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Doctoral Student Named NAEd Fellow

HGSE doctoral student Amy Crosson was recently named a 2008 Adolescent Literacy Predoctoral Fellow for The National Academy of Education (NAEd), an organization dedicated to the highest quality education research and its use in policy formulation and practice.

As one of 10 fellows, Crosson will receive $25,000 for a period of up to two years to support completion of a final dissertation proposal, data collection, and data analysis.

"I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to become part of a diverse research community that is focused on the challenges of supporting development of literacy among adolescents," Crosson said. "I look forward to working with mentors and colleagues who approach related questions from perspectives and methods that expand and challenge my current work."

Crosson's dissertation will examine the formidable achievement gap in reading between English learners (ELs) and monolingual, English-only (EO) students. The topic has been widely documented in a range of reports, but few studies have analyzed its specific linguistic dimensions. Crosson will seek to deepen the understanding of what influences ELs' reading comprehension and abilities to write proficiently in multiple genres in early adolescence.

Launched in the spring of 2007, the fellowship is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York to support doctoral research aimed at improving literacy outcomes for middle and secondary school students. According to NAEd President Lorrie Shepard, "The Adolescent Literacy Predoctoral Fellowship Program provides an important new opportunity to foster the careers of young scholars as well as to build the emerging research base on adolescent literacy."

Fellows participate in ongoing activities with leading researchers in the field of adolescent literacy that promote building a community of emerging scholars. The long-term goal of the program is to strengthen and stimulate the field of adolescent literacy by infusing it with highly talented, well-trained, and motivated new teacher educators and researchers.

"The initiative exemplifies the commitment of Carnegie Corporation's Advancing Literacy program to increase the numbers of researchers and educators focusing on literacy for older students," said Andrés Henríquez, program officer and manager of Carnegie's Adolescent Literacy projects. "The program provides the resources to help young scholars undertake more ambitious studies than would otherwise be feasible."

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