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Educational LeadershipWilkes University

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Student HighlightDan Longyhore

Dr. Dan Longyhore is a member of the Wilkes Ed.D. in Educational Leadership’s newest cohort and the first student to be highlighted in our newsletter. Dr. Longyhore has been on the Wilkes University campus in some capacity since 1996 when he entered into the pharmacy program for his first doctorate. After graduating in 2002, he worked as a pharmacist for two years before joining the Wilkes University faculty as an Assistant Professor in the Nesbitt

School of Pharmacy. When he is not teaching, you can find him in the Wilkes University Pharmacy Care Lab coordinating student simulations. During these lab sessions, he sets up actual problem situations that a pharmacist may encounter in the field. “I need the students to be able to successfully focus on a specific

“ I knew how to be a pharmacist well, but had never learned anything

about teaching, yet I was doing it every day. It was then

that I decided that a Masters in education was something that I

should pursue.”

“ I need the students to be able to successfully focus on a specific skill set and

then give them 7 minutes to recognize the problem, ask the

correct questions, and finally rectify the problem.

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Dr. Longyhore lives in the Allentown/Bethlehem area with his wife of 10

years, Leslie. They grew up only 90 miles from one another, but did not meet until they both traveled to South Carolina for their post-graduate work. They have three children together, Chris, 6, Allie, 4, and Nat, 2 (pronounced like Nat King Cole, but refers to himself as “Nate Dog”). When asked

how he manages all the stresses of work, home, and student life

Dr. Longyhore said, “House projects calm me down.

Over the summer I built a deck and landscaped my yard, and I will soon start painting the inside walls of my house.” He said that

his greatest strength as a leader is being a good

craftsman. “I could never be the President of the United

States, but I would make a great Chief of Staff.” Lastly, if he could be a

television character from any show it would be the eleventh generation of Doctor Who because “bow ties are cool.” This pick seems fitting because while bow ties are very cool, Dan knows a lot about being a Doctor. In the near future he may be the very first person to have graduated with two terminal degrees from Wilkes. We may soon be calling him Dr. Dr. Longyhore.

Ed.D.

skill set and then give them 7 minutes to recognize the problem, ask the correct questions, and finally rectify the problem.”

After working on the faculty for about 10 years Dan came to a realization, “I knew how to be a pharmacist

well, but had never learned anything about teaching, yet I was doing it every day. It was then that I decided that a Masters in education was something that I should pursue.” Dr. Longyhore felt as if he was a good teacher, but there was a great deal about academic theory that he was hungry to learn. After graduating with his Master of Science from Wilkes, he still felt as though he had even more to learn about education. “When I finished I realized that I had a solid foundation for education, but I wanted to learn how to properly research. Most pharmacists who teach do not have any formal teaching background. I knew that by going back to school for my Doctorate in Educational Leadership that I could have a hand in changing the face of the future of Pharmacy Education from the ground up. I could help to create the first solid curriculum dedicated to Pharmacy.”

In addition to teaching, creating simulations, and being a perpetual Wilkes University student, Dr. Longyhore

also works with his current and post graduate students in the field, teaching them how to be teachers, and runs an outpatient consult clinic in a local doctor’s office. As a pharmacist consultant, he works with patients who are having difficulties with their medication, to find a solution to the problem.

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B.S. University of ScrantonM.S. University of ScrantonPh.D. Marywood University

Dr. Paul Reinert is the newest addition to the Ed.D. faculty, and has been in immediate high demand as a qualitative expert. Dr. Reinert is local to the area, and

attained his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Scranton. When he began undergraduate studies, he was a medical technology major and had the intention of one day attending medical school. Being a young man with a passion for sports and music, this major changed when he realized the creative scope and flexibility that teaching offered – so he changed his major to Education with an emphasis on science. Before graduating, he received an emergency certification and was teaching physical science at Western Wayne High School bypassing the typical step of student teaching. His next venture was working as a teacher at Lake Lehman Junior High. At 22, this was his dream job. “I had everything that I ever wanted. I was teaching, had summers off to play music, and I was coaching wrestling and track at Lake Lehman, and cross country at Kings College. Then I met my wife and everything changed.”

