Valjean Wright 18 Walnut Road, Wallingford, Pennsylvania 19086 vwright@mc3.edu, cell: 1-215-796-4720/ work: 1-610-526-6193 EDUCATION C.V.R. (Certificate in Vision Rehabilitation) Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Philadelphia, PA M.A. English, 1974, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA Reading Specialist, 1974, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA B.A. English and Education, 1969, Albright College, Reading, PA PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Director of Developmental Studies (01/08-Present) Harcum College, Bryn Mawr, PA Hire, train, schedule, supervise, and evaluate instructors of developmental English, reading, math, and college seminar courses Design and implement developmental curricula for classroom and online instruction Select and/or write instructional materials, including online supplements Oversee college-wide entrance-testing and monitor student placement Teach developmental English, reading, and orientation classes Counsel students regarding academic and personal issues Provide workshops for faculty and students Administer and analyze student performance assessments Serve on councils and committees Director of the Educational Success Center (01-11- Present) Harcum College, Bryn Mawr, PA Oversee the operation and vision of the College tutorial services by advising and assisting the Coordinator with administrative tasks. Perkins Grant Coordinator (01/08-Present) Harcum College, Bryn Mawr, PA Write and submit an annual proposal and final report for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Grant Oversee the collection, analysis, and reporting of statistics to the State Design and collaborate with staff on initiatives that address Perkins priorities Conduct planning board meetings with college and community representatives Attend and/or present at statewide meetings, workshops, and conferences Effect statewide articulations with secondary schools Provide faculty development seminars Purchase and maintain equipment and supplies Maintain Perkins assurance files Manage the budget
Instructor of English in a Multi-media Developmental Skills Lab (09/06-Present) Montgomery County Community College, Blue Bell, PA Provide small group and individualized instruction in English Assist students with computerized instructional programs Monitor and evaluate student progress and maintain student records Orientation Instructor (09/05-Present) Montgomery County Community College, Blue Bell Teach college seminar classes, which include survival skills, success strategies, study skills, and an introduction to the College s systems and services Counsel students and monitor their progress in other classes Advise and register students for classes Reading and English Instructor (09/05-06/06) Montgomery County Community College: taught developmental English classes (07/05-12/08) Harcum College: taught developmental English and reading, and college-level English classes (essay and research paper-writing, literature, and speech) (07/03-06/05) Delaware County Community College, Media, PA: taught developmental and advanced reading classes and developmental English classes Research Associate/ Reading &Writing Consultant 2002-03) Atlanta VAMC Rehabilitation Research and Development Center, Decatur, GA: consulted on a Veterans Administration (VA) federal grant project to develop an instructional program to teach reading and health literacy skills to elderly adults with deficient reading skills (07/01) Atlanta VAMC: consulted on a multi-disciplinary expert panel to develop a comprehensive curriculum for low vision rehabilitation Research Associate/ Project Coordinator (2000-01) Atlanta VAMC Rehabilitation Research and Development Center, Decatur, GA: coordinated a VA federal grant project to develop, test, and prepare for publication a standardized writing test designed to help teachers and clinicians assess the writing skills of persons with low vision Reading, English, and GED Instructor (09/94-06/00) Salem County Community College, Carneys Point, NJ: taught college reading and English classes; taught GED preparation for welfare recipients Research Associate/Project Coordinator (1994-97) Institute for the Visually-Impaired, PA College of Optometry, Philadelphia, PA: coordinated a federal VA grant project to develop, test, and prepare for publication a standardized reading comprehension test designed to assess the reading skills of individuals with low vision
(09/91-12/93) Department of Graduate Studies in Education, University of Delaware, Newark, DE: coordinated an Office of Special Education Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) grant project to produce a series of videotapes and manuals for use by special education college instructors to teach college students methods in reading, writing, and math for school-aged children with learning disabilities (1989-90) Institute for the Visually-Impaired, Philadelphia, PA: coordinated a National Institute for Rehabilitation Research (NIDDR) grant project to develop, test, and prepare for publication a workbook designed to rehabilitate the reading skills of elderly individuals with low-vision Literacy Consultant (1990) Institute for the Visually-Impaired, Philadelphia, PA: consulted on a NIDDR grant project by editing and revising the format and language of a curriculum to train nursing home personnel how to help patients with low vision Reading, Writing, and Study Skills Therapist/Tutor (1986-91) The Learning Center of the Eye Institute, Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Philadelphia, PA: tutored learning- disabled children and adults in reading, writing, and study skills (1984-85) The Creative Learning Center, Philadelphia, PA and