LDA of Michigan's Nominee to be Honored at National Conference
LDA of Michigan's OUTLOOK, Winter 2005

 
“Ms. Shankland has been the largest influence in my educational career. She is a truly educated and motivated individual. She challenges me to work hard, do my best work, and succeed fully in everything that I do. She is the main reason that I am interested in pursuing and furthering a higher education…The only reason that I am interested in learning is because of Ms. Shankland’s support and encouragement. She helps me to excel at the things I am good at, and do the best possible at the things I am not so good at. This gives me the motivation I need to get through the day and the rest of my life.”—B. Kavanagh, former student

Rebecca K. Shankland, a special educator in the Forest Hills Public Schools in Grand Rapids, is this year’s Learning Disabilities Association Samuel Kirk Educator of the Year. Recipients of this award must be educators who have made outstanding contributions to the education of persons with learning disabilities. She was nominated by LDA of Michigan to recognize her many contributions to improving outcomes for secondary students in her district, and across the state.

The award takes its name from Samuel Alexander Kirk, one of the most influential figures in the history of special education, and an early researcher in learning disabilities. Kirk, who obtained a PhD in physiological and clinical psychology from the University of Michigan, continued work on reading during his doctoral studies, while also working at the Wayne Country Training School in Michigan. While there, Kirk collaborated to create the Hegge, Kirk, and Kirk Remedial Reading Drills, materials which showed influences of the work of most of the prominent figures in remedial reading at that time. It is most fitting that Shankland, a Michigan teacher, should earn the Samuel Kirk Award in part for her work in literacy.

During her 19 years with Forest Hills, Shankland has focused her efforts on improving the independent skills of students with learning disabilities. In 1998, after she attended training sponsored by the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning (KU-CRL), Shankland implemented the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM), first in her resource classroom at Forest Hills Central High School, and later in collaboration with other teachers at the school. In 1999, Shankland implemented the Language: A Literacy Intervention Curriculum resulting in significant gains in decoding and comprehension for Forest Hills
Central High School students with learning disabilities in reading. Following a district-wide curriculum study in 2002, the Forest Hills Public Schools launched a systemwide adoption of SIMs for all secondary special education classrooms in the district. Shankland, by then a certified trainer for SIMs, has provided the professional development and ongoing support of this implementation for the district.

Shankland serves as an independent consultant, offering SIMs trainings for special educators across the state. In addition, she has worked with the Michigan Department of Education on a number of curriculum projects. Currently, as a doctoral fellow at Michigan State University, she is working on several research projects in the area of adolescent literacy under the guidance of Dr. Michael Pressley, and Dr. Carol Sue Englert. She is also the incoming president of the Michigan Association of Learning Disabilities Educators (MALDE), a state organization with close ties to the Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan. As part of this award, Shankland will receive a certificate, round trip airfare to the 2005 LDA International
Conference in Reno, Nevada, complimentary registration to the conference with four days’ expenses paid, recognition at the general keynote session on Friday March 4th, and complimentary tickets to the President’s Banquet where she will also be recognized. Michigan LDA board members will be joining her in celebrating this recognition of her efforts on behalf of Michigan adolescents with learning disabilities.

Dr. Linda Patriarca, in her cover letter of nomination, captured LDA’s reasons for putting Shankland forward as the Michigan nominee, “In sum, Rebecca is a gifted teacher, a lifelong learner and an active member of her professional community. I would think that this rare combination of qualities makes her an ideal candidate for this award.” LDA of Michigan extends its heartiest congratulations to Rebecca K. Shankland, the 2005 winner of LDA’s Samuel Kirk Award for Educator of the Year.