- Bradley Bleck teaches English literature and composition, both developmental levels and transfer, including Accelerated Learning Project (ALP) classes, at Spokane Falls Community College. SFCC is a primarily liberal arts focused community college where about 75 percent of newly enrolled students intend to transfer to a BA granting institution, most of whom end up at Eastern Washington University. Student populations served by this project include recent high school graduates who are not yet college ready and a variety “nontraditional” students who have either been away from formal education, often either in the military, workforce, or family care context. Some have been either incarcerated or otherwise incapacitated and previously unable to pursue a formal education.
- Lynn Briggs of Eastern Washington University’s English Department was a participant in the first two years of the project but had to withdraw due to an increase in professional obligations that resulted from a promotion to an administrative position.
- Lesley Hilts teaches high school English at Deer Park High School. She has taught English I, English II, EWU 170: Introduction to Literature (a concurrent enrollment class and Bridge to College.
- Katie O’Connor teaches Bridge to College English at Ferris High School in Spokane which is the required English 12 course for students not enrolled in AP classes creating a very diverse population from university bound students to students with IEPs with writing goals as low as 5th grade. Class sizes range from 22 to 28. Survey of students stated approximately 20% are university bound, 60% community college bound, 5% military bound, and remaining students unsure with probability of going to work.
Professional Experience
Bradley Bleck, Spokane Falls Community College
Bradley has been teaching in community colleges since 1990 or thereabouts after having abandoned pursuit of a secondary teaching certificate. He began teaching as an adjunct in several Seattle area community colleges before moving to Spokane and teaching as an adjunct at SFCC. From there he was hired at the Community College of Southern Nevada in January 1996 based on having developed a fully online, web-based First Year Composition course.
While teaching online and face-to-face computer supported writing and literature classes, Bradley went on to become the Director of Distance Education and later the (interim) Associate Dean of Distance Education serving students and schools ranging over more than 40,000 square miles. Initial distance education efforts were focused on high school students recouping credits but emphasis later shifted to delivering an online Associate of Arts.
Upon returning to SFCC as a tenure track, now tenured, faculty member in 2001, Bradley has been involved in a variety of efforts to bridge the gap students face between high school and college. Some efforts have been informal, inviting high school teachers to workshops and to participate in SFCC’s English 101 Portfolio readings and more formal, legislatively supported efforts such as the College Readiness work sponsored by the now defunct Washington HIgher Education Coordinating (HEC) Board that was led by William Condon of WSU’s English department.
Lesley Hilts, Deer Park High School
Lesley Hilts has been teaching for over 25 years. She started at the elementary level teaching an integrated sixth grade classroom (she was both the general and special education teacher). From there, she spent two years teaching overseas in Vientiane, Laos at an international school. She taught 6-8 Language Arts, Social Studies and ELL. When she returned stateside, she began teaching English at the high school. Since that time, she has taught English One, English Two, World Cultures, Civics, AP English, EWU 170, Bridge to College and Yearbook.
In 1996, she achieved her Master’s in Guidance and Counseling from Whitworth University. She was awarded her National Board Certificate of teaching in Adolescent/Young Adult English Language Arts in 2012 and recertified in 2012. In 2013, she traveled to Morocco, Africa on an IREX grant for Global Education, and in 2014, she completed her Residential Administrative Certificate at Whitworth University.
Throughout her years of teaching, Lesley has been involved in various trainings in reading, writing, language and differentiated. She has been on numerous committees, and she constantly seeks out ways to improve both her teaching and her student’s success. Involvement in the College Spark Grant has been a wonderful opportunity in collaborating between public and higher ed teachers, professors and leaders.
Katie O’Connor, Ferris High School
Katie O’Connor has been teaching in the secondary setting since 1999. She first began her teaching career in Special Education where she was assigned as a resource English teacher teaching all four levels of high school English to students deficient in reading and writing. After four years of teaching, she became the SPED Department Head, where she focused building a more inclusive setting at North Central High School. This endeavor required collaboration with administrators, psychologists, sociologists, district representatives, parents and students. After a year of research and multiple professional development sessions for teachers, North Central High School moved to a more inclusive high school where most students were able to access most general education curriculum with support from both general education and special education teachers. This work motivated her to obtain her Masters Degree in Reading Instruction and Design.
After three more years of teaching and acting as Department Lead, she decided a change was necessary, so she moved to Ferris High School to teach in the English department. It was there that she was given the opportunity to co-teach with the Special Education teacher and truly learned how much the power of collaboration impacts student learning. This collaboration also provided the motivation to obtain her National Boards Certification and continue to pursue collaborative professional development opportunities where the focus was on directly improving student learning.
Three years ago, she was asked to represent Ferris in the SPARKS Grant and also pilot the new Bridge to College English 12 curriculum. This opportunity is where she learned that cross-sector collaboration is the key to filling the gaps students presented when transferring to post-secondary English courses. She has seen drastic increases in student achievement in her English 12 classes when addressing rhetorical reading and writing because of this collaboration opportunity.
