DVIDS – News – Army Leader Talks About His Alaska Native Heritage and Unique Path to Service

DVIDS – News – Army Leader Talks About His Alaska Native Heritage and Unique Path to Service

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FORT STEWART, Ga. — Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Lambert is quite a few things. A Dogface Soldier. A partner. A father. An Alaska Native. With a handful of a long time of army working experience below his belt, he now feels a wonderful perception of delight and connection with his Alaska Indigenous roots, but it was not often this way.

Born on Fort Polk, Louisiana, in 1971, Lambert is the son of an Military infantryman. He speedily grew accustomed to shifting from base to foundation, which still left him little time to set roots down.

“He is the just one that if we moved into a new area and we have been placing up our quarters, he was out in the road searching for anyone to enjoy with,” reported his mom, Dr. Connie Lambert. “He was constantly sociable. He bought along with other youngsters and released himself, and found new individuals to play with from the time he was minimal.”

As a child, Lambert did not give a lot imagined to his heritage. That modified in significant school when he started off professional fishing with family members in Metlakatla, Alaska. For the duration of all those decades, he immersed himself in the Alaska Native group there and used time participating in basketball and hanging out with local little ones.

“It was reservation lifestyle and tons of fun,” he stated. “Basketball is the lifeblood of the group. In between that and commercial fishing, I could have conveniently stayed there for the relaxation of my daily life.”

As a industrial fisherman, he recollects putting in a large amount of really hard work for his grandfather, Wally Leask. His grandfather was a demanding manager and was rapid to tell Lambert when he was not conference expectations. As a teenager, it was a shock for Lambert to see Wally transition from the role of grandfather to that of the manager. Nonetheless, his grandfather instilled in him the values of tricky operate and excellence. It was not plenty of just to operate really hard, he had to increase and be very good at his occupation. If he could not do that and provide, he would not be paid.

He worked on two different boats in Alaska: just one for his grandfather and a single for his cousin. Equally had been exceptionally difficult. Though the pay out was superior, the hours had been extended and the operate was harmful. He could not punch out of function just due to the fact he was worn out, and he explained his grandfather gave him no special procedure. A single story from this time stands out in Lambert’s intellect.

“It was two or three o’clock in the early morning,” remembers Lambert. “With rain coming in sideways and waves hitting the back again of the boat, we had to rapidly pull the nets in and go the boat inland to try out and get out of the climate. There was a massive boat inland that you could use as a defend from the weather. It was a Planet War II boat anchored out there in the bay. We have been smashing up from the boat as we ended up seeking to tie off and my grandfather was yelling at me as he attempted to get his boat located.”

Lambert and his grandfather created it safely and securely by the storm, but he claimed that ordeals like the just one that night time taught him how little he knew about the earth. He expressed that he continue to attracts from his working experience on the boats when issues get hard in his armed forces career.

Lambert’s navy profession commenced when he was commissioned as an infantry officer after graduating from College of North Georgia in 1993. He started his career serving as a rifle platoon leader and corporation executive officer in the 10th Mountain Division, on Fort Drum, New York. He later on served with the 75th Ranger Regiment right before going to the Infantry Captains Vocation Program. He went on to serve with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment on Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and as an teacher and aide-de-camp at the United States Armed forces Academy in West Issue, New York.

He is a graduate of the Command and Typical Team University and served as a chief in many positions such as time as a battalion commander for the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, on Fort Riley, Kansas. He later on commanded the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Workforce on Fort Wainwright, Alaska. In June 2019, he returned to Fort Riley to serve as the division main of staff members before arriving below to Fort Stewart in 2021.

He is a United States Military War College graduate and his operational deployments consist of Haiti, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

“We are pretty, incredibly happy of him,” his mother mentioned. “My partner has pinned on each one particular of his ranks from next lieutenant. Just about every a single of individuals is a very proud moment for us as significantly as his profitable job in the Military.”

Lambert and his daughters are shareholders in the Sealaska Company, an Alaska Native-owned small business aimed at strengthening folks, society, and Indigenous lands. His fantastic-grandfather is Tsimpshian, a team of indigenous people from the Pacific Northwest Coastline. His terrific-grandmother is from the Haida tribe and some of his relatives still speaks the Haida language. Even so, unlike the relaxation of his family, speaking the indigenous language did not often arrive quick for his grandfather.

