Teaneck Educator Deirdre Spollen-LaRaia to Receive Doctorate at College of Saint Elizabeth

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Teaneck educator Deirdre Spollen-LaRaia will receive her doctorate in educational leadership from the College of Saint Elizabeth.

MORRISTOWN, NJ (03/08/2011)(readMedia)-- Teaneck educator Deirdre Spollen-LaRaia of Dumont, N.J., has successfully defended her dissertation February 23, 2011, at the College of Saint Elizabeth (CSE), 2 Convent Road, Morristown, N.J., to earn her doctorate in educational leadership. Spollen-LaRaia's dissertation is entitled, Literacy Coaching: Is it a Link to Transforming Teacher Collaboration, School Culture and Student Achievement? She is director of Literacy and ESL for Teaneck schools.

"The doctoral program at the College of Saint Elizabeth has been an overwhelmingly positive journey, both professionally and personally," Spollen-LaRaia says. "The cohort model was integral in the success of the program for me, as the support from the college faculty and peers embodied the essence of the program foundation, servant leadership...Above all, the program provided me with a renewed sense of energy in approaching the challenges facing education today and the ability to celebrate with colleagues the many successes of visionary leadership in our schools."

Spollen-LaRaia has presented at conferences hosted by the International Reading Association and New Jersey Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development on nonfiction reading and writing programs. She holds an M.S. in Special Education from College of Staten Island, an M.S. in Supervision and Administration from Touro College and a B.S. in Elementary Education from the College of Staten Island. Spollen-LaRaia, her husband Scott, and two children, Connor, 5, and Colin, 2, reside in Dumont, N.J.

The doctoral program at CSE, which is dedicated to preparing school district leaders who are committed to social justice and ethical practice, began in August 2007. "Integrated into all course work and learning activities are the central values and beliefs necessary for school leaders to function as morally purposeful stewards for their school communities," states Dr. John Crews, Ed.D., CSE educational leadership program chair. "This philosophy of servant leadership represents a major shift from the traditional paradigm of school leaders as managers of resources, which is so prevalent in today's practices."

Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, the College of Saint Elizabeth enrolls more than 2,100 full- and part-time students in more than 25 undergraduate, 10 graduate and one doctoral degree programs. For information on other activities or programs, visit the College of Saint Elizabeth web site at www.cse.edu.