Hope Halfacre and Whitney Umbarger presents: Turning Up the Volume of Reading
Innovative ways to increase reading volume for students by providing access to quality books to grow their at-home libraries. We will be sharing how increasing reading volume impacts reading achievement and increases student engagement.
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Hope Halfacre’s dream of becoming a teacher began when she was 5 years old after playing “school” for hours on end with her sisters. She was inspired to become a teacher by her mom who taught elementary school for over 40 years. After graduating with her undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Carolina, Hope taught second grade for eight years. While teaching second grade, she wanted to go back to school and pursue her Masters degree. She obtained her Masters degree in Divergent Learning from Columbia College. Hope did not stop her pursuit of higher education there. She went on to obtain her Masters plus 30 in Technology for the Classroom from La Verne University, earned a certificate in Leading Change for Administrators and Aspiring Administrators from Harvard University, and began her Doctor of Education program in Administration for Teaching and Learning from Walden University. She spent three years teaching first grade in a private school in Columbia, SC before moving back to her hometown to teach first grade in Lexington School District One. Hope is a passionate life-long learner and an advocate for children. She currently is a Lead Interventionist and Reading Recovery teacher at Gilbert Elementary School in Lexington School District One.
Whitney Umbarger found her passion for teaching while she attended the University of South Carolina as an Early Childhood Education major. She went on to teach traditional first grade for seven years, and first grade Spanish Immersion for four years in Lexington School District One at Gilbert Elementary School. She discovered her love for consulting with colleagues on best practices when she was named the district's first Response To Intervention Model Classroom. Whitney was then presented with an opportunity to serve as a kindergarten through 5th grade interventionist, and to receive Reading Recovery training through Clemson University. She has enjoyed working with students at the various grade levels, and also modeling high leverage literacy moves for teachers to accelerate reading growth. Currently, she is completing her Masters degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from Southern Wesleyan University, and will graduate in August.
