Rebecca Nagle receives the Jennings Family Scholarship
From Newport News, Virginia, Rebecca received her BA in Early Childhood Education at the University of Akron. She is now pursuing a master’s degree and looks forward to being a reading specialist in Newport News helping to coach educators as they continue their growth as reading teachers.
For the past seven years, she has been teaching in Newport News Public Schools. She began her teaching career as a third grade teacher and immediately knew reading needed to be her focus. She worked closely with a reading specialist to plan and implement lessons to build students’ reading knowledge. “I focused much of my day in teaching strategies to build their comprehension,” she said. “After a few years, I realized I was good at teaching students the process of learning to read, so I moved to first grade, where students learn how to decode and master the process of reading words. I am now a reading interventionist and am able to work with students who need extra support in reading throughout the day. Over the last seven years, I have learned that students need to learn about a book as a whole, and it cannot just be divided up into separate strategies. I am looking forward to working with other teachers to help them plan and implement their reading plans as I did as a novice teacher.”
Rebecca is grateful for this scholarship, which helps her continue her education at William and Mary. “This scholarship will help ensure that I am able to learn about the most current coaching and reading strategies, which will in turn allow me to move forward with my career as a reading specialist,” she said.
