Stacey is currently employed as a second grade teacher at Crim Elementary in Bowling Green, Ohio and also serves as an adjunct instructor for Bowling Green State University. At the time of her award, Stacey was new second-grade teacher at Ridge Elementary School, a diverse Title I school in Bowling Green, Ohio, Stacia (Stacey) Higgins brought a decade's worth of experience as Ridge's former reading specialist. From her first year of teaching at Ridge in 1999, Higgins was instrumental in dramatically raising Ridge's literacy achievement levels. Working closely with colleagues, Higgins reinforced the skills, vocabulary and themes taught in the regular classroom while helping teachers plan and implement special reading and language arts activities. She organized an annual Free Book Fair at Ridge, encouraging summer reading by providing books that she acquires through grants. She also coordinated school visits by children's authors and illustrators such as Mike Wimmer, Will Hillenbrand and Patrick O'Brien. A member of the Regional Literacy Team, Higgins has served on the Ohio Department of Education's Content Advisory Committee for the fourth-grade reading achievement test, Rangefinding Committe for the third grade reading achievement tests, as well as regional and district-level committees. A frequent presenter at national conferences, university institutes and districtwide in-services, Higgins also facilitated online courses through the University of Akron's eReads Ohio program.
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1994 Baldwin Wallace College, B.S.
Bowling Green State University, M.Ed.