Dr. Reinert met Kimberly in February of 1987, and they were engaged soon after. It was not

long after that, their first child, Virginia, was born. His attitude toward teaching took a drastic turn. “I never wanted to be a super teacher, but all of a

Faculty HighlightDr. Paul Reinert

I had everything that I ever wanted. I was teaching, had summers off to play

music, and I was coaching wrestling and track at Lake

Lehman, and cross country at Kings College. Then I

met my wife and everything changed.”

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“There is no competition between us. We recognize one another’s strengths and complement one another nicely, making beautiful music together.”.

sudden Virginia was born, and I was standing in front of my class thinking all of these kids are someone else’s babies. This is a really important job!” Dr. Reinert then decided to pursue his Master’s Degree.

He attended the University of Scranton again, this time concentrating on school counseling, and was working as a guidance counselor by 1997 for

Lake Lehman. Soon after he was enrolled at Marywood University to earn his Ph.D. in Human Development with Specialization in Education Administration. His dissertation was a qualitative case study of an alternative school, in which he explored the culture of an alternative approach to public schooling.

One of Dr. Reinert’s greatest accomplishments as an educator came when he was working as the Principal of Wycallis Elementary School in the

Dallas School District in 2013 and the school was presented the Blue Ribbon Award for sustained high performance. This is one of the most prestigious awards that a school can receive, and Dr. Reinert is nothing but humble while giving all the credit to the teachers at his school. “The only credit that I will take for this award was recognizing the best teachers to hire while I was acting as Assistant Superintendent from 2007 through 2011.” He even advocated that all the teachers would be allowed to attend the ceremony in Washington DC, to receive the award as a team.

When Dr. Reinert is not teaching, you can find him playing in the band “Just Us”, of which he has been a member for the last 37 years, playing

the guitar and singing. He also enjoys spending time with his wife, Kimberly, and their 3 children Virginia, Jake, and Samuel. Dr. Reinert is loving being a member of the Wilkes University Ed.D. team. Keeping in line with his love for music, he compares his relationship with the other faculty like being in a band, “There is no competition between us. We recognize one another’s strengths and complement one another nicely, making beautiful music together.” As the Wilkes community gets to know him, this is not surprising and he has seamlessly fit in to the Ed.D. family. Welcome to the team, Dr. Reinert!

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Alumni HighlightTy Frederickson2016

Dr. Ty Frederickson is a 2016 graduate of the Wilkes University Ed.D. program, and this semester joined the doctoral faculty team as a full-time visiting instructor. In addition

to his doctoral degree, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in education, as well as a Master of Arts degree in literature. Wilkes University recently had the honor of having Dr. Frederickson as the

commencement speaker at graduation, where he spoke about the importance of international education. International education is something that Dr. Frederickson knows much about, as he spent 20 years traveling and working in education abroad. He started in Bangkok where he worked as a teacher, and then moved to Oman where he became a counselor in global admissions, and eventually a teacher.

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“I knewthat I had to try to intervene prior to them being trafficked. I had to

help give them the tools to ensure that students had confidence,

otherwise they would be vulnerable to trafficking.”

While working in Oman, Dr. Frederickson was shocked to learn of severity of the human trafficking crisis. He was compelled to get involved and try to make a difference. After some

initial research, he found that most of the people involved in human trafficking were often migrant workers. After more investigation, Dr. Frederickson discovered that they mostly came from the same area of Bangladesh. “I decided to go there, and what I found was startling. I discovered that they were vulnerable because they had no access to education. Only 1 out of 100 could read or write.” This lack of access to education primarily was because there was no public schooling. All schools required citizens to pay tuition, and the people of this city simply could not afford to pay.

Dr. Frederickson sought international support to fund education through college for 40-50 students. Next, he began a livestock distribution program. He arranged for individuals to be

given 50 goats a year to use as a source of financial leverage, with the livestock serving as capital for the townspeople. Lastly, Dr. Frederickson decided to focus on due diligence. “I knew that I had to try to intervene prior to them being trafficked. I had to help give them the tools to ensure that students had confidence, otherwise they would be vulnerable to trafficking.” Dr. Frederickson helped establish a system where women in this town could receive micro financing interest free loans, tracked the program both multi-internationally, as well as person to person.

Dr. Frederickson currently lives in Kansas City with his wife of 17 years Marcie, who is a fellow international educator. They have two children, Giles, 12, and Grady, 6. When Dr. Frederickson is

not teaching, he is working with his wife on their nonprofit organization “Students Against Prejudice”, where he encourages students to “find their own Bangladesh.” He is a firm believer that education is ever evolving, and that one’s comfort zone should be a place of risk. When asked about his leadership strengths he humbly said, “I am willing to take and acknowledge that I do not, and cannot know all”.

