Jones, Toomey earn scholarships to attend national institute, seek certification

Toomey earned a $1,195 Kellogg scholarship and Jones earned a $2,500 Cengage scholarship to help cover institute expenses. The Kellogg Institute and Cengage partnered with the Center to conduct the Institute for Developmental Educators and Learning Skills Specialists July 14-27 at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

The Institute is the nation’s longest running professional development program for practitioners who serve underprepared and underserved college students, according to its website. The curriculum addressed best practices in the classroom, strategies for student success, pros and cons of technology and practices to increase retention.

Toomey said the institute is the best opportunity for developmental educators in the country.

“One of the advantages of the institute was the access we had, and continue to have, to scholars in the field,” Toomey said.

Participants seeking certification by the Center were required to develop a campus innovation project to address issues affecting their institutions’ developmental education programs. The plans developed by Toomey and Jones and approved by Dr. Jim Margetts who oversees developmental education at CSC, known as Transitional Studies, will be implemented during the 2018-19 academic year.

Margetts said he appreciates the resourcefulness Toomey and Jones demonstrated in applying to attend the Kellogg Institute.

"Their certification is another important step in maintaining and strengthening the quality of the CSC Transitional Studies Program and its alignment to campus initiatives like the Strategic Enrollment Management Plan," Margetts said.

Toomey’s adviser for the project is Hunter Boylan, director of the National Center for Developmental Education and noted author in the field of developmental education. She said her plan focuses on advising, specifically integrating more support services into Transitional Studies.

The plan Jones proposed aims to understand the factors that play a role in a student’s completion, retention and graduation rate during his or her time in college. His adviser is Dr. Patti Levine-Brown whose developmental education research focuses on student access and success.

Jones’ summer also included news that his book, “How the Butcher Bird Finds Her Voice,” was named a multicultural award-winner and a finalist for a literary fiction award by The American Book Fest. According to its website, the Los Angeles-based organization recognizes mainstream, independent and self-published books.