The Reading Resource Center, Elkins Park, PA: tutoring school-aged children in reading and writing The Huntingdon Valley Learning Center, Media, PA: prepared students for the SAT Reading & English Instructor (1984-86) Camden County Community College, Deptford, NJ and Burlington County Community College, Pemberton, NJ: taught development English and reading classes (1984-85) Watterson School of Business, Philadelphia, PA: taught developmental English and reading classes for students training for technical fields, reviewed software for the basic skills lab, wrote reading curriculum, assisted teachers with reading and writing methods for educationally-disadvantaged and bilingual adult students Entrepreneur and Community Organizer (1978-83) The Book Exchange, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA: created, organized, and supervised a university- sponsored consignment store where students could recycle their used textbooks Costume Designer: coordinated the creation of costumes for community theater productions for Philadelphia Repertory Company, Theater Center, New Classical Company, and the Annenberg Center at the University of Pennsylvania Neighborhood Quilt Project: organized and coordinated local artists in the creation of the Northern Liberties Quilt, which was shown the Philadelphia Historical Society and the Philadelphia Library; and won an honorable mention at a national quilt competition in Kentucky
Reading &English Teacher (1982) Abington Junior High School, Abington, PA: taught remedial and developmental reading classes as a long-term substitute (1980-81) Penn Center Academy, Philadelphia, PA: taught English and reading to junior high and high school students in a private school setting (1977-83) Philadelphia Public Schools, District 6: short and long-term substitute in special education classrooms and sheltered workshops (1975-76) Eastern York Junior High School, Wrightsville, PA: taught remedial, corrective, and developmental reading classes (1972-75) Plymouth Junior High School, Norristown, PA: taught remedial, corrective, and developmental reading classes (Summer, 1971) Woodstown Elementary School, Woodstown, NJ: taught reading, writing, and enrichment skills to the children of migrant farm workers for Title I PUBLICATIONS Wright, V. (2010). A Survey of Needs and Services for Postsecondary Non-traditional Students. Sponsored by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Grant and submitted for publication on the National Alliance of Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) website (www.napequity.org) as part of their 5-Step Program Improvement Process training sequence. Watson, G. R., Wright, V., & Watkins, E. (2004). The Collin Low Vision Writing Assessment. Atlanta, GA: Bear Consultants (Part IV of the LUV Reading Series). Watson, G. R., Wright, V., Wyse, E., & De l Aune, W. (2003). A writing assessment for persons with age-related vision loss. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 98(3), 160-167. Watson, G. R. & Wright V. (1997). The Morgan Reading Comprehension Test. Atlanta, GA: Bear Consultants (Part IV of the LUV Reading Series). Watson, G. R., & Wright V. (1996). A low vision reading comprehension test. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 90(6), 486-494. Wright, V. & Watson, G. R. (1995). Learn to Use Your Vision for Reading Workbook. Atlanta, GA: Bear Consultants. (Part II of the LUV Reading Series). Watson, G. R., Wright, V. & De l Aune, W. (1992). The efficacy of comprehension training and reading practice for print readers with macular loss. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 84, 119-123. Wright, V. & Watson, G.R. (1991). Reading level as a criterion for selecting reading materials for adult readers with low vision. Journal of Vision Rehabilitation, 5, 23-25. PRESENTATIONS (November, 2012) Co-presenter: Michael Wolf. Developing Career-based Math Materials. 22 nd Annual Conference on Integrated Learning, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
(November 2011) A New Method of Word Analysis to Improve Word Recognition, Pronunciation and Spelling. 21 st Annual Conference on Integrated Learning, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. (April 2011) Assessing Needs and Services for Nontraditional Students. Annual Convention of the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity, Arlington Virginia (November 2009) Co-presenter: Jan Clovis. Assessing and Evaluating Needs and Services for Postsecondary Nontraditional Students. 19 th Annual Conference on Integrated Learning, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. (November 1992) Adapting the Woodcock for Students with Low Vision. Department of Graduate Studies, University of Delaware, Newark, DE. (July 1991) Reading and Vision Problems with the School-aged Child. Teacher- training seminars, Perkins School for the Blind, Boston, MA. (August 1990) A Home-based Reading Program for Individuals with Macular Loss. Annual Convention of the National Association of Adults with Special Learning Needs, Orlando, FLA. (July 1990) The Efficacy of Comprehension Training for Adults with Macular Loss. Annual Convention for the Association of Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually-impaired, Washington, DC (July 1990) Stargardt s Disease and Reading: a Report on Recent Research. Annual Convention of the American Council for the Blind, Denver, CO. (May 1990) The Development of Syllabication Software. Annual Convention of Computers in Adult Literacy Convention, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. (June 1990) Syllabication for Adults: A New Method to Improve Reading and Spelling. Presentation to the Reading Faculty of the Eye Institute, Philadelphia, PA.