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Successful Dissertation Defenses

Dr. Nadia Sheikh:

Boy’s Perceptions of Their Attachment

Experiences and the Push-Pull Model in an International Baccalaureate World School in the Middle East

Dr. Meredith Harbord:

An Examination of a Design Curriculum

and the Teaching of Ethics

Dr. Crystal Mahler:

Secondary Education Teacher Perceptions

of Students with Autism in the Regular Education Classroom

Dr. Allison Yourechko:

The Effect of Twitter on Secondary

Student Engagement and Academic Performance

Dr. Christine Mellon:

Factors that Lead to School Referendum

Passage

Dr. Ty Frederickson:

A Qualitative Case-Study of Student

Leadership Identity Acquisition in a Social Justice Oriented Student-Leadership Program

Dr. Robert Makaravage:

Data-driven Decision Making: School

Leadership and Its Relationship to School Performance Profile Scores

Dr. Colleen Duffy:

The Impact of Flipped Learning on Student

Achievement in an Eighth Grade Earth Science Classroom

Dr. Jillian Mullen:

A Comparative Analysis of

Nontraditional Students’ Perceptions of Mattering in Small Private Catholic Four-Year Academic Institutions

Dr. Lesley Corey:

A Case Study of iPad Implementation in

One Rural Elementary School

Dr. Diana Keosayian:

Factors the Affect the Development of

Statistical Literacy in Undergraduate College Students

Dr. Michelle Minotti:

Meeting in the Middle: Parent

University’s Influence on Parent Partnerships in Middle School

Dr. Matthew Scarcella:

The Social and Academic Experiences

of First-Generation College Student-Athletes at a Division III Post-Secondary Institution in Pennsylvania

Dr. George Miletti:

Cumulative Tests and their

Relationship with Academic Outcomes on External Exams

Dr. Rose Minitti:

A Quantitative Study Comparing

Teachers’ and Principals’ Perceptions of the Essential Attributes of Professional Learning Communities

Dr. Mona Nashman Smith:

A Phenomenological Case Study of the

Elementary to Secondary Transition for One Female Diagnosed with Selective Mutism

Dr. Bina Phillip:

Mathematics and Cumulative Tests

in Middle School

Dr. Michael Berry:

The Effect of the Mathletics.com

Technology on Basic Multiplication Fact Fluency

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On November 9th, at the 3rd Annual Celebration of Education, Dr. Jillian Mullen and Dr. Dawn

Sutton were awarded The Diane Place Distinguished Doctoral Graduate and Dissertation Award.

The intent of this award is to honor a doctoral graduate who exemplifies the characteristics

inspired by Diane Place, a 2014 Doctor of Education graduate of the Wilkes University Educational

Leadership program. The Criteria for outstanding graduate include:

PERSEVERANCE in completing the doctoral study;

COMMITMENT to lifelong learning;

RESILIENCE in the face of adversity;

STRENGTH OF CHARACTER to advance In life through education;

COLLEGIALITY with peers;

LEADERSHIP in education;

EXCELLENCE in academic standing.

The Criteria for outstanding dissertation: PASSES final defense with MINIMAL REVISIONS;

SUBSTANTIALLY CONTRIBUTES to educational leadership and to existing research; EXEMPLIFIES

RIGOR OVERALL: well founded research problem, rigorous research design, and findings that

make a contribution to the field.

Diane Place Dissertation AwardCongratulations Dr. Mullen and Dr. Sutton!

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Dr. Jin Joy Mao

• The funded NSF project focusing on undergraduate STEM education and open

educational resources in collaboration with James Madison University and Northern Virginia Community

College-NOVA • A planned research study on preservice teachers’

social and emotional learning in collaboration with faculty colleagues

• Panel session titled “Changing the Speed: Reflection and Mindfulness in Higher Education”

• Recent presentations at the Association for Educational Communications Technology 2016 International

Convention with Dr. Katie Leach and Dr. Deana Patson: The Effect of Growth Mindset on the Persistence of

Gifted Students when facing challenges in online educational gameplay and K-12 Teacher Perceptions

and Technology Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) in a Blended Learning Environment

Dr. Kurt Eisele

Manuscripts in progress:

• Posttraumatic stress and the

association with brain injury

• MBA to Superintendent versus

the Educational Route

FacultyResearch Report

Dr. Cooper

• Collaborating with Dr. Katie Leach on publishing work regarding growth mindset and

educating gifted learners.• Presented at the Northeastern Educational Research

Association (NERA) conference in Trumbull, CT on “Impact of a discipline model on teacher efficacy and burnout: Perspectives

for elementary teachers in Michigan”• Presented at the 20th Annual CSLEE Values and Leadership

Conference Rock Ethics Institute in 2015 on “Ethics in distribution of resources: How can we best serve as educational leaders” based

on the incidental findings of Dr. Cooper’s dissertation study• Co-presented with Dr. Rabbitt in Panama on the topic of “Getting

Creative: Ways to motivate elementary students to write creatively” at the Feria Internacional del Libro de Panamá• Other Presentations include: “Let’s Talk: Practical Tips

for Effective Family Conferences” and “Praise vs. Encouragement: What is the Difference and What is

More Motivating?” for early childhood educators

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Dr. Reinert

• Currently researching

multi-tiered systems of

support for academics and social-

emotional development, with a focus

on the evaluation of system wide

implementation of skills training for

emotional problem solving

FacultyResearch Report(cont.)

Dr. Karim Letwinsky

• International STEM initiative in K-12 mathematics in partnership with the Office of Overseas

Schools.

Recent Presentations: • The Central and Eastern European Schools Association

Assessment Summit in Bucharest, Romania. • The Association of International Schools in Africa STEM Institute in Lagos Nigeria. • The East Asia Regional Council of Schools Educator’s Conference in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. • The American Educational Research Association paper

presentation, Washington, DC & San Antonio, Texas.

Recent Publications: • Examining the Relationship between Secondary Mathematics

Teachers’ Self-efficacy, Attitudes, and Use of Technology to Support Communication and Mathematics Literacy • A Comparison of Student

Application of Mathematical Practices in Traditional Versus Project-Based Classrooms • Beyond reflection: Using word clouds to

support metacognitive processes in preservice teacher mathematics education • Shifting Preservice

Teachers Beliefs and Understandings to Support the Core Standards for

Mathematics

Dr. Mackesy

• Mediterranean Association of

International Schools (MAIS) presentation

on facilitating “Conditions for Success: Using

Psychological Factors to Promote Resilience, Grit,

and Achievement”

• National Academic Advising Association (NACADA)

Mid Atlantic Region presentation on: “Fostering Grit and

Resiliency Through Academic Advising”

• Published “Global Educational Leadership:

Celebrating Diversity and Embracing Inclusion”

in the Fall 2016 edition of InterEd journal,

sponsored by the Association for the

Advancement in International

Education.

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This was one of the greatest experiences of my life

- Kaitlin Besko

I have never experienced such support as I do in the Wilkes Ed.D. program.- Meghan Buckley

I thought that I was close to my cohort before this residency, but now I feel so much closer to them. They are by far the great-est support group that one can ask for.- Meghan Buckley

Next Residency-President’s Day

Weekend 2017

August marked the month that students from various

cohorts gathered on the Wilkes campus to spend four

intensive days together for the biannual Professional

Seminar in Educational Leadership. Among the many

leadership topics discussed at Summer Residency 2016,

students had the privilege of participating in an Interna-

tional Education Seminar, engaging in a poverty simu-

lation, and attending roundtable research discussions

with recent Wilkes University graduates of the Ed.D. pro-

gram. The Residency was diverse in that the incoming

cohort participated in an initial leadership and research

seminar, while the returning students had opportunities

to meet with their advisors and engage in critical con-

versations about their emerging dissertations. “This was

one of the greatest experiences of my life” said Kait-

lin Besko, a second year student. “I have never experi-

enced such support as I do in the Wilkes Ed.D. program.”

Meghan Buckley also gave the experience a shining re-

view, “I thought that I was close to my cohort before this

residency, but now I feel so much closer to them. They

are by far the greatest support group that one can ask

for.” If you have not yet had the privilege of taking ED 615

Professional Seminar in Educational Leadership, it will

be running again in February, 2017 over Presidents Day

Weekend. Hope to see you there!

