Dr. Betsy Rosenbalm ’01 ’05 ’08 ’19 has been named director of the Public School Partnership (PSP), a collaborative program between Appalachian State University’s Reich College of Education (RCOE) and area public schools to improve education. Her appointment began November 2019.
Rosenbalm, originally from Statesville, North Carolina, attended Appalachian as a North Carolina Teaching Fellow. She earned a bachelor’s in elementary education and a master’s in reading education and school administration add-on licensure. She earned an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction from Gardner-Webb University. This summer, she completed coursework for a graduate certificate in autism spectrum disorders from Appalachian. In addition, she is a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBCT) certified teacher in literacy/language arts.
“I credit my undergraduate and graduate experiences at Appalachian for developing me into the prepared instructional leader that I am today,” said Rosenbalm. “App State gave me both roots and wings in my four most formative years as a Teaching Fellow, and I still gather so much strength and inspiration from this university every time I walk onto this campus.”
“I credit my undergraduate and graduate experiences at Appalachian for developing me into the prepared instructional leader that I am today,” said Rosenbalm. “App State gave me both roots and wings in my four most formative years as a Teaching Fellow, and I still gather so much strength and inspiration from this university every time I walk onto this campus.”
“Appalachian has been a home base and a firm foundation for me,” she continued. “I seek to play an influential, yet beneficial and purposeful role in the on-going teacher support and development efforts across the state, but specifically in the region of the state that I call home. I want to continue to build on the strong foundation that helped build me.”
Making Connections
Rosenbalm is not new to making connections and collaborating with the area schools. Prior to her new role, Rosenbalm served as the Lead North Carolina New Teacher Support Coach for the Appalachian Region for three years, as well as taught SPE 3300 as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Reading Education and Special Education, housed in the RCOE.
“I have served new teachers in Watauga County Schools, Ashe County Schools, Elkin City Schools, Yadkin County Schools, and the Appalachian State University Academy at Middle Fork, providing weekly coaching visits, planning personalized professional development sessions for district personnel and assisting in coordinating yearly Beginning Teacher Institutes for beginning teachers across the state,” said Rosenbalm.
Rosenbalm has also served as the EC Director, ESL Director, Director of Testing and Accountability, and the 504 Coordinator at American Renaissance School in Statesville, North Carolina, and the Director of Exceptional Children, Pre-School, and Communication Services/Public Relations in Newton-Conover City Schools.
“In these roles, I managed millions of dollars in state and federal funding, wrote and provided oversight for multiple grants, and directed all programming and personnel matters for such departments,” said Rosenbalm.
“My experiences over the past several years with administrators, teachers, and students in both P-12 programs and in higher learning institutions, have provided me with insight and a deeper understanding of the necessity of bridging the gap between the teacher preparation programs available to our university students, and the necessary skills and supports teachers and students need in the field,” said Rosenbalm.
She also served as a school principal at Conover School (a PK-12 public separate school) and an assistant principal at Shuford Elementary School in Conover, North Carolina.
She has held positions as an instructional coach, reading specialist, and elementary teacher (regular education, special education, and English as a second language). In addition to teaching in public, private, and charter schools, she taught three special education courses to undergraduate and graduate education students at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina.
Her accolades include a school-level Iredell County Schools Teacher of the Year in 2006 and the North Carolina Northwestern Region 7 Principal of the Year in 2013.
“My experiences over the past several years with administrators, teachers, and students in both P-12 programs and in higher learning institutions, have provided me with insight and a deeper understanding of the necessity of bridging the gap between the teacher preparation programs available to our university students, and the necessary skills and supports teachers and students need in the field,” said Rosenbalm.
“I have a strong commitment to growing teachers and learners, and I am excited about the opportunity to collaborate with our IHE leaders, partner LEA leaders, and regional teacher leaders on a larger scale to retain, recruit, and support teachers in their most formative years, both pre-service and post-employment,” she continued.
Rosenbalm enjoys singing in a family quartet with her mother and sisters in a group called “Daughters of Grace”, as well as participating in altruistic projects with her Alpha Delta Kappa Educational Sorority sisters and reading voraciously. She and her husband, who is also an Appalachian alum, are raising three daughters and enjoy participating in many activities in their community of Statesville, North Carolina.
About the Public School Partnership
Since 1987, the Appalachian State University Public School Partnership has developed and maintained a strong collaborative program between the university and area public schools to improve education. Attention is given to enhancing the preparation of teachers as well as to the continuing professional development of teachers. Shared decision making exists as members work toward educational initiatives and improvements within the Partnership schools and districts. Members of the partnership include more than 100 schools in area districts: Alexander County, Alleghany County, Ashe County, Avery County, Burke County, Caldwell County, Elkin City Schools, Watauga County and Wilkes County, plus Appalachian’s Reich College of Education and College of Arts and Sciences, and the Northwest Regional Educational Service Alliance (NWRESA). A new partner for 2019 is the Appalachian State University Academy at Middle Fork in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools district.
Betsy Rosenbalm
