Literacy & Learning Professor Named Co-Chair of Leading NYS Educational Advisory Board

Virginia Goatley, professor and chair in the Department of Literacy Teaching and Learning, is the new higher education co-chair on the State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching (PSPB).

The 2-year appointment, made by the State Board of Regents on June 4, gives Goatley a leadership role on the 31-member PSPB, which serves in an advisory capacity to the board and the Commissioner of Education on matters related to teaching in New York. Composed of K-12 teachers and administrators, higher education representatives, public representatives and one teacher education student, it is one of the most critical bodies in the state related to policy development for teacher practice and teacher preparation.

Jason Lane, interim dean of UAlbany’s School of Education and an internationally recognized expert in higher education, said the appointment is a significant recognition, both of Goatley’s career achievements and of UAlbany’s 175-year legacy of improving teacher excellence as the state’s oldest and highest ranked public school of education.

“Dr. Goatley is a nationally recognized leader in teacher education and a leading voice in improving educator preparation in New York,” said Lane. “I commend the Board of Regents on appointing her to this important role and look forward to her leadership in helping shape public policies that impact the ability of teachers to effectively support student learning.”

The PSPB’s two co-chairs represent the higher education field and K-12 schools. Theresa Reynolds, assistant superintendent of Orange-Ulster BOCES, represents K-12. Goatley, a member of the board since 2016, now becomes the PSPB’s lead voice for higher education.

She lauded the full range of expertise represented by the board’s membership. “I’m honored to be selected as co-chair of PSPB,” she said. “The board includes K-12 teachers and administrators, public representatives and higher education representatives. With this unique set of education stakeholders, our discussions lead to rich conversations and recommendations in our advisory role to the Board of Regents and Commissioner of Education.

Goatley, a regular participant in national and statewide efforts for teacher education and the preparation of literacy professionals, has published frequently on her primary research interest — the prevention of reading and writing difficulties for children.

In collaboration with colleagues at the Child Research and Study Center, she was the co-investigator for two recent federally funded grants through Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) that focused on literacy coursework in teacher preparation programs, with a special emphasis on meeting the needs of all learners.

Currently a co-editor of the Journal of Literacy Research, a publication of the Literacy Research Association (LRA), Goatley was named the 2018 winner of LRA’s Albert J. Kingston Award for distinguished contributions of service to the association. She has been a board member, committee member and panelist on numerous national and state councils and associations that promote teacher education and literacy professionalism.

At UAlbany, she has served as department chair since 2013, and was vice dean of the School of Education in 2008-09 and associate dean for professional studies from 2003 to 2008. In that latter post she led several initiatives, including a successful Teacher Education Accreditation Council national accreditation for the education school’s programs, new organization structures for undergraduate education studies students, and a number of community programs.

In 2011-12, while on leave from UAlbany, she served as director of research for the International Literacy Association.