“When the missionaries came to Alaska, my dad used to inform us stories,” she explained. “He would go out on the playground and he and his good friends would be talking Haida and get smacked for it. So we’re doing language and cultural restoration.”

Lambert traces his Alaska Indigenous ancestry back again by his mother’s aspect of the loved ones. The youngest of five young children, she fulfilled his father Larry Lambert, in Anchorage, Alaska, when she was in significant university. They married in 1969 and have a few small children.

His mom sooner or later went again to university to receive her doctorate degree and used 20 a long time as a college professor, an affiliate dean, and inevitably the Dean of the University of Training and Professional Scientific studies at Central Washington University.

Serving is a tradition in Lambert’s relatives. His grandfather served in the Military Air Corps and went on to come to be the mayor of Metlakatla soon after leaving the provider. His grandfather and uncles served in Entire world War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

His father, a retired Important, was in the Military for 25 decades and retired in 1992. He was commissioned as an officer in 1980 as a result of a pilot plan that took significant-performing senior noncommissioned officers and immediate commissioned them into the officer corps.

It would be quick to think, thanks to his loved ones background, that Lambert would have naturally desired to provide the country, too. Nevertheless, he was not at first fond of the idea. He grew up with the dream of becoming a actual physical education and learning teacher. Even so, thanks to the economic climate at that time, he stored the Army in his head.

He finished up adhering to his brother’s direct by implementing to University of North Georgia and joining their ROTC system.

Now, 30 many years afterwards, Lambert serves as the deputy commanding typical of maneuver for the 3rd Infantry Division, below on Fort Stewart. During his armed service job, he has drawn from his childhood encounters in Alaska and credits his heritage for shaping him into the person he is today– a person who enjoys serving others and getting prospects to give again to fellow Soldiers. In his current role, Lambert has the potential to devote in the warfighters of 3rd ID and make sure they have the products and resources they want to accomplish the division’s essential mission. Lambert designs to do as considerably as he can to help Soldiers throughout his remaining time in the Military, but he reported he is aware that his job won’t past eternally.

“I want to be a Soldier for as extensive as physically doable due to the fact I have got the rest of my everyday living not to be in the Military,” said Lambert. “There’s significantly less runway in front of me than guiding.”

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Day Taken: 11.23.2022
Date Posted: 11.23.2022 16:18
Tale ID: 433913
Locale: FORT STEWART, GA, US 
Hometown: METLAKATLA, AK, US

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Game-Based Leader Prodigy Education Announces Major Expansion with Launch of Prodigy English

Game-Based Leader Prodigy Education Announces Major Expansion with Launch of Prodigy English

Prodigy English is a enjoyable and creativeness-pushed recreation designed to inspire learners to observe
curriculum-aligned English skills

TORONTO, April 21, 2022 /CNW/ – Prodigy Education and learning (‘Prodigy’), leaders in match-primarily based learning and creators of the globally well-known Prodigy Math match, nowadays declared a significant expansion of its academic online games portfolio with the launch of Prodigy English. This participating new video game is accessible to engage in now and supplies academics and dad and mom with a enjoyable way to assistance English understanding in the classroom and at home.

Prodigy English builds on the revolutionary adaptive formula of Prodigy Math, which is employed by hundreds of thousands of students, mother and father, and lecturers around the globe. Prodigy English also utilizes Prodigy’s unique Enthusiasm Initial! philosophy, where game-centered learning is made use of to maximize college student determination levels.

The launch of Prodigy English will come at a significant time, with new reports showing that a lot more college students are falling driving in their looking through advancement than pre-pandemic, primarily in grades K-2.1

“Teachers and moms and dads have been inquiring us for an English game for as prolonged as we can bear in mind,” mentioned Alex Peters, Co-CEO of Prodigy Training. “We are thrilled to convey our marketplace-major match-primarily based learning solution to a totally new matter. Soon after aiding to inspire millions of college students to study math, we are now energized to support them in producing their English techniques – all when possessing enjoyable at the very same time.”

