Kent State University’s College of Education, Health and Human Services Announces Fourth Annual Hall of Fame Winners
KENT, OHIO, Sept. 17, 2013 – Andrea Simms, a former intervention specialist in the Bahamian public school system, was selected as the 2013 Recent Alumni Award recipient for Kent State University’s College of Education, Health and Human Services Fourth Annual Hall of Fame Awards.
Simms received her Master’s Degree in Special Education from Kent State in 2008. She has been serving in the field of education for the past 13 yrs. During this time, she has served as a generalist teacher, an intervention specialist, a professional development consultant, and she is now an instructor in higher education. Currently, Simms is working on her Ph.D. in Special Education at Kent State. And, she recently joined the faculty at SUNY, Plattsburgh in New York.
As a teaching consultant, Simms facilitated numerous face-to-face and online trainings for teachers and administrators throughout the Bahama Islands. In doing so, she addressed topics related to implementation of academic interventions for struggling students and employment of positive behavior interventions and supports for students who exhibited challenging behavior. She also worked with the Bahamas Ministry of Education’s Language Arts curriculum team to revamp the curriculum. For the first time, adaptations and modifications for students with disabilities were incorporated. Serving as a mentor for prospective teachers at The College of The Bahamas, she guided many pre-service teachers through their college course work and final teaching practicum. She mentored first-year teachers, as well.
Her extensive work with students, parents, teachers and prospective teachers, public and private school administrators, district superintendents, Ministry of Education officials, and faculty at The College of The Bahamas over the years, resulted in her being named the Ninth National Teacher of the Year for the country in April 2010.
The College of EHHS will honor Simms and six other distinguished alumni, including Dr. Dean Hummel (Centennial Alumni Award), Dr. John Hall (Distinguished Alumni Award), Dr. Anush Shahverdyan (International Alumni Award), Dr. Brandi Hephner LaBanc (Alumni Leadership Award), Dr. Rebecca Zurava (Distinguished Service to EHHS), and Dr. Tameka Taylor (Diversity Alumni Award).
The awards ceremony will take place on Friday, Oct. 4 starting at 6:30 p.m. at the KSU Student Center Ballroom. To purchase tickets to the ceremony, visit https://commerce.cashnet.com/halloffame. For more information, please contact the College of EHHS at ehhsalumni@kent.edu.
