JEROME J. SPEARS. EDUCATION: 1964 Pennsylvania State University, B.A., History and Educat

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1 JEROME J. SPEARS Department of Educational Psychology 249 Glenbrook Road Unit-2064 University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut Phone: (860) PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY: Thirty-five years of experience in education. Director of Pupil Personnel Services for the Mansfield (Connecticut) Public Schools and adjunct faculty at the University of Connecticut. Chairperson of the Connecticut State Advisory Council on Special Education; member Connecticut State Legislature Standing Committee on Special Education and past president of Connecticut Association of Pupil Personnel Administrators. Education Consultant for Connecticut State Department of Education. Private consultant for educational policy and management related issues. EDUCATION: 1964 Pennsylvania State University, B.A., History and Educat 1971 University of Connecticut, M.A., Special Education 1982 University of Connecticut, Ph.D., Special Education/Administration PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Present Private Consultant Responsibilities: Developed a position paper on the applicability of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) to school district records for the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE). Prepared the and Part B Annual report for the CSDE. Conducted an audit of Program Review activities for the period from 1998 through 2003 for the CSDE. Served as coordinator for revisions and pilot testing of the CMT/CAPT Skills Checklist for the CSDE. Provided training related to alternate assessment requirements for Connecticut school districts. Served as interim Director of Student Services for the Putnam Public Schools from June through September 2002.

2 Education Consultant, Connecticut State Department of Education, Middletown, CT. (Retired August 2001) Responsibilities: Unit Coordinator for Program Compliance Review of special education programs. Provided monitoring and technical assistance to Urban and Priority school districts. Served as a member of the Administration Unit. Conducted parent/district dispute mediations. Reviewed and resolved parent complaints. Coordinated the development and implementation of standard special education forms for the state. Designed and implemented a Medicaid billing system for special education and related services. Served as Program Manager for IDEA Part B Sliver Grants in the area of Least Restrictive Environment. Coordinated data focused monitoring of school districts. Co directed project to develop an alternative assessment form of the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) Private Consultant. Responsibilities: Completed a study of the feasibility and benefits of creating a special education collaborative among nine school districts in the East Bay region of Rhode Island. Evaluation of a middle and secondary guidance program for the Windham Public Schools. Preparation of the Annual Report for the Connecticut Special Education Resource Center, Middletown, CT Adjunct Faculty, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (Retired 2001) Responsibilities: Teach the following courses: Special Education Administration (EPSY 387), Pupil Personnel Services (EPSY 388), Characteristics of Exceptional Children (EPSY 306), Public Policy and the Education of the Handicapped - Seminar (EPSY 410), Educational Procedures with Emotionally Disturbed Children (EPSY 349). Conducted research on effective leadership and on the characteristics of successful inclusion programs while Associate Professor in Residence ( school year) during a sabbatical leave from the Mansfield school system Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Mansfield Public Schools, Mansfield, CT. Early retirement option exercised in July 1992.

3 Responsibilities: Administration of Pupil Personnel services for a K-8 district located in the hometown of the University of Connecticut. Supervision and management of 28 certified and 20 non-certified employees. Administration of transportation; special education; gifted/talented programs; compensatory education; English as a second language; school guidance; health services; group testing; state and federal grants; student records/data; and residency/legal issues. Shared responsibility for Board of Education policy development, curriculum review, data processing and community relations Administrator, Education Professional Development Act (EPDA) Technical Assistant Project for Mainstreaming. University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT Responsibilities: Administrated the final two years of a five year, 2.5 million dollar federal grant to train 21 state directors of special education and school administrators in three urban areas (Philadelphia, PA, Norfolk, VA, Worcester, MA) in effective system change strategies to accomplish the integration special education students into regular education classes/schools Special Education Consultant, Eastford Elementary School, Eastford, CT Responsibilities: Evaluated student performance and provided collaboration/consultation support to teachers (regarding students with disabilities) in grades K Special Education Teacher, Eastford Elementary School, Eastford, CT Responsibilities: Taught special education students in grades K-8 in a non-categorical resource setting Special Education Teacher, Vernon Public Schools, Vernon, CT Responsibilities: Developed and implemented a non-categorical resource program for special education students in grades 6 to Teacher, High School Social Studies, Concord Public Schools, Concord, NH

