English as a Second Language (5-12)

Meg is a faculty member in the English Language Learning/TESOL programs at Lesley. She specializes in the theoretical and pedagogical foundations of bilingual education, with a focus on Spanish-English paired literacy instruction in elementary Dual Language schools. Her research also investigates issues of culture, race, and power in linguistically diverse settings, specifically Two-Way Dual Language schools.

Meg teaches courses in first and second language acquisition, early language and literacy development, sheltered English instruction, culturally responsive pedagogy, family and community engagement, and qualitative research methods. In professional development settings, Meg works with both monolingual and bilingual teachers to build classroom practices which support emerging bilingual learners’ oral language development as a foundation for biliteracy.  

After learning Spanish as a second language, Meg began her teaching career as a first grade Two-Way Dual Language Spanish immersion teacher. She currently serves on the board of the Massachusetts Association for Bilingual Education and is a member of the Bilingual Education Research Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association.

Meg is the incoming president of the Multistate Association for Bilingual Education. Lesley recently hosted a dual-language MABE conference featuring Meg and Lesley colleagues Laura Schall-Leckrone and Amanda Wager. Read more.

Education: BA, Vassar College; MA in Applied Linguistics, University of Massachusetts, Boston; PhD in Bilingual Multicultural Education, University of Colorado, Boulder.

Amanda's educational background and scholarship is informed by 15 years of experience as an educator in the United States, Peru, Canada, and the Netherlands. She taught children, youth and adults from diverse backgrounds in formal and informal learning spaces. As a recent awardee of Lesley’s Junior Faculty Fellowship, she is continuing research on the use of the arts as a tool for language learning in public schools within the Boston area.

She has presented and published internationally on her research interests: feminist/critical/public pedagogy, applied theatre, youth studies, multicultural education, research-based theatre, and additional language learning. Amanda’s passion lies in building safe spaces in which individuals can creatively and critically co-construct pedagogy. She teaches in both the Language and Literacy and Creative Arts in Learning programs. Amanda is chair of Lesley’s Diversity Council.

Amanda was one of the speakers at a 2018 Lesley-hosted dual-language conference sponsored by the Multistate Association for Bilingual Educators, with colleagues Meg Burns and Laura Schall-Leckrone. Read more. 

Education

BFA, Emerson College
MAT, Dominican University
PhD, University of British Columbia

Laura Schall-Leckrone teaches in the graduate Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and English Language Learners (TESOL/ELL) programs at Lesley. Prior to completing her doctorate, she worked for seventeen years as a bilingual teacher, Spanish teacher, and K-12 curriculum director in urban and suburban public school settings. Her teaching and research center on the preparation of teachers to teach linguistically diverse youth and pedagogy that promotes disciplinary and critical literacies.

Laura is currently engaged in collaborative classroom-based research with high school history teachers aimed at teaching adolescent bilingual learners literacy skills of civic engagement, such as telling a compelling story, explaining phenomena, and advancing an argument.

Laura was one of the speakers at a 2018 Lesley-hosted dual-language conference sponsored by the Multistate Association for Bilingual Educators, with colleagues Meg Burns and Amanda Wager. Read more.

Education

BA, Swarthmore College
MAT, School for International Training
PhD, Boston College

Tara Tuck teaches in the language and literacy programs at Lesley.

I have a rather varied background in education, beginning with earning a B.S. in Education from Lesley College (long before it was a university). After teaching first and fifth grade, I earned a M.S. in Speech and Language Pathology from Boston University. As an SLP I started one of the first self-contained special education classrooms for students with severe language disorders. Wanting to help teachers work with these special students in general education classrooms led me to continue as an SLP specializing in inclusion, working in the public schools, presenting workshops for teachers, and teaching at Lesley (on campus and around the country).

I also earned a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Administration, Planning and Social Policy at Harvard, and shortly thereafter moved to Florida to thaw out and continue as a District Inclusion Specialist. I now devote my time to teaching for Lesley and getting the word out about my book, The Joy of Language: The Guide to Language and Learning for Parents and Caregivers. It is my passion to inspire parents and teachers to empower children with the communication skills necessary to become lifelong learners and to make a real difference in the world. We (parents, teachers and children) are all teachers and all learners.

Tara's Joy of Language website. Joy of Language Facebook page.

Education

BS, Education, Lesley College
MS, Speech and Language Pathology, Boston University
CAS in Administration, Planning and Social Policy, Harvard Graduate School of Education