ElizabethRitz

Hello Everyone! I am excited to meet you all and continue on the doctoral journey this summer with new colleagues.

My undergraduate degree was obtained at Kent State in Elementary Education...a "few" years ago! I worked as a first grade teacher for 13 years in an inner-ring suburb of Cleveland in Northeastern Ohio. Before getting married and honeymooning in Italy I completed my Masters Degree in Reading at Baldwin-Wallace College which further enriched my literacy knowledge. Although I thoroughly relished in the joys and challenges of educating emerging learners my career was derailed by the birth of my twin daughters. After agonizing over whether to continue in the professional capacity or to be a professional mom I ultimately decided to stay at home with my children. I did this exclusively for two years until I began a tutoring business out of my home for struggling readers. This opportunity enabled me to work with students one-to-one and in small groups to support and reinforce parental and classroom teacher efforts. I found this to be incredibly rewarding as I was able to affect and monitor student progress more efficiently than when I had the responsibility of an entire classroom of students.

When my daughters were in the third grade I began teaching literacy and early childhood courses part-time at Baldwin-Wallace for the Division of Education. Eventually supervising student teachers in the field became part of my assignment which allowed me the opportunity to provide mentoring and support for pre-service teachers. This experience made me realize that I might have a place in higher education on a more full-time basis.

With the help and support of mentors, family, and friends, I gathered the courage to enroll in the doc program here at Kent. I am in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Literacy and the time spent here has renewed my passion for learning and teaching. For the first year I had a graduate assistantship, but this past year was fortunate to have a teaching fellowship which allowed me to participate in the pre-service teaching program at Kent as an instructor. My interests are family literacy, comprehension, teacher education, home-school collaborations, and critical thinking development. My line of inquiry involves families and their influence on thier children's ability to comprehend successfully. I have been blessed with fabulous mentors and critical colleagues who have supported me during this wonderfully exciting and challenging experience.

I am anxious to complete this process and get back to work with a real teaching position in the near future. If travel were part of that picture I would be most pleased. :) I look forward to a productive summer and to the next phase of the journey with you all.