Rohan Mahimker, Co-CEO of Prodigy, additional: “This start is a major milestone for Prodigy, permitting us to get students on a brand new understanding experience. Building exciting and motivational finding out activities is what Prodigy excels at. Just after starting to be leaders in recreation-based math understanding, we are delighted to now grow this award-successful method to English.”

  • Prodigy English will allow students to make their very own online environment, amassing provides and discovering an remarkable and interactive natural environment though understanding curriculum-aligned English capabilities.

  • Prodigy English covers a wide array of core abilities, which include looking at, rhyming, phonetics, and spelling for grades 1-5 with foreseeable future expansion up to grade 8 and more abilities planned.

  • Similar to Prodigy Math, an adaptive algorithm is employed to maintain pupils in their zone of proximal growth, ensuring they are challenged but not disappointed.

  • Prodigy English satisfies the standards for the Every single College student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Tier 4 and is aligned to Widespread Main Looking at and Language for grades 1-5, with Prodigy’s staff of licensed lecturers continuing to extend the curriculum array into more strands.

It is totally free to create a Prodigy instructor, mother or father or scholar account, which can be employed to accessibility the new Prodigy English as well as Prodigy Math. Like Prodigy Math, all in-match instructional written content is no cost to obtain, with this tactic supported by optional memberships which parents can invest in to entry added features made to help boost engagement.

Educators can observe students’ English discovering development and established assignments as a result of the present Prodigy Instructor Dashboard. Mothers and fathers can track their kid’s development in Prodigy English, such as current exercise and abilities they have been operating on, via their existing Parent Portal.

For a lot more information and facts, or to produce a no cost mum or dad or teacher account for Prodigy English and Math, click here.

About Prodigy Instruction
Prodigy Education and learning is a world chief in recreation-primarily based discovering. Our mission is to support every scholar in the environment adore studying, motivating hundreds of thousands all over the world via fun, protected and available curriculum-aligned gameplay encounters. At Prodigy Training, we believe maximizing pupil drive allows acquire a lifetime like of finding out. Prodigy’s technique to fun, sport-based discovering suggests young children no for a longer time have to pick out among homework and playtime. Pay a visit to www.prodigygame.com to study extra.

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Hawaii DOE | Waikele Elementary leader honored as a 2022 National Outstanding Assistant Principal

Hawaii DOE | Waikele Elementary leader honored as a 2022 National Outstanding Assistant Principal

Hawaii DOE | Waikele Elementary leader honored as a 2022 National Outstanding Assistant PrincipalThe Countrywide Affiliation of Elementary Faculty Principals (NAESP) this week announced Waikele Elementary’s Stacy Kawamura as a 2022 National Remarkable Assistant Principal. Every calendar year NAESP acknowledges a decide on cohort of assistant principals from across the region. This year 22 assistant principals nationwide were regarded — 17 from elementary educational facilities and five from the middle college amount.

The NAESP National Excellent Assistant Principal System aims to advertise excellence in instructional leadership and calls interest to the elementary significance of the assistant principal. Honorees are acknowledged for demonstrating remarkable leadership and for placing large requirements for students, colleagues, mother and father and the neighborhood.

“As a previous principal, I know how crucial assistant principals are to a effective and thriving college group,” interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi mentioned. “I’ve had the enjoyment of working with Stacy via Waipahu Intricate collaborations and have viewed first-hand how she supports her staff and prioritizes the needs of all learners. She is passionate in supporting her faculty neighborhood and is truly dedicated to enriching the lives of others. We are extremely proud to have leaders like Stacy Kawamura serving within our Hawaiʻi public educational facilities.”

As vice principal of Waikele Elementary for the earlier seven decades, a person of Kawamura’s most considerable accomplishments has been assisting to acquire the school’s nationally distinctive academy pathway software. At first an arts academy plan, the college expanded the software to include age-suitable Vocation and Technical Education and learning (CTE) classes that align with the Waipahu Complex’s determination to university and job readiness. Kawamura helped articulate to academics the shift in focus by producing connections with other significant college academy courses. By means of Waikele Elementary’s academy pathway application — the initially of its type in the nation — learners are now exposed to a assortment of career chances, building their changeover to sophisticated location secondary schools a lot more seamless.

