From left to right: Dr. Herbert Hunt, Slippery Rock University; Dr. Douglas Hazlett, Thiel College; Professor Toni Mild, Thiel College; Professor Mary Reames, Thiel College; Professor David Shaffer, Thiel College; Professor Phylis Genareo, Grove City College; Dr. Linda Domanski, Westminster College; Dr. Cecelia Yauger, director, Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV; and Lorinda Hess, director, Adult Basic Education Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV.

GREENVILLE, PA—Thiel College education professors Mary Reames and David Shaffer conducted a workshop for local college education professors on Thursday, February 5, at the Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV in Grove City, Pa.

The workshop participants included Dr. Doug Hazlett and Toni Mild from Thiel College as well as professors from Grove City College, Westminster College and Slippery Rock University. The workshop was part of a grant that Reames and Shaffer secured from the Heinz Foundation through the School Performance Network in Pittsburgh. This grant funded 12 training sessions for the school districts of Mercer, Lawrence and Butler counties along with several workshops for the students of Thiel, Grove City, Westminster and Slippery Rock.

The Heinz Foundation grant aims to provide a clear focus on the teaching strategies and practices that have been proven by research to have the greatest impact on student achievement. Along with the workshops, the grant included $2,500 for Thiel’s education department and the college’s chapter of Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), the international education honorary. The funding will be used for materials for the education program and to host a KDP workshop on March 28 on Thiel’s campus for KDP members from Thiel, Grove City, Westminster and Slippery Rock colleges.

The School Performance Network is a regional coalition of 34 school districts and 3 dioceses from 14 counties in Western Pennsylvania that connects schools with research, partnerships and technology that create best practices and improves student learning.

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