Courtney Knowlton ’10,’ 12M, teaches at the Antonia Pantoja Charter School in North Philadelphia. Antonia Pantoja Charter School, a K-8 institution with 830 students, offers a bilingual and bicultural curriculum that draws from the social, historical experience of the Puerto Rican population in the United States.

Knowlton, who was a double major in Elementary Education and Spanish as an undergraduate at Arcadia, went on to earn her master’s degree in Education/Literacy Studies: TESOL & Reading.  She enjoys connecting with her students, using techniques such as collaborative writing and think alouds, which she learned in her education program at Arcadia. “Teaching these children, who do not have English as their first language, is incredibly enriching,” she says. “The students teach me as much as I teach them.” 

For details about Courtney’s work, click here.

James Capolupo, M.Ed. ’76, Certificate of Advanced Study ’84, Letter of Eligibility ’92, is on a mission.  Capolupo, who is currently Superintendent of the Springfield School District in Delaware County, Pa., lives by this mantra: Every Child Can Learn to Read.  Along with the help and hard work of many colleagues–the school board, principals, teachers, staff and parents of the schools in the Springfield District–he has implemented a comprehensive literacy program, including the construction of a $16 million literacy center that is the home of the kindergarten and first grade students in the district.

Launched in 2000, the program has been a tremendous success, serving as the catalyst to move Springfield to an astonishing 99.3 % of students reading at or beyond grade level in fourth grade by 2005, and 100% of students reading at or beyond grade level in fourth grade by 2011.  “Our literacy program is a success because everyone in the district shared a single goal–to get our children reading,” Capolupo explains.  “We believed every child could read, and we didn’t accept the alternative.” More about Capolupo’s work.