Karen Kohler
Karen Kohler graduated from California State University, Chico with her B.A. in Spanish and Social Studies and completed her M.Ed. in Elementary Education, specializing in Reading and Language Arts, at Southwest Texas State University. Serving as Bilingual Department Chair, Karen has knowledge in working with a variety of disciplines.
Credentials
Accomplished and integrity-driven educational professional offering extensive knowledge in Reading, Language/Arts, Literacy Development, and Elementary practices. Developed and implemented a variety of cutting edge programs aimed to foster student success, via parent and community participation. Key Speaker for a variety of workshops including extensive Professional Development workshops geared toward Teacher success and motivation.
- Bachelors Degree from California State University, Chico
- Masters in Education from Texas State University Specializing in Elementary Education\Reading Language Arts
Stacy Graupner
Stacy Graupner has specialized in working with special needs children, adolescents, and their families for nearly a decade. She has worked in the Special Education department at the middle and high school levels. Stacy has her B.S. in Psychology from Lamar University and her M.Ed. from Southwest Texas State University in Special Education with endorsements in Emotional Disturbance and Autism.
Credentials
Mrs. Graupner has over 10 years of experience in the areas of Special Education, Behavioral Disorders, Disabled, Aged, and Autism. She has extensive experience in a broad spectrum of activities that have involved program management, long range planning, systems design, behavioral and organizational needs studies, and program effectiveness evaluation. Mrs. DeCuir also has a broad background in the areas of: Special Education, Psychology, Criminal Justice, and Counseling, and has spoken in public forums and facilitated various counseling groups.
- Bachelors Degree from Lamar University
- Masters in Special Education with endorsements in Emotional Disturbance and Autism from Texas State University
- Minor in Marriage and Family Counseling with all but State testing remaining for Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor
Veronica Bacigalupo
Veronica Bacigalupo is bilingual in English and Spanish and has 15 years teaching experience in reading, English, and ESL. She holds a Masters Degree as an instructional specialist in reading and holds teaching endorsements in early childhood, elementary, and secondary education. As a Texas public school teacher, she has held the positions of reading department chair, ESL department chair, and South Texas Academic Literacy League co-director and sponsor. She has helped to write middle school curriculums and benchmarks exams; she has also served on campus-based organizations such as the Campus Improvement Plan, Language Proficiency Acquisition Committee, and Superintendent's District Advisory Committee. Ms. Bacigalupo has also worked with Region 20's Educational Resource Center on training and mentoring new teachers. She has piloted service-learning programs, has trained teachers in service-learning, and has been published in Service Learning News. Ms. Bacigalupo is currently a literacy mentor with Education Alliance where she conducts research in bilingual education and oversees all written communication and creative projects. She administers several literacy-based assessments to both teacher and students. She is a mentor and a coach to teachers, and plans and conducts several professional developments for administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals. Ms. Bacigalupo has had multiple trainings which include ELLCO and Open Court Curriculum.
Rachel V. Castillo
Rachel V. Castillo has worked in education for over 20 years; of these years, 15 have been in early childhood. Ms. Castillo is diverse in the areas of early childhood assessments, home literacy, and parenting education. She also has extensive technological experience, specifically in the areas of data production, record keeping, and budget projection. As a former Even Start Parent Educator, Ms. Castillo implemented and administered several literacy-based assessments for children such as the Preschool Language Scale, Denver Developmental Screening and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Most recently, she has administered the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Expressive Vocabulary Test, PALS Pre-K, and Preschool Word and Print Awareness Task. With the belief that parents and teachers are an integral part of children's' literacy, she has also implemented and administered such assessments as the ELLCO, Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE), and the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) Adult Language Assessment. Ms. Castillo has planned and delivered several professional developments in the areas of classroom and time management, authentic learning centers, early childhood literacy, scientific-based reading research, the power of play, parental involvement, the role of fathers in the lives of young children, and effective parenting. Ms. Castillo is currently the lead home literacy mentor with Education Alliance where she works directly with program directors to ensure the success of all home-based literacy programs. She manages all family literacy functions and community involvement activities and oversees the assessment screening of all children involved in the home-based literacy programs. She provides training and materials connected to classroom literacy instruction to all campus-based family literacy centers. She supervises all home literacy mentors and works directly with all literacy mentors. She is a parent advocate, and plans and demonstrates literacy activities for parents. Ms. Castillo also helps to plan and conduct professional developments for teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals.
Alma Streit
Alma Streit began her college education when her first child began first grade. That is when she realized that education was not just something important for children. She decided that it was important for her as well. So Alma began taking college classes majoring in education and working full-time as a para-professional teacher's assistant, working with children who were not English speakers and children with special needs. After five years as a para-professional, Alma, who grew up speaking both English and Spanish, began working for Parent's As Teachers, a government program geared toward educating parents to teach their young children, ages zero to three. Her role was to educate parents in introducing their young children to use their fine motor skills, social skills, language skills, and cognitive skills. Along with that, Alma instilled in the parents the idea that they are their child's first and most important teacher. Alma completed her Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education in 2004 from Garden City Community College, Garden City, Kansas.
Allison Swientek
Allison Swientek holds an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science Degree with a specialization in English and teaching endorsements in both early childhood and elementary education. As a Texas public school teacher, Ms. Swientek has been chosen to direct various programs that directly serve youth such as Student Council. Ms. Swientek has also served as a technology advisor and has supervised new teachers while in the public classroom. Ms. Swientek is currently the lead literacy mentor with Education Alliance where she works directly with school program directors to coordinate professional developments and assessments for both teachers and students. She supervises all literacy mentors, is both a mentor and a coach to other teachers, and administers various literacy-based assessments. In addition, Ms. Swientek oversees all technology programs that track important records such as student data, professional development attendance, and literacy mentor activities. She has experience in administering many different types of assessments including the ELLCO, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Expressive Vocabulary Test, PALS Pre-K, Preschool Print and Word Awareness Task, and Developmental Reading Assessment. She also has multiple hours of Gifted and Talented training, Project Read training, and ESL training.
Judy Uminski
Judy Uminski holds an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts Degree with specializations in English and reading and has over 25 years teaching experience in reading with children ranging in grades from pre-Kindergarten to middle school. She holds teaching endorsements in early childhood and elementary education. As a Texas public school teacher, Ms. Uminiski has been elected to such positions as team leader, grade level leader, ATPE campus representative, PTA officer, and campus parent liaison. In addition, she has also served as a South Texas Academic Literacy League solo humorous sponsor. Ms. Uminiski has piloted and implemented technology programs that help to track student attendance rates, discipline behaviors, and achievement levels. Ms. Uminiski is currently a literacy mentor with Education Alliance where she organizes all school testing schedules and administers assessments such as the ELLCO, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, PALS Pre-K, Preschool Print and Word Awareness Task, and Developmental Reading Assessment. In addition, she coordinates all assessment data with independent evaluators. She is both a mentor and a coach to other teachers, and plans and conducts several professional developments for administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals. In addition to presenting, Ms. Uminski is actively involved with teacher growth and progress ensuring that the Professional Developments are carried over into the classrooms.