Hayes takes an indirect route to teaching at CSC

“It was not a direct trip [to CSC]. It was marked by a number of detours and abrupt changes in direction,” she said. “I feel fortunate I landed in a place like this.”

She said her hometown of Atwater, California, was a bit like Chadron except for a nearby Strategic Air Command base. After graduating from high school, she attended California College of Arts and Crafts.

Hayes met her first husband in Panama while both were students at Panama Canal Junior College. They moved together to Washington, DC, had two children, and later moved to London. While there, she attended a Shakespeare class the professor taught based on the plays in London at the time.

Her second marriage was to an American from Boston living in Dingle, Ireland, as a sandal maker. While living in Ireland, she began to spin wool and weave yarn on a loom. Following her first weaving lesson to fellow residents of the community, she realized she was energized by teaching, and considers it a pivotal point in her journey toward becoming a teacher.

“I call it an epiphany. I knew that night when I couldn't fall asleep, that I liked teaching. It was a bit of a surprise,” Hayes said.

 

She lived in Ireland for about four years and had a child there.

“I have to say I fit the description of a hippie at that time in my life. But washing a baby in front of a fireplace loses its charm. So, we came back and settled in Boston,” Hayes said.

Even though her eventual goal was teaching, she earned her bachelor’s degree in business at Northeastern University. Her next stop was Cambridge College, where she earned her first master’s degree.

Following another life change, she moved to Texas to live with her mother.

I had a bachelor’s in elementary education and was hired on a provisional basis to be Special Education teacher at a middle school.

“It was an experience I remember fondly. I had my eyes opened. Before that, I thought teaching was some sort of fantasy job that was going to be easy. And it turns out I didn't know very much about teaching. But the kids were patient, they didn't mind. We had some very good experiences together. I learned a lot and those kids were my best teachers,” Hayes said.

She earned a second master’s in San Antonio and taught in San Antonio at Las Escuela de las Americas, a bilingual charter school.

“The culture was wonderful. The experience was enriching, and I thoroughly enjoyed it,” Hayes said.

Next, Hayes moved to Connecticut where she taught at a residential treatment facility for adjudicated adolescent girls for 10 years.

After a decade teaching at the small, private school, she enrolled in a doctoral-level program in education and reading at the University of Connecticut and later found a faculty position at CSC.

Hayes said interventions using peer tutoring are effective with adolescents who struggle reading at their grade level.

“By the time students are in the fifth grade, everybody assumes they can read. They might be able to slip by. Then the work gets harder, the textbooks get more complicated, and there are fewer supports. You begin slipping behind. There's a separation between you and your peers and they very often give up. They say, ‘School is, not for me. I hate school. I hate reading, and I hate you,’ meaning the teacher. They start drifting toward kids who have behavior issues,” she said.

She said peer tutors can often be as effective as a teacher, depending on the relationship with the student.

For her dissertation, Hayes has gained approval to conduct a study at Chadron Middle School. She will administer assessments to establish a baseline of reading fluency and communication skills. Then, she will introduce peer tutoring and measure the outcomes.

—Tena L. Cook, Marketing Coordinator