Julie Dingle Swanson, Ed.D., is Principal Investigator of the Talent Development Academy Project. As principal investigator for Project Talentum Academe, Swanson oversees implementation of various curriculum and teacher development work, program evaluation, and dissemination for the grant. She works closely with the TDA staff, CCSD partners, College of Charleston faculty partners, TDA schools and the Talent Development Academy Advisory Board to move towards the goal of creating Talent Development Academies in Title I schools based in the Charleston area.

 Swanson, a professor in the Teacher Education Department at the College of Charleston, directs the Gifted and Talented Education Certificate Program, and teaches graduate courses in gifted education.  She is active in gifted education leadership at state and national levels, serving as past president of the SC Consortium for Gifted Education and as a National Advisory Board member of the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary. Swanson’s publications appear in Journal for the Education of the Gifted, Gifted Child Quarterly, Journal for the Education of Students Placed at Risk, and Roeper Review. Swanson’s work and research focus on underrepresented gifted learners, gifted education policy, and teacher development in gifted education. During Swanson’s career in education, she has taught in and coordinated K – 12 gifted programs, and has directed federal demonstration projects focused on gifted students in high poverty schools. She has written and received approximately $4 million in state and federal grants impacting gifted students and teachers.

Lara Walker Kessler, Ph.D., Teacher in Residence, is a CCSD Gifted and Talented Lead Teacher,  and serves as the TDA’s Teacher in Residence. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English (Guilford College), a master’s degree in secondary education with a concentration in English Education (George Washington University), and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction (University of Virginia).  Kessler is an adjunct instructor in the Teacher Education Department at the College of Charleston. During her career, Kessler has taught elementary, middle, and high school Title I gifted children, 6^th – 12^th graders  English, and K-5^th grade and college-level ESL.  Lara served as a Peace Corps Volunteer (Hungary and China). Her professional interests include developing the talents of promising learners from poverty via targeted teacher PD and coaching, teacher development in gifted education, and curriculum and instruction for underrepresented gifted learners.

As the Talent Development Academy’s Teacher in Residence, Kessler works in conjunction with the Talent Development Coordinator to plan, coordinate, and implement the TDA’s teacher development initiatives and leads small-group and individualized teacher PD with a focus in English Language Arts curriculum. 

Lindsey Blackmon, Teacher in Residence, attended Francis Marion University on an athletic scholarship earning a BS in Elementary Education. She earned her endorsement in Gifted and Talented Education through Converse College. She has taught grades 2-6. Lindsey has served as a GATE teacher in Dorchester School District 2 and, most recently as an itinerant SAIL teacher in rural, Title I schools in Charleston County. Her experience in teaching in gifted and talented programs and her commitment to and passion for teaching students from low income and culturally diverse backgrounds led to Lindsey’s selection as teacher in residence for Talent Development Academies project.

Lindsey’s professional interests include supporting the development of positive school culture within Title 1 schools and ensuring that teachers are knowledgeable in the philosophies and strategies used to seek the gifts and talents of all students, especially those in low socioeconomic and underrepresented groups.

 

Barbara Rabon, Ph. D., CCSD Partner, Project Advisory Committee Member,  is CCSD’s Gifted & Talented, Magnet/Choice Coordinator. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education (Stetson University), a Masters in Educational Administration and Superintendency Specialist degree (The Citadel) and a doctorate in Educational Administration (University of SC at Columbia). During her career Barbara taught elementary school in FL, NC and SC. She has served as Title I Instructional Coach and Assistant Principal. Her professional passions include increasing underserved populations in Gifted and Talented and Magnet/Choice programs, coaching teachers in rigorous teaching strategies, and disseminating cutting edge technology and educational best practices in CCSD classrooms.

Barbara works as a TDA partner, coordinating the district’s in-kind contributions of CCSD staff in the teacher development activities and serving as liaison with the district.  She contributes her expertise in the overall teacher development for TDA.  

