical assistance and resources to EASTCONN staff and teachers, develops and offers workshops, training opportunities and training manuals and writes articles, grant proposals and reports. Jane also serves as an Early Literacy Inservice Course (ELIC) Facilitator for the Connecticut Alliance of Regional Educational Service Centers providing training to teachers in how to create a supportive environment for literacy in their classrooms and doing model demonstrations with students in grades K-3 using ELIC strategies. She also manages the Connecticut State Department of Education’s Beginning Educator Support and Training (BEST) Program Statewide Database System which is used to schedule assessors to observe beginning teachers and track training and placement information for assessors and support teachers, assessing beginning teachers for licensure around the State of Connecticut using the Connecticut Competency Instrument, the State’s standard for certification. Jane holds an M.A. in Adult Education, a B.A. in English with teacher certificate for grades 7-12. Her publications include: The Write Stuff: A Manual on Writing, Mary Jane Cook, Connecticut Adult Education Staff Development Center, August 1986; Student Services Institute Conference Proceedings, Mary Jane Cook, editor, Connecticut Adult Education Staff Development Center, Farmington, CT, August 1984; ESL at Interlaken Conference Proceedings, Mary Jane Cook, editor, Connecticut Adult Basic Education Staff Development Project, September 1983; Solving Life Problems in Occupational Knowledge, Mary Jane Cook, McGraw-Hill, New York, New York, 1980; Fourteen Karats, Mary Jane Cook and Mary Keenan, Project RISE, Colchester, CT, 1984; Managing to Make a Difference, Alexis V. Bugaeff and Mary Jane Cook, Institute of Public Service, University of Connecticut, 1976; A Professional Development Directory for Local Government, Jane Cook, editor, Institute of Public Service, University of Connecticut, June 1975. [Top]
EASTCONN Hampton, 376 Hartford Turnpike, Hampton, CT 06247 Phone: 860-455-0707; Fax: 860-455-0691 tcronin@eastconn.org Tom Cronin is Director of Education Services. Until recently, Cronin was Director of Student Services. Before that, he was Superintendent of Schools in Bolton, and spent four years as principal and two years as assistant principal at Tolland Middle School. Before Tolland, Cronin was the administrator of an after-school program at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and a special education teacher for 12 years. He also held a teaching position at EASTCONN’s PACE program in Chaplin. Cronin earned a bachelor’s in psychology from SUNY Plattsburgh, and three separate degrees from UConn: a master’s in Special Education; a Sixth Year in Educational Leadership; and a superintendent certification from UConn’s Executive Leadership Program. [Top]
Maureen Crowley is Director of Planning and Development. She brings valuable experience in working with learners of all ages and needs, grant-writing in a variety of areas, and successfully building collaborative partnerships among communities and institutions. Beginning her career in Massachusetts as a high school English teacher, she quickly grew to appreciate the challenge of serving at-risk youth and the value of alternative learning environments. She has worked in a variety of settings, each requiring coalition building and cooperative resource sharing, and each focusing in some way on increasing and improving opportunities for youth and adult learning. Among her accomplishments is the creation of the first family literacy program in southern Massachusetts. She is one of 16 people nationally certified as a systems-change agent for the Bridges Project, a research-based initiative to improve education for adults with learning disabilities, and the design and development of a collaborative adult education service, which was awarded the Governor's Council Model of Excellence. [Top] Cindy Curry Cindy Curry, EASTCONN Staff Developer, has a B.A. in English, and a M.A. in Reading, K-12. She taught high school English for 22 years. She has trained extensively in CAPT and writing across the curriculum and is a member of the vocational-technical language arts steering committee. [Top] Donna Drasch Donna Drasch has been working for EASTCONN for the past nine years. She began her employment at EASTCONN as a GED and Credit High School Instructor, soon expanding her repertoire to include designing and supervising gender equity and interdistrict diversity grant programs for middle school students. Donna was also involved in the state’s initial School-to-Career initiative at the adult level and has been a Service-Learning Coordinator for the past three years, working primarily with the students and staff of Windham Middle School and local community organizations. She is a certified facilitator for EASTCONN’s Low-Ropes Course. Prior to coming to EASTCONN, Donna was honored as part of the original group of NECASA volunteers recognized for their contribution and dedication to the betterment of youth. [Top] Doris Dyer Doris
Dyer was previously an administrator of two programs at a day treatment
program at the Mercy Center in Worcester, Mass., which served school-age
students and adults with developmental disabilities. She directed both the
school program for students through age 21, as well as the adult services
program.
Before that, Dyer worked for nine years at the Learning Clinic in
Brooklyn, Conn., where she supervised both residential and day treatment
programs for children and families, including young adults transitioning
from high school to college and students needing a non-traditional
approach to high school completion. Previously, she worked as a therapist
at a family services group.
[Top]
Barbara Greenbaum is a Staff Developer and Writer In Residence at EASTCONN. She currently coordinates two Interdistrict grants: New Images and Successful Journeys. She holds a Masters in Secondary Education from St. Joseph's College and a M.F.A. in Fiction from the University of Southern Maine. She is a poet and fiction writer who also recently taught creative writing at the ACT school in Willimantic. Prior to joining EASTCONN, Barbara was a full time business woman in real estate. [Top]
Jim Huggins has assumed the role of Director of Teaching, Learning & Technology. Jim has been employed at EASTCONN for nine years, most recently leading the team of educational technology specialists in the agency’s Teaching & Learning division. Before joining EASTCONN, Jim taught at Rhode Island College where he was instrumental in the design and planning of the Rhode Island Teachers in Technology Laptop Initiative, which trained and equipped thousands of Rhode Island teachers. Jim is also a former elementary computer teacher and holds a M.Ed. in Computers in Education. [Top] |
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