Kawamura has also helped acquire group partnerships with the school, which present alternatives for students to have interaction with their community and apply classroom classes to the actual earth. She is also credited with creating a qualified growth and mastering framework that has helped her college build a collaborative culture that engages school and employees. 

Waikele Elementary School Principal Sheldon Oshio praises Kawamura’s means as a chief to collaborate with colleagues and cultivate a beneficial finding out lifestyle. “Her enthusiasm, rapport and treatment for anyone is obvious,” Principal Oshio mentioned. “Mrs. Kawamura develops great interactions with family members and pupils, and communicates correctly. Earlier mentioned all, Mrs. Kawamura is a legitimate studying leader who prospects by example. Her management is appreciated and respected inside the college neighborhood.”

Kawamura earned a bachelor’s degree in East Asian Reports from the Washington College in St. Louis, a master’s diploma in secondary instruction from the University of Phoenix, and a second master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Prior to her vice principal job at Waikele Elementary, she served as a instructor at Pearl City High and Kapolei High.

Kawamura will be invited to Kentucky this July to get her award at the annual NAESP Pre-K-8 Countrywide Principals Conference. 

This recognition was created probable by users of the Hawaiʻi Elementary and Middle Educational institutions Directors Affiliation, the community affiliate of NAESP. It arrives as element of Countrywide Assistant Principals 7 days (April 4-8, 2022), which is celebrated each April to identify the important role assistant principals enjoy in the over-all tutorial achievement of learners nationwide.

Vegan lunches restart in Portland’s elementary schools, making the district a national leader

Vegan lunches restart in Portland’s elementary schools, making the district a national leader

With Veganuary in full swing (and hundreds of 1000’s of contributors about the globe taking in vegetation to minimize local climate emissions), Portland is charting a route as a chief in serving vegan scorching lunches to college students.

In September, Portland, Maine’s most significant school district, restarted its vegan incredibly hot lunch software for the elementary schools. It was started in the 2019-2020 university 12 months but put on maintain the subsequent year due to the fact of distant education in the course of the pandemic. It resumed this tumble. Every working day, college students in the city’s 10 elementary educational institutions can pick out between a vegan scorching lunch, a common sizzling lunch or a vegan sunflower seed butter and jelly sandwich.

Serving plant-primarily based entrees would make Portland “a leader in this place for K to 12 foods services,” claimed Karla Dumas, a registered dietitian and the director of the Humane Society of the United States’ food stuff support innovation division.

The Humane Society’s program Ahead Meals offers absolutely free recipes, chef coaching and other aid to college districts intrigued in adding plant-based, vegan meals to their menus. The group also has an environmental scientist obtainable to estimate how a lot districts lessen their greenhouse fuel emissions by replacing some animal-dependent meat and dairy with plant-based food items. Dumas estimates that 10 p.c of university districts in the U.S. present vegan choices each individual day, but numerous of people are chilly goods (this kind of as sunflower butter sandwiches).

Most of the key school districts that provide vegan very hot lunches, these kinds of as Los Angeles, offer you them at the higher faculty level. In Portland, the sample is reversed, with day by day sizzling vegan possibilities at the elementary colleges, no scorching vegan selections at the middle schools and a veggie burger as the only incredibly hot vegan solution at the large educational facilities. Jane McLucas, Portland’s meals provider director, plans to bring hot vegan products to the center educational facilities but claimed pandemic-related difficulties have delayed the rollout.

Any elementary scholar can order a vegan lunch, and it may have broad charm. With a scholar inhabitants that is nearly 50 percent non-white, numerous Portland pupils could have dairy intolerances the means to digest lactose into adulthood is joined to northern European ancestry. Also, Portland college students who are users of the Muslim, Jewish, Ethiopian Orthodox or Seventh-working day Adventist communities might stay away from animal-centered meat and dairy for religious causes.