 

Karen Reed, M. Ed., Math Strand Co-Leader and Coach, Project Advisory Committee member, earned degrees from The University of South Carolina in music and education, with a master’s in early childhood education. Serving as lead CCSD GT teacher, she is gifted endorsed and has taught grades K-5.  She works often with gifted students in 3^rd-5^th grade in CCSD Title One schools.  Currently she trains, mentors and observes the CCSD GT elementary teachers as well as training other teachers throughout the district in strategies and curriculum.  Further, Reed conducts the professional development for GT and elementary math teachers teaching M² and M³ in CCSD and nationally as a training consultant.  Reed worked with the University of Connecticut’s field-testing of Project M² from 2008 – 2011.

In the TDA Project, Reed is involved in teacher development and coaching for Math in grades 3-5 with the M³ Mentoring Mathematical Minds curriculum units.  Professionally her passion is using highly effective teaching strategies and curriculum with all students (especially those in Title One schools) and raising students’ ability to think independently and question answers, not just answer questions.

 Heather Grant, Math Strand Co-Leader and Coach, Project Advisory Committee Member, holds degrees from High Point University in early childhood education.  She has South Carolina’s gifted endorsement and is National Board certified in early childhood.   As a teacher she has taught Kindergarten & 1^st grade.  She has worked with the University of Connecticut on the field testing of Project M²: Mentoring Young Mathematicians.  She field tested the curriculum in her Kindergarten class at AC Corcoran.  While at AC Corcoran she received an Early Childhood Literacy Teacher of Excellence Award from Charleston County School District.  She has been working in Charleston County since 2007 and is currently the Gifted and Talented Early Childhood Lead Teacher.  She primarily works with Title One schools specifically on talk moves and M² along with training, observing and supporting teachers.  Heather is involved in teacher development and coaching for Math in grades K-2 with the M² curriculum units.

Meta Van Sickle, Ph.D., Faculty Partner,  is a Professor in the Teacher Education Department at the College of Charleston.  A teacher with over 20 years experience, Van Sickle earned her Ph.D. in Science Education at the University of South Florida.  She has several research interests, most prominently studying the ethics of care in science education and science for all, including the linguistically/culturally diverse. Her interests include the study of race, class and gender, especially as related to policy and practice in current schooling. She has spent twenty years working in the region’s underperforming schools in grant-funded activity.  Her role in this project includes planning and conducting teacher development related to science education and social and ethnic influences on teaching and learning as well as participation in data analysis and dissemination.

Anne Gutshall, Ph. D., Faculty Partner, is Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Teacher Education Department at the College of Charleston. She earned her Ph.D from University of South Carolina, and she is a school psychologist and licensed psycho-educational specialist with 13 years of experience working in public schools. Anne worked with students with emotional and behavioral problems, mental retardation, autism and learning disabilities.  She provided comprehensive psychological assessments, individual and family counseling, and school based intervention services

Her role in TDA includes planning and conducting teacher development related to mindset, motivation, and learning principles as well as participation in data analysis and dissemination. Her participation provides a balance in the cognitive, academic emphasis and the non-cognitive considerations that are essential in influencing teacher behaviors and creating teacher change. She will work with the participating schools to inform parents about the different ways for them to be more involved in the changes taking place in the student’s education and learning environment. Her interests include exploring the personal qualities of effective teachers and research that seeks to measure teachers’ beliefs regarding the malleabiilty/stability of intelligence and the implications of these beliefs on students in the classroom.

Laura Brock, Ph.D, Project Evaluator, serves as the external evaluator for the Talent Development Academy Project.  In that role, she works with Swanson to plan and coordinate data collection and analysis to determine the impact of the TDA project relative to the goals of the project.

Brock, an Associate Professor in the Teacher Education Department at the College of Charleston, has a doctorate in Educational Psychology and Applied Developmental Science from the University of Virginia. Her research interests have in common her desire to understand children’s development in context of a child x environment model. She has published research on such relevant areas as 1) the relation between teacher’s emotional consistency and children’s classroom performance; 2) visuo-spatial and executive function skills and children’s adjustment to the early years of school; and 3) the impact of socio-emotional intervention on long-term development for children at socio-demographic risk for school failure.