Five faculty and staff in the Reich College of Education (RCOE) will be participating in the Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP): Dr. David Peyton, Dr. Hannah Reeder, Dr. Betsy Rosenbalm, Ike Smith, and Dr. Amie Snow. The EPFP program, hosted by the Public School Forum, is designed to help participants learn more about education policy in North Carolina.
David Peyton
Dr. David Peyton joined the RCOE in July 2019. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida and is currently an assistant professor of special education in the Department of Reading Education and Special Education.
Peyton’s research focus is on policies that are prevalent for special education teaching preparation such as the teaching pipeline, shortages of special education teachers in rural areas, and approaches to improving the instructional quality of new teachers.
For Peyton, this fellowship is “an opportunity to dig into the educational policy landscape of North Carolina.”
“Specifically, I am looking to connect with stakeholders that are concerned with advancing teacher education--particularly for special education teachers,” he continued. “As someone who is not local to North Carolina, I look forward to building meaningful partnerships across the EPFP cohort.”
According to Peyton, this fellowship will help him in his position in the RCOE because “the more informed advocates we have at the policy table, the better chance that our ideas and concerns will be heard.”
“To that point, we have smart people who work in the RCOE and who have innovative approaches to education broadly and special education specifically, and they are looking for avenues to promote their research and seek out funding sources,” added Peyton. “Ideally, being a fellow within the cohort will allow me to better understand where those opportunities exist and support others in gaining access to them.”
Hannah Reeder
Dr. Hannah Reeder joined the RCOE in January 2013 and is currently the Director of Clinical Education. She earned her Ed.D. in educational leadership and policy analysis from East Tennessee State University, and her M.A. in curriculum and instruction and her B.S. in elementary education from Appalachian State University.
Previously, Reeder was an elementary school teacher and an assistant principal before moving onto higher education.
Reeder is excited about the opportunity to network with colleagues across the state to learn about educational policy and how it affects teacher preparation.
She noted that this fellowship will help her with her position in the RCOE: “Becoming more knowledgeable and informed about educational policy in North Carolina will help me be a stronger advocate for teacher preparation, particularly in regard to clinical experiences.”
Betsy Rosenbalm
Dr. Betsy Rosenbalm joined the RCOE in 2017 and is currently the Director of the Public School Partnership and the Regional Director of the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Appalachian State University and her Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction from Gardner-Webb University.
Rosenbalm has held many positions in K-12 schools: an elementary school teacher, an elementary reading specialist, a school-level instructional coach, an assistant principal and a principal.
“I am so excited to be a part of this cohort,” said Rosenbalm. “Whereas I have had various experiences with matters of leadership, planning, instruction, and assessment throughout my career, I have not had as much exposure to the intricacies of educational policy, government, and reform.”
“I am eager to learn more about how our state and nation make decisions that affect the teachers and students I work with,” she added.
Rosenbalm noted that this experience will help her in her position in the RCOE because “I need to know more about the political aspects of decision making across our state.”
“The EPFP experience will allow me to grow as an informed leader and collaborator as I am working with various district superintendents, curriculum leaders, and teachers across our North West Region of the state,” she continued.
Ike Smith
Ike Smith joined the RCOE in August 2019 and is currently the Director of the James Center for Student Success and Advising. Previously, he taught English in multiple places and levels in North Carolina.
When asked what receiving this fellowship means to him, Smith states “Being part of EPFP means I have the opportunity to network with and learn from education leaders across the state so that I can better my understanding of the systems that shape education.”
“In turn,” he continued, “I can then work to positively influence those systems for greater equity, diversity, and inclusion in education and empower pre-service teachers to do the same.”
For Smith, participating in this fellowship will benefit his work in the James Center, allowing him to provide broader, more informed perspectives on educational systems to students.
“These students can then be better prepared to not only be effective teachers, but impactful leaders in their classrooms, schools, communities, and the profession,” he added.
Amie Snow
Snow joined the RCOE in 2006 as an adjunct instructor and, in 2018, she became the Director of Curriculum at the Appalachian State University Academy at Middle Fork. She earned her B.A. in elementary education from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, her M.A. in reading education and her Ed.D. from Appalachian State University, and is currently enrolled in the MPA at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Prior to joining the Academy at Middle Fork, Snow taught kindergarten and was an instructional facilitator in Winston Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
“This fellowship means an opportunity for me to grow as an educational leader,” stated Snow. “As the Director of Curriculum at the Academy, I want to make sure that I think critically about our work and help our staff implement the best instructional practices to ensure student growth.”
“Networking with other educators and learning more about North Carolina education policy will help me make informed decisions and encourage me to bring in our teachers and staff when those decisions are made,” she continued. “At the Academy, we do a great deal of work on our own to meet state policy requirements. This fellowship will help me learn how those requirements are developed and maybe even provide opportunities for me to be a force of change in education policy.”
As the Director of Curriculum, Snow works closely with Assistant Dean, Dr. Robin Groce; Principal, Tasha Hall-Powell; and Director of Student Affairs and Emergency Management, Darron Daniels.
“I hope this opportunity will help me become a better leader for our school, implementing the right structures and practices to support our students as they grow as people and as scholars,” she added.
Snow plans to bring back new ideas, important opportunities and new, more critical thinking to her work at the Academy at Middle Fork. “We want the best possible educational opportunities for our mini-Mountaineers and their families - I hope my time as an EPFP fellow helps me do that work even better.”