Language & Literacy

Alumni & Careers

Kia Martin, Ed.M.'01

Even though I graduated in 2001 from the L&L masters program, I did not leave HGSE. I stayed to pursue my doctorate in L&L. Yes, I loved the program that much! My doctoral research focus is on the reading achievement of Black males in special education. I recently completed my qualifying paper which was a case study of the literacy experiences of two third grade Black males in inclusive classroom settings.

The master's program was an awesome experience. While in the program, I was able to connect theory to practice through the reading specialists certification program and to fuel my interest for conducting research. I have most enjoyed being able to stay connected to classroom. Since I have been at HGSE, I have supervised reading specialist in training through the Jeanne Chall Reading Lab and have taught courses at local universities. The opportunities at HGSE are endless. By taking advantage of all that HGSE has to offer, I feel better prepared to continue my life's work as an educator.

Eric Kinne, Ed.M.'04

I taught 9th and 10th grade English for two years through the Teach For America program in a small town on the border of Mexico in South Texas. I'm originally from Maine, and after two years in the hot and humid Rio Grande Valley (RGV) I came to Harvard to pursue a master's degree in Language and Literacy. After completing the master's program, I realized that the Texan in me had overtaken the Mainer in me, so I returned to the RGV as a program director with Teach For America. Currently I support 57 first and second year teachers across all content areas and grade levels. This entails everything from observing their teaching and providing feedback to planning and facilitating content-specific collaborative teams to connecting teachers to great resources that will help them improve. I love all things literacy (especially given that so many of our students here are behind in reading and writing levels), and this year I'm spearheading a new effort to train our teachers in literacy. I'll be leading monthly seminars on elementary, content, and ELA literacy strategies, and I'm excited to see how this plays out in classrooms across the RGV. My job is great, because I get to see teachers facilitate the learning process with kids. I also love playing tennis, am an amateur magician (it's a little hobby of mine), and have dreams of one day owning a farm in rural Maine and living a semi-self-sufficient life.

Yenda Prado, Ed.M.'05

I'll be working as a Bilingual Family Literacy Specialist for Grail Family Services in San Jose California. Grail is a social service agency which serves low-income, primarily Spanish speaking individuals. Grail is trying to add a literacy component to the program offerings. I'll be working on improving their children's library, "Read To Me" early literacy program, and a mother's discussion group.

It makes me so happy to know that I'll be working with an organization where I'll be able to use everything I learned this past year! I really believe that if it wasn't for the knowledge I gained during my year in the L&L program I wouldn't have done as well during my interviews. I also think that the combination of courses I took this past year is perfect for what I'll be doing.

Emily Sah, Ed.M.'05

As a middle school history and English teacher, I frequently encountered students for whom reading became increasingly difficult and burdensome, especially as the complexity of the material increased. I entered the Language and Literacy program hoping to find answers to why students began to have comprehension problems as older readers and to learn ways that I could help them, both as a teacher and a tutor. I also knew that I wanted to transition out of the classroom and into tutoring in order to balance working and caring for my son. Attending HGSE as a part-time student, allowed me to meet my academic goals while also having time to be home with my son. Having now graduated, I will be tutoring after school and running some literacy enrichment activities in an afterschool program for late elementary and middle school students.

Brett Berkman, Ed.M '04

After graduating from HGSE with a master's in language and literacy, I returned for one year to the Wellesley (Massachusetts) Public Schools as a second-grade teacher. It was great to be back in the classroom and really get to experiment with the programs I had learned about during my year at HGSE. I especially loved using the Words Their Way program as our class spelling program. The kids loved it too--we had a great time being Word Detectives!

Next year, I have accepted a new position as the literacy specialist for the Woodrow Wilson School in Framingham, Massachusetts. I am looking forward to joining a great staff and helping them to continue their excellent literacy program. One challenge in this new position is the large population of English-language learners at the school. I learned so much about ELLs and the issues surrounding them while at HGSE but this is my first time working with such a large ELL population. Wish me luck!

