4 App State faculty publish books on teaching, counseling and student support

BOONE, N.C. — Four faculty in Appalachian State University’s Reich College of Education (RCOE) published books in 2021, with topics ranging from careers in teaching and how educators shape their students’ lives, to counseling techniques to prepare Pre-K–12 students for career and college success and ways to support low-income and working-class college students.

The books and their authors:

• “Social Class Supports: Programs and practices to serve and sustain poor and working-class students through higher education” by Dr. Sonja Ardoin.
• “A Vocation at Risk: A Survival Guide for New Teachers” by Dr. James A. Bryant.
• “Safe, Seen, and Stretched in the Classroom: The Remarkable Ways Teachers Shape Students’ Lives” by Dr. Julie Hasson.
• “Career and College Readiness Counseling in P–12 Schools” by Dr. Amy Milsom.

More on the publications

Supporting low-income, working-class college students

Ardoin, an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling and the director of App State’s student affairs administration program, has co-edited her fourth book, “Social Class Supports” (Stylus Publishing, July 2021), with Dr. Georgianna Martin, associate professor of counseling and human development at the University of Georgia.

The book, released in July 2021, is organized in six sections and highlights support efforts to enhance the college experience for low-income and working-class students in higher education — at both two- and four-year public and private institutions.

According to Ardoin, the book offers practical, applied ideas for college educators, professionals and administrators to engage these student populations in meaningful and additive ways.

“Dr. Ardoin is dedicated to advancing the field of student affairs administration and underserved students through her research and scholarly endeavors,” said RCOE Dean Melba Spooner. “She is engaging in critical work that will produce transformational change related to college access and success.”

“As someone who was a working-class student myself, I value the opportunity to add to the scholarship on social class and advance social class equity in higher education,” Ardoin said.

Last summer, Ardoin received an RCOE grant in support of her research for the book, as well as her work on RCOE’s 2017–22 strategic plan.

‘A Survival Guide for New Teachers’

Bryant, associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and director of App State’s Gadugi Partnership program, has published his third book, “A Vocation at Risk: A Survival Guide for New Teachers” (Rowman & Littlefield, August 2021). The book provides new teachers with a theoretical foundation for their careers while also reminding them of the idealistic, moral and spiritual purposes of public schooling.

According to Bryant, the book identifies three resources all new teachers need:

• Practical information, such as how to effectively communicate with parents of students.
• A clear outline of theory-to-practice — how to apply teacher preparation theory in the classroom.
• Reminders of why teachers choose the profession.

In his review of the book, Phillip Griffin, director of support services at Smith County Public Schools in Marion, Virginia, said Bryant’s “focus on pedagogy, fostering relationships, communication and ethical behavior is spot on in developing the traits associated with successful teachers.”

‘The Remarkable Ways Teachers Shape Students’ Lives’

Hasson, an assistant professor in the Department of Leadership and Educational Studies, has authored her first book, “Safe, Seen, and Stretched in the Classroom: The Remarkable Ways Teachers Shape Students’ Lives” (Routledge, November 2021).

In preparation for the book, Hasson spent a year interviewing people about teachers who’ve shaped their lives, trying to understand what teachers say and do to make a lasting impact on their students. The stories she shares in “Safe, Seen, and Stretched in the Classroom” highlight the ways a teacher’s actions can influence students’ lives and are presented alongside practical models to help teachers of all experience levels make a more consistent impact on the students they serve.

“Educators intuitively understand the importance of building strong relationships with students, but they may not have the skills and strategies needed,” Hasson said. “Strong student–teacher relationships lead to improved academic, social and emotional outcomes for students and greater satisfaction for teachers. This book provides models and strategies for building deeper relationships and positive classroom cultures.”

In her review of the book, Laura Grundler, visual arts coordinator and co-creator of #K12ArtChat and “K12ArtChat the Podcast,” said, “In a time when education and educators are under a microscope, Julie reminds us of our value, our impact and the joy of teaching.”

Chapters cover topics such as commitment, vulnerability, power, connection, expectations, community, identity and equity while underscoring the importance of making students feel safe, seen and “stretched,” or challenged.

A resource for career and college readiness counselors

Milsom, a professor in and the chair of App State’s Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling, has published the third edition of “Career and College Readiness Counseling in P–12 Schools” (Springer Publishing, November 2021). Milsom co-authored the book with Dr. Jennifer Curry, the Shirley B. Barton Endowed Professor at Louisiana State University.

“Disparities in career and college-related outcomes continue to exist in the United States, and early intervention is critical to helping close academic and educational achievement gaps,” Milsom said. “This book addresses individual and systemic factors that counselors and educators should consider as they design intentional career and college-focused interventions.”

Milsom shared that she and Curry initially wrote the book “to provide school counselors with a resource that could help them easily conceptualize the career and college readiness needs of Pre-K–12 students and design relevant and meaningful interventions.”

The third edition includes the following new material:

• Updated workforce, educational and demographic statistics.
• Enhanced content on culturally responsive school counseling practices.
• The impact of social media on student development.
• Coverage of the changing culture of higher education recruitment.
• Postsecondary transition planning for students with disabilities.
• Work-based learning opportunities for career and technical education pathways.
• Gap year information.
• Enhanced instructor’s manual, including sample syllabi, PowerPoints, project-based learning activities, discussion prompts, exam questions and related online activities, games and apps.