As a parent of a vegan elementary university student, the addition of day-to-day vegan scorching lunches has been transformative for my loved ones, saving us time, dollars and head aches. I have not packed a solitary lunch for my 3rd-grader this faculty year. Instead, at the start off of the university 12 months, I explained to him: “Each day the university provides a vegan sizzling lunch and a sunlight butter sandwich. Select a single.” And he has.

This thirty day period, Portland’s vegan scorching lunches contain veggie burgers from Dr. Praeger’s, taco boats, falafels with rice, chili with macaroni, orange tofu with rice, bean and rice bowls, and build-your-possess hummus pizzas. A person working day a month, the only very hot lunch alternative is the well-liked vegetarian chili served with baked Maine potatoes and tortilla chips, so all the learners try to eat vegan. Most generally the classic sizzling lunch includes beef or chicken, while a handful of days a thirty day period, the entree is vegetarian, these as cheese pizza or a toasted cheese sandwich.

The vegan lunches are “a great item that we’re happy to serve,” McLucas said.

I asked my son, Alden, what he likes on the vegan sizzling lunch menu. “The baked potato with beans and chips is my favored,” he mentioned with no hesitation, referring to the vegetarian chili. “My next favorite is the black bean burger. My 3rd favorite is the tofu and my fourth most loved is the falafel. Actually, I like the tofus and the black bean burger the identical volume.”

He’d like to see additional kung pao tofu, and that vegetarian chili, and he’d like to see fewer raw greens. “Today they had peas,” Alden informed me. “Not cooked. Not salted. Just peas. Why would they put peas there? I would like additional strawberries or items youngsters basically like.”

The pandemic has shuttered the schools’ salad bars, so the fruits and veggies now appear pre-plated with every tray.

Portland General public Faculties board member and mum or dad Adam Burk states his son eats the vegan lunches each and every day, too. Vegan scorching lunch has permitted Burk’s son, my son, other vegan young children, and learners who prevent meat or dairy for spiritual or wellness causes, to be bundled in the rite of passage known as having college lunch. This go toward inclusiveness in the cafeteria has expanded the day by day selections for vegetarians, too.

The amount of learners inquiring for the vegan meals differs extensively by college, in accordance to McLucas, with the most vegan lunches served at Rowe Elementary and at the very least just one elementary university serving none McLucas declined to discover the college. At East Finish Neighborhood University, wherever my son attends, learners are handed the conventional warm lunch and have to talk to for the vegan selection.

Burk thinks extra learners choose for vegan lunches at Rowe for the reason that the learners there are provided a selection.

“The fashion of supplying kids the meat choice and creating little ones check with for the vegan solution was what transpired at Rowe in the starting also,” he mentioned. “We, and very likely other people, inquired about this and a change was designed soon immediately after. How the choices are offered absolutely can make a difference. My child at Rowe suggests that now he is supplied each options every single working day, and it is easy to pick out the vegan alternative.”

Sara Rubin, assistant principal of Lyseth Elementary and a mom of two pupils at Rowe, is a large supporter of the vegan sizzling lunches. Centered on her observations in the cafeteria, she agreed with Burk that necessitating elementary learners to check with for the vegan lunch stops some college students from using it. She claimed the addition of masks in addition language limitations make it even additional challenging for some younger pupils to converse up. Rubin suspects that some vegan and vegetarian students however pack their very own lunches because of concerns about no matter whether they’ll truly get a incredibly hot lunch – throughout the program’s very first year, the vegan lunches generally ran out – and standard distrust of school foodstuff.

My family members has had firsthand expertise with the communication and rely on troubles she raised. On a recent Tuesday, the menu stated falafel as the vegan selection, but my son reported he was offered a vegan very hot puppy. He opted for the sunflower butter sandwich. “I in no way try to eat the vegan very hot canines since they glimpse precisely the identical as the meat hot canines,” he claimed, introducing that maybe “they didn’t hear me and gave me the meat very hot pet.”

It’s a legit worry in a loud cafeteria the place every person is wearing a mask. When I asked McLucas about the vegan incredibly hot canines, she verified that no these kinds of item was staying served, indicating the warm puppy my son was offered was not vegan. McLucas attributed the mix-up to a substitute on responsibility that working day together with the kitchen area supervisor becoming out, evidence of the department’s ongoing staffing challenges.

