Valerie Nyberg Bio

Valerie Nyberg Biography

Currently, I am enrolled in the Department of Teaching and Learning pursuing a Ph.D. in the Language, Literacy, and Culture program. In addition, I am also currently enrolled in the Education Policy and Leadership Studies program pursuing a Principal Certificate in Educational Administration. My areas of interest include: sociocultural theory, multiliteracies and critical literacy, secondary teacher education, diversity issues in education, qualitative research, reluctant/resistant learners, and administrative leadership.

I hold a Master’s Degree in English with an emphasis in Nonfiction writing. I also have a Bachelor’s of Education in English and Communications both from Western Washington University (Western) in Bellingham, Washington. I taught high school English in Washington State for two-and-half-years. I also taught Freshman Composition at Western for a year and was the Managing Editor for the Bellingham Review, also for a year.

Prior to that, I served for three years in the United States Navy as a plane captain, Aviation Ordnanceman, and as a Gedunk store assistant manager. I joined the Navy to see the world; instead, I was stationed at NAS Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor, Washington.

For the last two years I have worked as the Assistant Director for The Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success in Cedar Rapids. It is a summer enrichment program for African American high school students, which emphasizes African American culture, academics, and self- confidence and development. This summer, like the summer of 2005, we will work to include students from Linn County as well as Johnson County. As part of this program, I have begun researching community-based play of scripts programs and other alternatives to add a creative outlet which allows students to express themselves and their experiences. Last year, this took the form of a short program called I Am the Bridge, in which students performed three (3) pieces of African American literature, song lyrics, and/or personal writings. This coming summer, I hope to expand this component of the program to include student created video.

My current plans for a dissertation topic include examining effective programs which serve the needs of disadvantaged and underrepresented populations, particularly those linking home, schools and the larger community in order to assess what works, how it works, and why it works. In addition, I plan to assess the degree to which eastern Iowa schools link home and schools literacies in an effort to support measures that assist students with achieving higher performance and increased engagement in school.

In spend my “spare time” raising my three sons and investing time and energy into their interests and hobbies which include reading; playing chess, soccer, and the tube and cello (my oldest); as well as enjoying outings to The Children’s Museum and special events like the Suessical and the Nutcracker.