About the authors

Dr. Sonja Ardoin

Ardoin served as a student affairs administrator for 10 years before joining the RCOE faculty in 2018. Her published research — four books, one monograph issue, 24 book chapters and six journal articles — is used by multiple higher education and student affairs graduate programs across the U.S.

Ardoin’s research interests include social class identity in higher education, college access and success for first-generation college students and students from rural areas, career preparation and pathways in higher education and student affairs, and student and women’s leadership in higher education.

A first-generation college student, Ardoin holds a doctorate in educational research and policy analysis from North Carolina State University, a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from Florida State University and a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Louisiana State University.

Dr. James A. Bryant

Bryant serves as an associate professor of elementary education at App State. His previous publications include “Curley,” a novel published in 2004, and “Now More Than Ever: Social Studies in the 21st Century,” which examines social studies and history education in America.

As director of App State’s Gadugi Partnership, Bryant teaches a history-orientated class via a hybrid model — on-site and over Zoom — to American Indian students of Cherokee High School, located on the Qualla Boundary. Students who successfully complete the elective course earn college credits. The program, which Bryant initiated in 2013, is a partnership between App State and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians/Cherokee Central Schools.

Bryant holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master of Arts in history from the College of William and Mary, and a doctorate in teaching and learning history from the University of North Dakota. His research areas are in American Indian history and education.

Dr. Julie Hasson

Hasson was a principal in Hillsborough County, Florida, before entering higher education. In 2020 she joined the faculty in App State’s RCOE, where she teaches graduate courses in leadership and school administration. She also conducts qualitative research in schools and is a member of local and national professional learning communities focused on principal preparation programs.

Her research interests include building relationships and trust in organizations. “As a qualitative researcher, I am also interested in evidence of teacher impact beyond test scores,” she said.

Hasson completed her doctorate in educational leadership at the University of South Florida in 2011.

Dr. Amy Milsom

Milsom joined App State in 2019 as chair of RCOE’s Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling. She previously held faculty positions at the University of Iowa, University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Clemson University.

She received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Pennsylvania State University and has experience as a middle and high school counselor in Pennsylvania. Milsom possesses credentials as a licensed professional counselor supervisor and a K–12 school counselor. In 2017 she received the American Counseling Association Fellow Award, recognizing her leadership and service in counseling.

Her research centers on career and college readiness and postsecondary transitions, with an emphasis on students with disabilities. Her secondary research interests include school counselor preparation and professionalism in counseling.

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Social Class Supports

Programs and Practices to Serve and Sustain Poor and Working-Class Students through Higher Education

By Georgianna Martin and Sonja Ardoin
2021

Historically, higher education was designed for a narrow pool of privileged students. Despite national, state and institutional policies developed over time to improve access, higher education has only lately begun to address how its unexamined assumptions, practices and climate create barriers for poor and working-class populations and lead to significant disparities in degree completion across social classes.

This book is addressed to administrators, educators and student affairs personnel, urging them to make the institutional commitment to enhance the college experience for poor and working-class students who not only represent a substantial proportion of college students today, but constitute a significant future demographic.

Available from Stylus Publishing

A Vocation at Risk

A Survival Guide for New Teachers

By James A. Bryant Jr.
2021

This book serves as a resource for new and pre-service teachers, providing them with:

• Imminently practical information that they will need to succeed in their careers.
• A workable theoretical base that is clearly tied to their practice.
• Reminders of their ideals for entering the education profession.

“Bryant writes with passion about the realities of teaching. To best prepare teachers we should revisit the sage advice of the giants in our field, as he does, and give pre-service teachers real experience and less of the mundane mediocrity that too often passes for teacher preparation.” — Nadine Tepper, teacher educator at the University of North Dakota

Available from Rowman & Littlefield

Safe, Seen, and Stretched in the Classroom

The Remarkable Ways Teachers Shape Students' Lives

By Julie Schmidt Hasson
2022

Everyone remembers their favorite teacher, but why? What makes some teachers so memorable? In this captivating book, Dr. Julie Schmidt Hasson shares stories that are both inspirational, highlighting the ways a teacher’s actions can make a lasting impact, and also informational, providing models to help teachers make a more consistent impact on the students they serve.

Available from Routledge

Career and College Readiness Counseling in P-12 Schools

By Junnifer R. Curry and Amy Milsom
2021

Curry and Milsom take an intentional and realistic approach to career development that is inclusive of all students at each developmental stage, and they recognize that the training and path to pursuing a career is unique to each person.

This book is beneficial to new and veteran school counselors, and highlights relevant and real-life issues students are dealing with and the impact on their career choices.

Available from Springer Publishing

About the Reich College of Education

Appalachian State University offers one of the largest undergraduate teacher preparation programs in North Carolina, graduating about 500 teachers a year. The Reich College of Education enrolls more than 2,000 students in its bachelor's, master's, education specialist and doctoral degree programs. With so many teacher education graduates working in the state, there is at least one RCOE graduate teaching in every county in North Carolina. Learn more at https://rcoe.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.