The reinstatement of the vegan lunches comes as the Portland schools are struggling with a severe staffing shortage and as federal funding for universal cost-free lunch has enhanced the in general range of lunches the faculty is serving.

The Portland meals support division, which operates a central kitchen off of Riverside Road and staffs 16 school cafeterias, is brief on team in all places. McLucas, alternatively of tending to administrative duties (including tracking down and filing free and lessened value lunch types, which the federal governing administration continue to requires regardless of the common cost-free lunch funding) is paying her times serving foods in the cafeterias. When I asked her how lots of extra lunches the educational institutions are serving this 12 months than previously, she replied it’s a good deal but she didn’t but have the figures. It’s “one of those items on my to-do checklist,” she additional. A record that grows lengthier by the day.

Regardless of staff members shortages, McLucas mentioned her crew in the central kitchen proceeds to refine the vegan sizzling lunch menus. “They’ve been experimenting with meat substitute style of items to produce seasoned vegan taco meat,” she mentioned. “They’re creating it in-household, seasoning the tofu or beans so they can mimic more of that taco variety filling.”

The vegan lunches haven’t added to the district’s fees, McLucas stated, in element due to the fact the vegan lunches count on cost-effective elements these as beans and rice, and also the central kitchen area will make as much from scratch as feasible.

“Dr. Praeger’s is a little on the dear aspect, but we do Ok just serving that the moment a week,” McLucas explained. “We’re obtaining the falafel in bulk.”

On best of staying quick staffed, McLucas and her team have struggled to acquire provides, as the district is, like everyone else, plagued by supply-chain shortages. It will help that her group purchases a good deal of Maine-developed make in year, McLucas claimed, processes it and freezes it for later use – handmade tomato sauce, for occasion.

That pleases Burk. He prefers that Portland colleges not count on the U.S. Office of Agriculture’s commodities system, which he explained “makes the marketplace for foods that schools order weighed intensely in favor of meat” and “large-scale industrial farming.”

“How to go commodities to aid scaled-down, neighborhood farms is the top nut to crack possibly when it comes to faculty food,” he stated.

Until then, the Portland Public Educational facilities have develop into a chief in the movement to slice govt expenses on industrial, animal-primarily based meals, and its involved greenhouse gasses, by embracing vegan menu things.

Avery Yale Kamila is a food stuff author who life in Portland. She can be arrived at at [email protected]
Twitter: AveryYaleKamila


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Greenwich’s Eagle Hill School announces new leader in educating students with learning differences

Greenwich’s Eagle Hill School announces new leader in educating students with learning differences

GREENWICH — A Greenwich native has been hired as the new head of school at Eagle Hill School, a private school in town that specializes in educating children with learning differences.

The Board of Trustees made the announcement Thursday that Gretchen Larkin will be the fifth permanent head of school. Larkin will succeed Interim Head of School Jim Heus on July 1, 2023.

The announcement came after an extensive search that involved reviewing many highly qualified candidates from schools throughout the United States in partnership with search consultants at RG175, Eagle Hill said in a statement.

“While visiting our campus, Gretchen demonstrated that she is a dynamic and engaging leader,” said Patty Murphy, chair of Eagle Hill’s Board of Trustees. “Her personal and professional experiences, as well as the time spent with members of our community, confirm her passion for the mission of Eagle Hill School. The Board is looking forward to working with Gretchen to build on Eagle Hill’s reputation as a national leader in LD education.”

Larkin, a graduate of Greenwich Academy, said she is excited to return to her hometown with her husband, Bill, a native of Darien.

“I cannot remember a time that I have been as excited as I am at this moment — being named Eagle Hill School’s fifth head of school is a dream come true,” she said in a statement. “The future is bright for this amazing school that quite literally transforms the lives of children and their families.”

She will begin in the job in July 2023, and in a statement, Eagle Hill said, “a long lead time for leadership change at independent schools is becoming more common.”


“Given the issues schools are facing with COVID, having a full school year to transition allows both schools to prepare their constituents and plan accordingly for the change, resulting in a smooth transition from one institution to another,” the statement said.

