Contributors

Philip Cicero is an adjunct professor of education at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY.  Previously he was a superintendent, assistant superintendent, director of pupil personnel, and chairman of secondary special education.  He earned his Ed. D from New York University working on programs with students with disabilities; he earned an MA from Adelphi University and a BS from Manhattan College.  He maintains the website School Leaders for Change.

Kris A. Ehling, currently an Instructional Coach supporting implementation of Safe and Civil Schools’ Positive Behavior Supports in multiple high schools in Wichita, Kansas, is a former secondary social studies teacher. A self-described research geek, he is especially interested in the topics of cultural proficiency, teacher identity, ethics, and the intersection of behavior management and instruction.  With a lifelong passion for the arts, both visual and musical, he also looks for ways in which the creative process informs his life’s work.

Dr. Chris Gelenter is a retired educator with 33 yrs of experience in public education. Twenty of those years were served as a public school administrator in Arkansas, Colorado and Mississippi. Dr. Gelenter holds a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in Oxford, Mississippi (1987). Dr. Gelenter is now a freelance Educational Issues writer and is working on several books for publication in addition to building a Worldwide Network on LinkedIn for Business Leaders, Educators and Writers.

Eric Kalenze is an Instructional Leader for a large Twin Cities-metro area school district’s Office of Academic Affairs.  His experience in education includes teaching in public schools, developing programming and professional development in the curriculum & content industry, and private-school administration.  He’s currently writing a book about effective school reform.

Zachary Lawrence is a teacher and writer in Wichita, KS.  He has extensive experience in special education, literacy intervention, and behavioral support systems.  He holds master’s degrees in special education (Kansas State University, ’09) and educational leadership (Wichita State University, ’11), and has conducted research in data use in classrooms, and family-school relationships.

Lisa Shuford is an educational consultant working with public and private entities to provide technical assistance on state and federal education policies, especially those impacting disadvantaged youth. Prior to this, Lisa was Chief of the Bureau of Federal Education Programs at the Florida Department of Education, where she managed the Title I, Parts A, C, and D programs, Title VI, and Title X. Lisa is committed to improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged youth so that all students have the same opportunities for success in school and in life.

Michael Jeffrey Slebodnick has been a Teacher Educator and Geoscience Instructor at several community colleges and universities.  He has taught around 3000 primary through post-secondary students, and has performed outreach with elementary and middle schools on topics such as technology in the classroom, rocks and minerals, fossils, and geologic time. He has also taught middle school science, and high school science and other courses. He worked in the creation and accreditation of a secondary teacher preparation program.  He is interested in the performance and assessment of pre-service teachers in the field and online learning platforms.