Sheeba Jacobs, Ed.M. '04

Since graduating from HGSE, I have been implementing a curriculum in different parts of India (Kerala and Bangalore) with another HGSE alumna, Smita Trivedi. The curriculum is a combination of Facing History and Ourselves, The Social Justice Education Institute, and our own resources from previous teaching experience. Our work looks at how to get students more involved in their local communities as to make effective positive changes (through a history and literature based focus), in addition to being more tolerant of each other despite differences.

While in Kerala for the first four months, I observed that everyone--from the autorickshaw driver to the man who tapped toddy from coconut trees to the local shop owner--can read and avidly read the newspaper on a daily basis. In a few months, I will be returning back to the States and look forward to sharing and implementing what I have learned here, back over there.

Elizabeth Barrett Kidder, Ed.M. '05

Prior to coming to HGSE, Elizabeth worked as a grantwriter and editor for several educational nonprofits. After graduation, it was her goal to obtain a position with an educational publisher. Elizabeth discovered the associate editor position at Blackwell Publishing and was hooked.

"Because Blackwell publishes on behalf of scholarly societies, such as the National Council on Measurement in Education, the position gives me the best of both worlds: I work on the business side of publishing while supporting the mission of nonprofit societies."

Elizabeth currently manages 20 academic journals in the fields of education, psychology, and history. "It is so exciting to be helping to shape the future of journals I cited while at HGSE. One of the most exciting parts of my job is managing the development of the new start-up journal Mind, Brain and Education, which is edited by Bigelow Professor Kurt Fischer, director of HGSE's MBE program."

Jen Letcher, Ed.M.'03

After graduating from HGSE in 2003, I returned home to Chicago to work for the Chicago Reading Initiative. The CRI is a program sponsored by the Office of Literacy of the Chicago Public Schools. I spend most of my time at Carpenter Elementary School on the city's west side, serving there as a reading specialist and as the director of the school's academic after-school programs. This year I am also a member of the citywide training team for the Illinois Reading First program, an early literacy initiative that provides professional development and support for over 100 CPS schools. I love the work that I do, and feel incredibly fortunate to have gone through the Language and Literacy program before beginning this work. My time at HGSE not only provided me with excellent practical experience and theoretical knowledge, but also allowed me to develop my skills as a member of a small, supportive, and incredibly knowledgeable group of students and faculty. This combination of experience and support gave me the confidence I needed to take on the challenge of working in a struggling urban school.

Life After Harvard

It is evident by their career choices that graduates of the Language and Literacy master's program are committed to the field of education. But as seen by the wide array of careers, alumni are doing work both in and out of the classroom.

What Are L&L Alumni Doing?

Senior Analyst, international for-profit government and business consulting firm
English Teacher, bilingual school
Assistant Professor, university
Reading Teacher, public school
Academic Coordinator, private school
Department Chair, middle school
Director of Programs, private university
Director, literacy center
Fellow, policy and research foundation
Doctoral candidate, university
Literacy Specialist, public school district
Academic Case Manager, school specializing in language-based learning disabilities
Professor, college
Asst. Editor, newsletter
Director of Small Business Marketing, software company
Clinical Teacher, nonprofit literacy center
Literacy Consultant, government organization
Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist, public hospital
Reading First Implementation Facilitator, state department of education
Research Associate, private university
Associate Clinic Director, learning center specializing in learning disabilities
Program Planning Specialist, private university
Teacher, public school
Researcher, public university
Senior Research Teacher, private university

Where Are L&L Alumni Working?

McGraw Hill
Harvard Education Letter
University of California, Los Angeles
Concord Academy
National Defense Academy
Abt Associates
Milton Academy
Harvard University
Education Alliance
Brown University
New Alternatives for Children
University of Michigan
Asian American Civic Association
Massachusetts Dept of Education
Boston Public Schools
The Heritage Foundation
Osaka Jogakuin College, Japan
Beth Israel Medical Center
Tufts University
Georgetown School of Law
Educators Publishing Service
World Education
Centre for Research on Literacy
Stern Center for Language and Learning
New York City Public Schools
Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes