ISSUED: 18 October 2017
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Members of Shepherd University’s Delta Psi chapter of Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education (KDP) will receive two Education Program Excellence awards during the organization’s 51st Biennial Convocation October 26-28 in Pittsburgh.
One award recognizes the chapter’s efforts to organize a professional development day each semester for the past two years and for student involvement in the Annual Literacy Leaders Conference. Garrett O’Connell and Jillian O’Connell, both of Martinsburg, and Maggie James, Harpers Ferry, each served as a professional development chair for the conference one or more semesters with responsibility for identifying and inviting master teachers and other experts to come to Shepherd to offer a variety of workshops for 60 or more teacher candidates. Maegan Noffsinger, Frederick, Maryland, worked as the student representative on the steering committee for the annual Literacy Leaders Conference, where she was responsible for overseeing all student volunteers serving as conference facilitators and session presiders to the approximately 150 area teachers and teacher candidates who attended.
The other award focused on the Delta Psi Chapter’s outreach to community children at the annual Little House Storybook Carnival that takes place each spring. Brad Davidson, Manchester, Maryland, chaired this event in 2016 with Mackenzie Kerns, Romney, and Hannah French, Martinsburg, co chairing it in 2017. The event involved organizing Shepherd education student volunteers to conduct an interactive read aloud with follow up activities focused on a selected book. This past spring more than 160 children and their family members attended throughout the day. In addition to promoting the importance of literacy and bringing area children to campus, the carnival raised $600 that will be used to help pay for students to attend the KDP Convocation.
In addition, chapter officer Ashley Wilkins, Baker, who led the Literacy Alive Pen Pal project encouraging elementary students in area Title 1 schools to do well in school and prepare for college, was just named one of 10 recipients for the 2016-2017 Distinguished Chapter Officer from more than 3,000 active chapter officers around the world.
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