Faculty & Staff

Maribeth C. Schmitt, Ph.D.

Jean Adamson Stanley Faculty Chair in Literacy

Trainer of Teacher Leaders

Center Director

Purdue University-College of Education

Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education

100 N. University Street

West Lafayette, IN  47907-2098

Voice: (765) 494-5683

Fax:    (765) 496-2305

Email: mschmitt@purdue.edu

After earning a Ph.D. in literacy education at Purdue University in 1987, Professor Schmitt spent five years on the faculty of DePauw University. In 1992 she returned to Purdue to establish the Reading Recovery Program for the state. Under her leadership, the first training classes for teachers and teacher leaders were held in 1993-94. By this time, approximately 1,600 teachers will have been trained and more than 60,000 children will have received Reading Recovery in Indiana. Professor Schmitt successfully spearheaded a legislative initiative that has resulted in expenditures of more than $14 million dollars of state funding for Reading Recovery training and continued professional development. With Professor Schmitt serving as the director, the Purdue Literacy Network Project has expanded to include other initiatives to support classroom and school literacy reform efforts. She was recently awarded the distinction of an endowed professorship by the Purdue University Board of Trustees, becoming the Jean Adamson Faculty Chair in Literacy.

Her research on the role of metacognition in literacy instruction earned her a national award for her dissertation. She has continued to explore the area of children's strategic processing and metacognitive assessment and has published and presented widely on those topics. For example, she recently published a chapter in a book titled Metacognition in Literacy Learning. Professor Schmitt is a nationally and internationally known speaker on topics such as advocacy efforts, follow-up studies, and instructional strategies. She is co-author of Changing Futures: The Influence of Reading Recovery in the United States.

Professor Schmitt received the Indiana State Reading Association's Celebrate Literacy Award for her efforts on behalf of children needing Reading Recovery in Indiana and was honored in a concurrent resolution passed by the Indiana General Assembly for her contributions to literacy learning as president of the Reading Recovery Council of North America. She recently received the Purdue University Department of Curriculum and Instruction Outstanding Engagement Award for her leadership in sustained collaborative partnerships with a variety of educational entities. These activities as well as her research earned her the inclusion in Who’s Who among Executives and Professionals.

With a strong commitment to literacy education and the professional development of teachers, Professor Schmitt has served on the Editorial Review Board of The Reading Teacher, and as editor of both The Network News and Literacy Teaching and Learning: An International Journal of Early Reading and Writing. She is a past-president of the Reading Recovery Council of North America. For the National Reading Conference, she served as chair of the NRC Student Outstanding Research Award for six years and is also the assistant head of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

Sarah F. Mahurt, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Literacy and Language

Center Associate Director

Director of Comprehensive School Frameworks Primary Literacy Coordinator Trainer

Purdue University-College of Education

Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education

100 N. University Street

West Lafayette, IN  47907-2098

Voice: (765) 496-3981

Fax:    (765) 496-2305

Email: mahurt@purdue.edu

Sarah F. Mahurt is the director of the Purdue Literacy Network and associate professor of Literacy and Language Education at Purdue. Through her leadership, the Purdue Literacy Network has trained more than 90 literacy coordinators to be literacy leaders and coaches in their schools. This project is one of the largest within the College of Education, reaching more than 800 teachers who are improving their teaching of literacy. She recently received the Department of Curriculum and Instruction’s Outstanding Engagement Award for developing this school reform effort.

Dr. Mahurt’s recent publications include articles on the integration of reading and writing and using interactive writing for phonological awareness and phonics development as well as a book, Building Bridges from Early to Intermediate Literacy. She has also made numerous presentations on children's literature, literacy teaching and learning in elementary schools, and school reform in literacy education. She has consulted with schools and districts focusing on improving student achievement in reading and writing. She recently chaired a committee to develop a state-wide network of educators in Indiana who are focused on improving writing instruction.

In more than 25 years as an educator, Dr. Mahurt has worked as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and university professor. She has received the Celebrate Literacy Award from the St. Croix Chapter of the International Reading Association and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Outstanding Educator Award for her literacy work in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. She was also given the Teaching Excellence Award at the University of the Virgin Islands.

Shannon Coman Henderson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Literacy and Language

Director of Instructional Interventions

Reading Recovery Trainer

Purdue University-College of Education

Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education

100 N. University Street

West Lafayette, IN  47907-2098

Voice: (765) 494-2741

Fax:    (765) 496-2305

Email: schender@purdue.edu

Shannon Henderson recently joined the Center for Literacy Education and Research to become part of Purdue Reading Recovery. She will spent the 2006-07 academic year at The Ohio State University in a postdoctoral program for trainers of Reading Recovery teacher leaders.

She earned both a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Auburn University, where she received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award during her doctoral work. Subsequently, she taught graduate and undergraduate courses in Language and Literacy as a visiting assistant professor at Auburn. Professor Henderson was selected to participate in a professional development project between Auburn University and SHAPE Elementary School in Belgium.

Professor Henderson’s research interests include the exploration of the role of teacher responsivity in reading instruction with particular emphasis on teachers’ and preservice teachers’ instructional conversations with elementary school students.

She has worked as a professional educator for more than 12 years, including teaching first and second grades in a public school setting in addition to her university experiences. Professor Henderson has conducted workshops and made research presentations at the local, state, and national levels on topics such as vocabulary instruction, phoneme awareness, parent training, and the professional development of teachers.

Angela Schoenbeck

Clinical Instructor

Primary Literacy Coordinator Trainer

Purdue University-College of Education

Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education

100 N. University Street

West Lafayette, IN  47907-2098

Voice: (765) 494-9743

Fax:    (765) 496-2305

Email: aschoenb@purdue.edu

Angie Schoenbeck is a clinical instructor, primary literacy coordinator trainer, and Summer Literacy Institute coordinator for CLEAR. She also provides coaching support and on-site professional development to schools throughout central Indiana. Angie received her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education at Purdue University. After teaching intermediate elementary grades in Maryland, she  returned to Purdue to complete her graduate studies in Language and Literacy Education.

Janet Elliott

Intermediate Literacy Coordinator Trainer

Goshen Community Schools

Chandler Elementary School

419 South 8th Street

Goshen, IN 46526

Voice: (574) 533-5085

Fax:    (765) 496-2305

Email: jelliott@goshenschools.org 

Janet Elliott is a former classroom teacher, Reading Recovery teacher, and primary literacy coordinator. She has worked with students and teachers at all elementary levels. Janet received her Masters degree from Ball State University and her literacy training through The Ohio State University and Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Currently, she is the intermediate trainer for CLEAR.

Administrative Assistant

Purdue University-College of Education

Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education

100 N. University Street

West Lafayette, IN  47907-2098

Voice: (765) 496-2119

Fax:    (765) 496-2305

Email: mfletcher@purdue.edu 

Secretary

Purdue University-College of Education

Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education

100 N. University Street

West Lafayette, IN  47907-2098

Voice: (765) 494-9750

Fax:    (765) 496-2305

Email: vlstewar@purdue.edu