4 Responsibilities: Taught social studies to students in grades 9 to 12, coached boys track and the school debate team and taught driver education Teacher, High School Social Studies, Baldwin-Whitehall Public Schools, Pittsburgh, PA Responsibilities: Taught social studies to students in grades 9 to 12. RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Project Manager for Evaluation of Connecticut s Right to Read Project Responsibilities: Designed an evaluation plan, collected and analyzed evaluation data and wrote a final evaluation report Evaluator of Parochial Schools supportive Reading Program, New Haven, CT Responsibilities: Designed an evaluation plan, collected and analyzed evaluation data and wrote a final evaluation report Project Manager for Evaluation of FOCUS Reading Program, City of New Haven, CT Responsibilities: Designed an evaluation plan, collected and analyzed evaluation data and wrote a final evaluation report. October, 1974 Consultant to the Hamden-New Haven Regional Center for the Evaluation of Institutional Special Education Programs. Responsibilities: Designed an evaluation instrument to be used with residential special education programs Microteaching Instructor, Allied Health Professions Training Institutes, Allied Health Manpower Program, The University of Connecticut. Responsibilities: Provided training in instructional methods to 200 higher education faculty during a series of 8 two-week workshops. PUBLICATIONS:

5 Gillung, T.B., Spears, J.J., Campbell, P., & Rucker, C.N. (1992) Competencies of Administrators of Special Education, Journal of Personnel and Evaluation in Education, 1992, 6:

6 Spears, J.J., Anthony, M., & Iwanicki, C.H. (1981) Shared Approach to Gifted Education, A Defensible Program. American Middle School Education, Spring, 1981, Kahn, H., Spears, J.J. & Rivera, L. (1977) Applicability of Raven Progressive Matrices Tests with School Children in Puerto Rico. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Department of Education. Pappanikou, A.J. & Spears, J.J. (1977) A review of J. Goldstein, A. Freud, & A. Solnit, Beyond the Best Interest of the Child, Journal of Law and Education. 16, Pappanikou, A.J. & Spears, J.J. (1977) The Educational System. A.J. Pappanikou and J.L. Paul (Eds.) Mainstreaming emotionally disturbed children. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. Pappanikou, A.J. & Spears, J.J. (1975) FOCUS 5-8 Achievement Study. In ESAA Project Pilot in New Haven, Connecticut: Final Report New Haven, CT: Area Cooperative Education Services. PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS: Professional Educator Certificate, endorsement for Intermediate Administrator and Supervisor (Connecticut Certification # 5786) includes all administrative positions through Assistant Superintendent. Provisional Educator Certificate, endorsement for K-12 Special Education Vermont licensure as Superintendent of Schools. PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS: American Education Research Association Connecticut Council of Administrators of Special Education Phi Delta Kappa OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: Member, Connecticut Developmental Disabilities Council, September 1994 to August 2001.

7 Invited participant and presenter, Connecticut Symposia on Special Education in the 21st Century. Connecticut State Department of Education and the University of Connecticut: A.J. Pappanikou Center on Special Education, April 1991 through October Member, Academic Outcomes Steering Committee, Connecticut State Department of Education, June 1990 to June Chairperson, Connecticut State Advisory Council on Special Education, Chairperson, Rules and Regulations Subcommittee, 1986 to Member, Connecticut State Legislature Standing Committee on Special Education (P.A ) from March 1981 through March President-elect and President of Connecticut Association of Pupil Personnel Administrators, 1986 to Member, Board of Directors, Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center, 1985 to Member, State Department of Education Ad Hoc Committee on Parent/Educator Partnership, 1986 to Member, State Department of Education Steering Committee for Statewide Program Evaluation of Special Education Legislation in Connecticut, State Department of Education, January, 1987 to February Chairperson, Ad Hoc Advisory Committee: LRE Training, Special Education Resource Center, September 1988 to June COMMUNITY SERVICE: President Neag School of Education Alumni Society, Founding member Neag School of Education Alumni Society, member Executive Committee Member, Mansfield Democratic Town Committee, 1981 to Elected member, Mansfield Planning and Zoning Commission, 1983 to Volunteer services for parents of students with disabilities, 1976 to Member, President s Community Advisory Council, Eastern Connecticut State University, 1987 to 1991.

8 Member, Advisory Board for Department of Mental Retardation, Experimental Group Home Project, 1986 to Member, Regional Workgroup for Parent/Professional partnerships, Northeast Regional Resource Center, Trinity College, Burlington, VT (New England, New York, and New Jersey) 1986 to Member, Women s Studies Advisory Board, University of Connecticut 1973 to Member, Mansfield Youth Services Advisory Board, 1976 to 1992.

Nancy Papagno Crimmin, Ed.D.

EDUCATION Nancy Papagno Crimmin, Ed.D. nancy.crimmin@becker.edu Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership, May 2008 Johnson and Wales University School of Education, Providence, Rhode Island Research