Strands

Methods and Approaches in Multiple Contexts– Amy Trawick, strand leader

Amy has worked in adult education and literacy since 1994 as a tutor, teacher, administrator, curriculum developer, and trainer. Key projects include directing the Equipped for the Future (EFF) Reading Project, providing training and consulting for Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) initiative out of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education in Washington, D.C., developing and piloting a professional development curriculum for introducing all Virginia adult educators to research-based reading instruction, and consulting with several states on standard-development in the area of reading. Amy’s workshops will focus on using the Content Standards and Curriculum Frameworks to inform instruction. The model used in her workshops will be the learning standard Read with Understanding within the context of work.

Student Success - Margo Vreeburg Izzo, Ph.D., strand leader

Margo is a graduate of The Ohio State University and Director of Special Education and Transition Services for Nisonger Center at OSU. She designs and directs federal and state grants and contracts to improve the quality of education for students of all ages with disabilities. She was a recent recipient of Mary E. Switzer Fellowship Award from the National Institute of Disability Research. She is also President of the Division of Career Development and Transition, a division of the Council for Exceptional Children. Margo’s workshops will describe classroom and program strategies based on Universal Design principles for enabling students to succeed in school and the workplace. Her multi-media, interactive workshops will lead small groups through the exploration of supporting workplace skills within the basic education classroom and student self-determination, self-advocacy, rights and responsibilities.

Transitions – Heide Spruck Wrigley, Ph.D., strand leader

Heide is the Director of Research of LiteracyWork International, a small independent firm doing work in North America and Europe. She has been involved in all aspects of adult ESL literacy, including civics and citizenship, English for Specific Purposes, workplace literacy and employment preparation. She has been the subject matter expert for all of the federally funded studies on adult ESL literacy in the United States, including a five year national study on “What Works for Adult ESL Literacy Students.” Ms. Wrigley has also been involved in a number of projects that looked at workforce preparation for low literate adults. She was the lead author on a report for the Center for Law and Social Policy, called “The Language of Opportunity.” She has written two textbooks on employment preparation and is currently a consultant for a Dept of Labor funded project at La Guardia Community College that prepares hotel workers for career advancement. Heide’s workshops will examine program design and instructional strategies to address both student goals of wider economic opportunities and increased academic success. Barriers to success (individual, institutional, and societal) will be identified and ways for overcoming them will be addressed. There will be a special focus on preparing students for work, both for initial employment and career advancement.

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