Further Information about my Interview with Mrs. Duley

Below are some more details about Mrs. Duley that recently she sent me:

I taught elementary students for eleven years, and taught children
mostly in rural schools. I spent nine of those years in first grade,
where I became very interested in early literacy. While I was teaching,
I pursued my master's degree at UW-River Falls, and was certified as a
reading specialist.

During these years, I was fortunate to work with students of varying
levels, abilities, and backgrounds. I had students from Mexico,
Honduras, Vietnam, Korea, Canada, and many other countries. I also
taught in New Zealand and England as part of a Visiting Teacher Program,
to learn more about early literacy and thematic teaching.

After eleven years, I was offered a position at WSU, where I taught all
of the literacy courses, including the Literacy for English Language
Learners course. I placed my students in ELL classrooms and worked with
ELL teachers to provide students with opportunities to work with ELL
students. We had many guest speakers and learned about the resources
available in the Winona area. My major emphasis in the class was on
cultural responsiveness.

At the same time all of this was happening, my husband started a program
called Puentes, which I also became involved in. My husband arranged for
farmers in our area to travel to Mexico to meet the families of
employees of local farmers. This program has been going for seven years,
and it continues to evolve. I traveled to Mexico last November and
visited with teachers, principals, and children in the schools of
Altamirano. This experience had a profound effect on me and continues to
influence me on a daily basis.