Larkin is now in her eighth year of serving as the head of school at Charles River School, a PK-8 school in Dover, Mass. As the leader there, she created a new multi-age model for delivering early childhood education, oversaw a comprehensive strategic plan, increased enrollment, reduced attrition and led a record-breaking capital campaign, according to the statement from Eagle Hill.

Before that, Larkin served in a variety of roles at independent schools in greater Boston, as well as teaching positions at Brunswick School in Greenwich and Windward School in White Plains, N.Y. At the beginning of her teaching career, Larkin served as a second-grade co-teacher at Brunswick as part of her graduate school field work in 1998.

Why NC State is a leader in online learning :: WRAL.com

Why NC State is a leader in online learning :: WRAL.com

This article was written for our sponsor, NC State Online.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated periods of social distancing and isolation, remote learning went from an exception to a norm. While many schools, universities and colleges were experimenting with online learning for the first time, at North Carolina State University, online learning has been around for decades.

In fact, the university even offered correspondence courses for years before there was an internet, mailing students VHS tapes, then later CDs and DVDs of instructional material. Students would watch or review that content and mail their assignments to their instructors. Today, N.C. State’s online graduate programs and certificates prepare students for in-demand jobs and career advancement.

N.C. State’s DELTA, or Digital Education and Learning Technology Applications, started in the year 2000 and aimed to support teaching and learning with technology both on and off campus. Now, two decades later, DELTA is still going strong — and N.C. State’s online programs are benefiting greatly from the wide variety of available services including course development and faculty support.

Michael Kanters, a professor in the university’s College of Natural Resources, has been a long-time advocate of online programs, and even serves as a coordinator for two fully online graduate programs.

“I’ve been a college professor for 35 years, so I’m always looking for creative ways to keep students and myself engaged, because the two go hand-in-hand. I’ve always been intrigued by the online environment, and I’m constantly looking for ways that technology could be integrated into my teaching, both as an opportunity to capitalize on my own interest, as well as to reach a broader audience for courses,” said Kanters. “There’s no perfect methodology for teaching out there, but I believe that online learning can cater to a wider array of people. It makes the courses more accessible, it accommodates a wider range of learning styles and it allows for flexibility for both the students and myself.”

In order to provide robust and refined online programs, N.C. State faculty members put in the time and effort to become experts in teaching with technology through attending workshops and conferences of all types.

By leveraging available resources and technologies, N.C. State is taking online learning to the next level — which proved to be an asset of distinction.

“We at N.C. State really are leaders in online education in the nation, and I think that’s a testament to the university’s dedication to prioritizing online learning, and pushing the envelope all the time as far as new technologies and techniques,” said Kanters. “The online world is an environment that is always moving and always changing. N.C. State has outstanding professionals that have a passion for not only bringing innovation to online learning and technologies, but also for sustaining the university.”

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While Kanters has been accustomed to quality online learning, the shift to emergency remote teaching and learning has meant that every faculty member has been exposed not only to multiple learning technologies, but to new pedagogical approaches and the awareness that online education, when intentionally designed, can help students by supporting a more flexible approach to student learning.

Faculty who may not have thought about online learning before can now see the potential to reach more students by offering online sections of their courses — and N.C. State and DELTA are the model to follow.

“With the experiences we’ve had, not only during the pandemic but because we have a long history of offering outstanding online courses, N.C. State is in an excellent position to consider how we continue to offer a range of course types to students that match their needs, whether that is in-person, online or some blend of the two,” said Donna Petherbridge, interim vice provost for DELTA.

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“Moving forward, the key to our success will be to keep the student experience as our front-and-center touchstone, ensuring we are delivering courses via innovative technologies and pedagogical practices, and paying close attention to other support services that students may need to be successful.”

“Having come through the pandemic has really highlighted what people can do and how students can learn online — it’s one of the silver linings of the pandemic, because it’s brought some attention to online learning,” added Kanters. “But there are still people out there who may be afraid of it and students that don’t think that they can learn effectively in this environment.”

“If those courses are structured well, I truly believe there isn’t a course out there that can’t be taught effectively in this medium.”

This article was written for our sponsor, NC State Online.