Archive by Author
Introducing TxCRLA President, Sara Weertz
January 27, 2010 by SWH, under Announcements.
Sara Weertz took the reigns as TxCRLA president at the recent CASP 2009 Conference in San Antonio. After having been elected by the membership to serve one year as president-elect of the organization, her move to the present position was automatic.
Sara Weertz
Mrs. Weertz is presently Founding Director of Supplemental Instruction and Tutoring of Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. Her program was a finalist for the annual Texas Higher Education Star Award in 2008. She has produced a series of tutor training workshops on Building Rapport, Mentoring, and the Socratic Method. Additionally, her most recent workshop was Study Skills Application and Resources. Mrs. Weertz was the 2007 recipient of TxCRLA’s annual Ann B. Faulkner Award.
Mrs. Weertz received her B.A. cum laude in English and Professional Writing and her M.Ed. in Instructional Technology with an emphasis in Human Performance Improvement and Training from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Prior to coming to Angelo State University, she worked for a number of years as an editor, writing instructional manuals and reference materials for libraries and schools.
Besides serving as president of TxCRLA, Mrs. Weertz is an active member of the American Evaluation Association, the International Society for Performance Improvement, the National College Learning Center Association, and the American Society for Training and Development.
In addition to encouraging more statewide participation in TxCRLA, Mrs. Weertz is overseeing the implementation of a series of Webinars for members. These Webinars will cover a host of topics of interest in college support services. (Watch for more information at this website.)
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Lindley Workman Alyea First Recipient of Shaw Award
December 18, 2009 by SWH, under Announcements.
Gladys R. Shaw, Ms. Alyea, and Sharon Haigler, TxCRLA President
Lindley Workman Alyea, Assistant Director of the Student Learning Assistance Center (SLAC) at Texas State University, is the first recipient of the Gladys R. Shaw Professional Development Award. Ms. Alyea will apply the monetary award to her expenses for the 2010 6th International Conference on Supplemental Instruction in New Orleans, Louisiana. This conference is held every two years.
Ms. Alyea first met Mrs. Gladys Shaw, the award’s namesake, at the CASP 2008 Conference in Corpus Christi, Texas. They worked together as the featured speakers for the 11th Tutor Training Leadership Institute. It was here that Ms. Alyea discovered that she and Mrs. Shaw shared a “passion for instilling a variety of life skills” and leadership abilities in the learning center staff at the SLAC. Her primary responsibility at Texas State University is the supervision of over forty SI Leaders, working with eight disciplines.
“It would be an honor to attend [the SI conference] in Gladys R. Shaw’s name,” adds Ms. Alyea.
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Meet Tamara Clunis
February 20, 2009 by SWH, under Announcements.
Tamara Thornton Clunis is the recently appointed Director of Developmental and Adult Education for the P-16 Division of the Higher Education Coordinating Board. She is responsible for developing a statewide plan for developmental education, with an emphasis on improving student outcomes and increasing alignment between adult basic education and post-secondary education.
Tamara Clunis
Ms. Clunis has over ten years of experience with developmental and adult education in Texas. Prior to joining the Coordinating board, she worked for Austin Community College teaching reading and learning strategies. While at ACC, she taught in learning communities targeting developmental education students. She was also active on developmental education committees and served on college-wide committees to promote student success for students of color. She taught developmental reading and educational psychology class for first year freshmen at Texas State University-San Marcos for several years. Her most recent position was with the United States Military Academy (WestPoint) where she worked as a senior faculty member and developmental reading specialist. At WestPoint, she redesigned the learning strategies curriculum to focus on contextualized learning to increase student success in the freshman core curriculum.
Ms. Clunis has directed numerous adult education professional grants with Texas State University College of Education and led the statewide project that developed a credentialing system for Texas adult educators. She holds a master’s degree in Developmental and Adult education from Texas State University and is a Ph.D. candidate in the Adult, Professional, & Community Education program at Texas State University.
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Gladys R. Shaw Professional Development Award Announced
November 21, 2008 by SWH, under Announcements.
The executive board of the Texas chapter of the College Reading and Learning Association [TxCRLA] was pleased to announce the establishment of the Gladys R. Shaw Professional Development Award at the recent CASP 2008 Conference held in Corpus Christi, Texas. This annual award is available to current TxCRLA members to use toward travel expenses and other costs associated with any professional development conference, workshop or other training activity related to their fields. The first award winner will be announced at the 2009 CASP Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Gladys R. Shaw
The award is named in honor of Gladys R. Shaw, Director of the Student Support Services Program at the University of Texas at El Paso. Mrs. Shaw is a champion in the field of developmental education and traces her passion back to her own personal experience. “I was a first-generation-college, low-income farm girl myself who earned a scholarship that went with the valedictorian designation for my high school graduating class.” However, she married her husband while she was still a high school senior and at a time when both honors were denied because of the marriage. She eventually did earn a B.A degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Business and Education, earning her certification for public accountant after only one sitting for the exam. Two years later, she earned her M.A. (with honors) in business and education. Mrs. Shaw has worked in both commerce and education, “especially Developmental Education, but have always been driven back to DE-probably partially due to that high school experience, but also one can really see the difference one makes,” she adds. ”When I look at my resume, and reflect on the wonderful honors that have come my way, I have to say (as my daddy always told me) we get out of any experiences exponential rewards for the passion and effort we invest. Of those rewards, which I do treasure greatly, the most important are still the students who succeed and the friends I have made along the way.”
Besides her prized students, Mrs. Shaw has been recognized for many other awards, including her 2004 induction as a Fellow of the American Council of Developmental Education Associations and her recent nomination to the El Paso Women’s Hall of Fame. She has held offices in and served on numerous committees of NADE and CRLA as well as several other academic organizations. She was the treasurer of both NADE (1991-1995) and CRLA (1986-1988). She served as the TADE President from 1991-1992 and its treasurer from 1988-1991. She has authored and co-authored numerous books, chapters, journal articles, and other publications, most of which were for developmental education. Mrs. Shaw sums up her past and ongoing career with, “You know the old saying, ’success breeds success?’”
For more information on the eligibility requirements and application procedure for the Gladys R. Shaw Professional Development Award, go to the “Awards” page.
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ESSIE CHILDERS WINS AWARD AT NATIONAL CRLA CONFERENCE
November 17, 2008 by SWH, under Announcements.
ESSIE CHILDERS
Essie Childers, Instructor of Parallel Studies at Blinn College-Bryan Campus, is the recipient of the 2008 Professional Developmental Scholarship Award sponsored by the College Reading and Learning Association [CRLA]. The award, presented at the National CRLA Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, is designated for participation in professional workshops related to the recipient’s area of expertise. Mrs. Childers will be applying her scholarship towards the TIDE summer workshop at Texas State University in San Marcos, where she will be working on video and/or audio tutorial podcasts for developmental courses.
In addition to teaching developmental reading, Mrs. Childers undertook the director’s responsibilties for the 2008 THECB Summer Bridge program at Blinn College-Bryan Campus. She has presented at many professional conferences, and most recently presented at the CASP Conference in Corpus, Christi, Texas. Her pre-conference institute at CASP, “A Novel Plan: Motivation and Comprehension in Just Six Weeks!” gave participants innovative ideas for using novels in developmental reading classes to create interest and motivate reluctant readers. She has also presented at NISOD and TCCTA-Gifts.
