Education  

Meet the Faculty | Departmental Information Sheet | Neff Education Center

Overview
When you choose Emory & Henry’s education program, you will benefit from working with highly respected experts in primary and secondary education. On our campus, 90 percent of our students take part in at least one public school field experience every semester. Our professors prepare you for your future classroom through lively discussions, student presentations, and opportunities to practice effective teaching methods in a variety of settings.

Our teacher preparation programs are accredited by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) and meet the standards of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification.

Degree Program
Emory & Henry offers options for the bachelor of arts and the bachelor of science degrees. Most of our teacher preparation programs culminate in the bachelor of arts degree.

Within the broad guidelines of our degree programs, you may select from varied elementary and secondary programs. Elementary options include PK-3, PK-6, and middle school 6-8, all centered around interdisciplinary majors in English, social studies, or math. Secondary programs include art PK-12, music (choral and instrumental) PK-12, health and physical education PK-12, and 6-12  licensure in biology, business education, chemistry , earth science, English, theatre, French, geography, government, history and social science, mathematics, physics, and Spanish. Courses are also available for add-on endorsements in other areas including special education, coaching, driver education, journalism, and ESL/ELL.

Students also may choose to participate in a five-year program leading to the appropriate bachelor’s degree and a Professional Studies master’s degree. This option provides more subject area content at the undergraduate level and significant professional preparation in the fifth year. The Professional Studies master’s degree is also available to persons who have already completed a bachelor’s degree.
 
The teacher preparation program includes elective courses, selections of grade level, and choices of add-on endorsements that permit you to individualize your program based upon your unique career objectives. To ensure that your plan incorporates all courses necessary to meet licensure and graduation requirements, you are urged to meet with a member of the Education Department as soon as you enroll.

Although student schedules are varied, virtually all prospective teachers complete a period of early field experience in the sophomore and junior years, featuring an opportunity to observe and assist in several different classrooms. In your senior year, you will have two semesters of supervised teaching and related seminars.

Special Opportunities
On our campus, you can take advantage of special opportunities to enhance your potential for teaching including a curriculum resource center where you can work with current and useful teaching aids and instructional technology, and the Annual B.G. Raines Education Forum, which brings together school teachers, administrators, business executives, and community members to discuss ways to improve public education. The forum includes lectures by nationally known figures in education.

M.Ed. and M.A. in Education
In the critical field of reading, Emory & Henry offers a Master of Arts in Education: Reading Specialist Concentration. This program covers innovative instructional strategies, contemporary and controversial issues in public education, computer skills related to English/language arts instruction, and research and assessment skills needed in the classroom.

The Professional Studies M.Ed., described above, is available to Emory & Henry students as a five-year option and to graduates of other colleges.

Career Options
We believe that the best way to prepare for tomorrow is to make good decisions today. Members of the Education Department will help you choose courses to get the maximum teaching endorsements. In your senior year, the Education Department and our Academic Support and Career Services Office will help you with the many aspects of seeking employment or applying to graduate schools.

As your career progresses, you will find that the quality of your Emory & Henry education provides flexibility and options for upward mobility. Among our alumni are school superintendents and numerous principals and administrators.

Alumni
The quality of Emory & Henry is reflected in the achievements of our graduates. Following is a small sample of our nearly 2,000 alumni who work in education:

The quality of Emory & Henry is reflected in the achievements of our graduates. Following is a small sample of our nearly 2,000 alumni who work in education:

Liz Phillips, ’03, teacher, Washington Co. Public Schools (Va.); 2011 McGlothlin Award for Teaching Excellence.

Temple Musser, ’00, principal, Bland Co. Public Schools (Va.); M.A. Virginia Commonwealth University, M.A. Concord University.

Dennis Carter, ’95, director of curriculum and instruction, Smyth Co. Public Schools (Va.); M.A., Radford University.

Gary Lilly, ’93, superintendent,  City of Bristol, Tenn. School System; M.Ed. and Ed.D., East Tennessee State University.

Sherry King, ’88, principal, Greendale Elementary School, Washington Co. Public Schools (Va.); M. Ed., Emory & Henry College; M.A., Radford University

Edwina Richardson, ‘83, school improvement coach, Smyth County Public Schools (Va.), M.A.Ed. in Reading, Emory & Henry College; M.A. in educational leadership, Radford University.

Faculty
Edgar  H. Thompson, ehthomps@ehc.edu
Director, William N. Neff Center, Education Division Chair.  Ed.D., Virginia Tech. Professional interests: creative writing, literary criticism, teaching of reading, writing, English/language arts.

Janet Justice-Crickmer, jcrickmer@ehc.edu
Education Department Chair. Director, Reading Specialist Program and Special Education Program. Ed.D., Teachers College, Columbia University. Professional interests: language-related learning disabilities, dyslexia, teaching of reading.

George Stainback, gstainback@ehc.edu
Ed.D., University of Virginia. Professional interests: history of education and policy development.

Doug Arnold, darnold@ehc.edu
Director, Five-Year M.Ed. Program. Ed.D. , Virginia Tech. Professional interests:  curriculum development.

Ronald E. Diss, rediss@ehc.edu
Ed.D., Virginia Tech. Professional interests: beginning reading, reading in content areas, training mentor teachers, education.

Eric Grossman, egrossman@ehc.edu
Ed.D., University of Louisville. Professional interests: experiential education, science education, information technology.


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Education