July Update by Susan Cole Ross
We were so pleased to have Murielle St Paul join us to kick off the Summer Seminar Series on June 23rd.
A bit more about Murielle: During her decades of service as an independent school STEM teacher, learning specialist, and dean, Murielle has conducted qualitative and quantitative research on “Students of Color in Independent Schools,” along with “Students of Color with Learning Differences in Independent Schools.”
For the seminar, Murielle offered NEALS members her characteristically thoughtful and inventively inclusive perspective. Jump starting our discussion, she shared one student’s experience with learning support at an independent school. Her case study, questions for our breakout sessions discussions, and resulting recommendations will soon be available on our members’ resources page: https://nealsonline.org/NEALS-Member-Resources
Following the presentation and discussion one member wrote:
Thank you for running today’s Zoom! I think there were some great conversations and comments.
Members will have a chance to reconnect and to discuss these and other issues further on Wednesday, July 8 at 4:00 PM when we will meet for a relaxed social hour.
Our seminar closed with the joy of honoring Liz Radday with the 2020 Barbara Kenefick Award for Service.
Liz has always made NEALS look good. A Fulbright scholar with her EdD in Teaching, Learning and Curriculum from UPenn, Liz is no slouch. She has raised the bar over her eight years of service, improving our knowledge base, fine-tuning and expressing our policies with an eye to legalities and future needs, and always cleaning up my writing with good humor. Being dyslexic, I especially appreciate her affectionate teases about my malaprops and misspellings. I can well imagine how she makes every student feel appreciated in all of their quirkiness and intelligence.
Liz’s gifts to NEALS have been many. She served on the 2016 strategic planning committee, attending every meeting and workshop, and there were many. Liz edited the members’ survey to ensure that NEALS’ plans and policies grew directly out of member desires and expectations. Liz wrote our quite extensive and critical bylaws that will serve to guide and sustain NEALS for generations. In 2016 and 2020, Liz has overseen a comprehensive re-organization of NEALS’ board of directors not once, but twice.
She did all this while raising two thoughtful and exuberant girls, serving as Director of Learning Support at Marvelwood School for 10 years, and then becoming a leading innovator in educational programming as Research and Support Specialist for Skills21 at EdAdvance...
and raising the mother of seeing-eye dogs!
The Board of Directors is delighted and so honored to present NEALS’ 2020 Barbara Kenefick award for service to our Liz Radday.
We are grateful to Wilson Language Systems and Educators Ally Placement Agency for sponsoring our summer seminars. Our next in the series which will be on July 22 at 1:00 PM. Dr. Robert Brooks will speak to us about Nurturing Resilience, Positive Mindsets, and Islands of Competence. As ever, our summer series is free to members (though you must preregister) so please encourage your colleagues, especially school counselors, to join NEALS.
Have a peaceful and safe summer!
