Interview with Janet Dennis by Andrea L’Hommedieu

Biographical NoteJanet Mary Dennis was born on September 5, 1945, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Clemenza Rowlandson Sullivan and William Aloysius Sullivan. Her father was a postal inspector and her mother was a parochial schoolteacher. Janet grew up in Waterville, Maine, and was the youngest of five children. She attended Thomas College. In May of 1965, she spent a year as Senator Muskie’s secretary in Washington, D.C., and then became the office manager in Muskie’s Waterville and Augusta state Senate offices. She also did work for the Senate Public Works Committee on the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution under Leon Billings until May of 1970. She worked with George Mitchell on Muskie’s 1970 U.S. Senate reelection campaign. In 1980, when Mitchell was appointed to Muskie’s Senate seat, she remained on staff working in the Waterville state Senate office. Janet’s sister graduated in the same high school class as George Mitchell’s sister, Barbara. SummaryInterview includes discussions of: family and educational background; Waterville community; working for Muskie and Mitchell; Mitchell’s personality and intellectual capacity; comparison between Mitchell and Muskie; Muskie’s 1972 presidential campaign; Mitchell’s Waterville office; Muskie’s 1970 Senate campaign; and Colby College

Learning from Failure: Making the Feedback Loop Work

“I spend hours providing feedback, but I have no idea if my students read it” is a common phrase echoed across college campuses. While best practices in teaching pedagogy laud the feedback cycle, many instructors question the impact their feedback has on their students’ writing. As the feedback loop continues to be a trending cog in the machine of formative assessment and authentic education, an essential component of the loop is often overlooked: the conversation. Presenters will focus on providing easy-to-implement “conversation” opportunities for students to respond to instructor feedback. This reflective practice provides insight into a student’s learning processes, understanding of the feedback provided, and an open door to growth possibilities. Utilizing a variety of tools, we will explore how feedback conversations can be incorporated into the face-to-face, blended, and online classrooms. Presenters will discuss implementing feedback practices in composition and information literacy courses, providing strategies for faculty/librarian collaboration, on-the-fly implementation, and how to use feedback data to effect sustained change. The benefit in closing the feedback loop with the conversation piece supports students and instructors in the teaching and learning process. Students feel like they have a voice in their learning by having an outlet to share enduring concerns and appreciation for clarification and the opportunity to improve. Instructors are able to identify “stuck places” where students struggle with content and concepts and build supporting curriculum around those places. For both parties, the process serves as a point of motivation and forward momentum

Alan Malone and Krista Brown in a Senior Voice Recital

This is the program for the voice recital of Alan Malone, tenor, accompanied by Janet Franks on the piano, and Krista Brown, mezzo-soprano, accompanied by Pamela Dennis on the piano. The recital was held on April 28, 1994, in Mabee Fine Arts Center\u27s Recital Hall

Using Student Engagement and Reengagement to Reduce Chronic School Absenteeism

AbstractChronic absenteeism is a problem in an urban school district in Virginia. This problem not only affects the staff and administrators, but it also affects the surrounding communities, students, and parents. The purpose of the study was to the investigate the perceptions of teachers and administrators in the local school district regarding students’ chronic absenteeism. Bowen’s family system theory comprised the conceptual framework that guided this study. The research questions focused on the perceptions of Grade K-12 teachers and administrators about the causes of chronic absenteeism in the local district and their views of the effectiveness of methods that have been used to reduce it. An exploratory qualitative case study was used to capture the insights of the 14 participants, through questionnaires and surveys containing questions about chronic absenteeism and student behaviors. The project study involved collecting data from individuals who had been teaching or in an administration position for 3 or more years. Underlying causes of chronic absenteeism can range from homelessness to students not being motivated or engaged in school. The study revealed that there is a need for an effective plan to reduce the number of students who are not attending school. The results of the study may benefit all stakeholders in the district, the students who are missing excessive days, the parents who may not know how to obtain the necessary help to assist their students, and the surrounding communities who are being negatively impacted by an abundance of students making bad decisions when they should be in school. Creating an active and effective plan to decrease the number of students missing school daily will impact positive social change by decreasing the number of students who miss school and assisting school districts with meeting Virginia state requirements