Ed.D. ResidencyAugust 2016

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In November, Dean Rabbitt, Provost Skleder, and Dr. Letwinsky traveled to Muscat, Oman to celebrate the completion of the Ed.D.’s first ever international cohort. Six years ago, fourteen teachers and school leaders in Oman began the Doctor of Education program as a cohort. Earning a doctorate is an endeavor many begin but few complete, as evidenced by the larger number of students who are “ABD” (all but dissertation) rather than “Ed.D.” We are proud to share that this pioneering group has completed 100% of their coursework without one person leaving the program. Impressively, 90% of these emerging scholars have completed their research, with 60% having already defended their dissertation and the remaining 40% scheduled to defend in the coming months.

AT Wilkes University, we are fortunate to work with many ambitious students who are eager to attain their Ed.D. This group, however, collectively exemplifies what it takes to be successful in this pursuit.

Dream big. As teachers and educational leaders, we believe that education can change the world. And yet, somewhere along the way, many of us stop believing in this dream. The Oman Cohort never once lost sight of their dream to learn together and to collectively have an impact that will, in fact, influence the world. Through their research, new insights have emerged in areas such as design curriculum, student transitions, educational technology, and social justice. The studies

completed by this cohort inform educational topics of interest to all educators and leaders, no matter where they live.

Work hard. There is no greater investment we can make in ourselves or in our world than the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Persistence through the rigor and research of doctoral studies is a monumental challenge that forces us to redefine our limits—and then exceed them. The hard work put forth by this cohort bound them together and also bridged the distance between them and their faculty mentors half way around the world.

Stay together. The Wilkes values of community, diversity, mentorship, innovation, and scholarship came to life in the new community formed between this cohort and Wilkes professors. Learning together online and face-to-face in both Muscat and Wilkes Barre, alongside faculty who willfully choose to believe in big dreams, proved to be the recipe for success.

These new doctors and soon-to-be “Doctors” are an inspiration to us and we are confident that every Wilkes Ed.D. student, like the Oman cohort, will in fact change the world. Congratulations to the Oman cohort – you did it!

Ed.D. PassportInternational Update

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Chair’smessage

It is my pleasure to share with you the first ever Ed.D. newsletter. Since assuming the role of chair at the start of the year, I am reminded daily of all that we have to be thankful for and to celebrate as a doctoral learning community.

The year has brought exciting new beginnings as we welcomed a tremendously diverse and ambitious cohort in Fall 2016, who experienced residency with us for the first time. It was also a year of rewarding conclusions and accomplishments as we celebrated the collective completion of our first international Ed.D. cohort in Oman. It is a privilege to work with the Wilkes doctoral faculty who so passionately understand the critical nature of educational leadership and work tirelessly to provide the structure, strategies, and supports to our students in the transformational journey we take together. The culture that we strive to cultivate in our purposeful learning community provides a strong foundation in which we root our shared norms, aspirational beliefs, and common educational values.

As we continue to create opportunities for reflective practice in our program, the Wilkes Ed.D. Community increasingly demonstrates a cultural and global awareness with a deep desire to become future leaders who have the knowledge and the capacity to face the challenges in our interdependent world. I hope you continue to find opportunities to immerse yourselves in this powerful, international-minded, learning community so that together we can bring about meaningful transformation to ourselves, our organizational systems, and our interconnected world. Senge defined a learning organization as one in which “people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together.” With this in mind, I hope you enjoy reading about all of the goodness that exists within our Wilkes Ed.D. community, where we collaborate as colleagues to address the challenges and opportunities inherent in education.

I look forward to joining you in the New Year as you expand your leadership capacity in ways you truly desire,augment and affirm your journey, and continue to learn together about the integrated theory and concepts of educational leadership. Remember that you are a part of something special, and that we are sincerely grateful to join you in your professional and educational pursuits.

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Did YouKnow?

On November 28, 2016, the U.S. Department of Education released the final regulations for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). According to U.S.

Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr., “The final rules give states more time and flexibility to provide every student with a high-quality, well-rounded education while ensuring that states and districts keep the focus on improving outcomes and maintaining civil rights protections for all of our children, particularly those who need our support the most.” Be sure to review the most up-to-date information at the U.S. Department of Education website.

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Call for Mentorship

Do you have an interest in staying active with

the ongoing research in the Ed.D. program? If so,

please consider serving as a mentor for current

students. Complete the information at:

Alumni Mentorand we will be in touch.

Follow us on Twitter @WilkesEdD and be sure

to use #WilkesEdD to tweet your leadership

updates!