Nadine G. Ekstrom, Ph.D.
Dr. Nadine Ekstrom received her PhD in Research and Evaluation in Education from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She has served as an Executive Director for an educational collaborative, Superintendent of Schools, Director of Special Education and Student Services, Senior Director of Teaching and Learning, Elementary School Principal, Special Education Team Chairperson, Special Education Teacher, Regular Education Teacher, and Paraprofessional. She has served on the Massachusetts Civics Task Force and the Dyslexia Task Force. Dr. Ekstrom established Academic Discoveries, LLC in 2020 with the goal of supporting educational systems and small organizations throughout the United States.
Dr. Ekstrom is an international presenter, providing professional training at annual conferences in Shanghai, China; New Orleans, Louisiana; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and many communities throughout Massachusetts.
Dr. Ekstrom has conducted research and published a book, A New Day In Education: A Global Perspective on Comptency-Based Learning In a Post-Pandemic World, and has visited countries across the globe to learn about various educational pedagogical strategies and systemic educational systems. These countries have included Iceland, Poland, Finland, Germany, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and China.
Dr. Ekstrom continues to learn new strategies and techniques to support the educational leaders of our school systems. She has completed her Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certification through Cornell University. In addition, she is a certified Title IX Investigator. As President of Academic Discoveries, LLC, she has facilitated statewide training for new and experienced special education administrators, completed program reviews, and offered mentoring, coaching, and recruiting for leadership positions.
Published Author:
A New Day In Education: A Global Perspective on Comptency-Based Learning In a Post-Pandemic World
Research:
ADVANCE-IT GRANT: MAKING WAVES (WOMEN ACADEMICS VALUED AND ENGAGED IN STEM) – UMASS, LOWELL, MA
REVIEW MASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC SCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAMS – UMASS, LOWELL, MA
EVALUATION OF THE ELEVATE PREPARATION IMPACT CHILDREN (EPIC) PROGRAM: LITERATURE SYNTHESIS OFSTRATEGIES AND PRACTICES FOR DIVERSIFYING THE TEACHING FORCE – UMASS, LOWELL, MA
Presenter:
A REPORT FOR EVERETT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT: BEST PRACTICES FOR TEACHING ENGLISH LEARNERS –EERS CONFERENCE, GALLOWAY, NJ
RECRUITING, PREPARING, AND RETAINING HIGH QUALITY DIVERSE TEACHERS: A STUDY OF PROMISING PRACTICES NATIONWIDE AND PROGRESS IN MASSACHUSETTS - MACTE/COMTEC/MAECTE CONFERENCE, STURBRIDGE, MA
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND GLOBAL CONNECTIONS: A CONVERSATION WITH GS-21 OF THE MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS – 2nd ANNUAL CIVICS LITERACY CONFERENCE DESE, BOSTON, MA
BRINGING GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP TO LOCAL MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOLS – MASS/MASC CONFERENCE, HYANNIS, MA
COUNSELING SERVICES IN AMERICA: WHY THEY ARE CRITICAL FOR FUTURE SUCCESS – YANG PU CONFERENCE,SHANGHAI, CHINA
DISTRICT GOVERNANCE PROJECT – MASS/MASC CONFERENCE, HYANNIS, MA
NEW SUPERINTENDENT INDUCTION PROGRAM - MASS/MASC CONFERENCE, HYANNIS, MA
INCLUSIVE PRACTICES – COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN CONFERENCE, NEW ORLEANS, LA
Educational Learning Tours:
Dr. Ekstrom has traveled to the following countries to learn about various educational pedagogical strategies and systemic educational systems:
Iceland, Poland, Finland, Germany, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and China
Heather Tucker, Ed.D. (c)
Heather Tucker is a professional dedicated to increasing the outcomes for all students. Heather has been a school administrator across the Southeastern Region of Massachusetts since 2008 performing various roles as Special Education Teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, and Special Education Director. Currently, Heather serves as the new Middle School Principal for Middleborough Public Schools.
As a passionate advocate for students with disabilities, Heather started her career in a 766 residential program as a communion teacher and special educator for students with severe disabilities. Then she was a special education teacher with the local area collaborative, followed by the public school setting. She was the Administrator of Special Education for Stoughton and Duxbury Public Schools for over 15 years. Heather served as an executive board member of the professional organization Massachusetts Administrators for Special Education (ASE).
Heather is a doctoral candidate in Northeastern University’s transformative school leadership concentration. Her research study examines the instructional practices and relationships between co-teaching team members to create opportunities to cultivate inclusive educational environments for students with disabilities. As the Secretary for the Northeastern Graduate Student Research Association (GSERA), in collaboration with the executive team, the membership of this organization increased by 100% by providing membership mentorship opportunities and programs.
Heather has been a consultant with Academic Discoveries LLC supporting educational systems and organizations through program evaluations, professional development, and coaching.
Leah Ferullo, Ed.D
Dr. Ferullo received her Ed.D in Leadership in Schooling from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. For the past 13 years, she has worked in the Winchester, Massachusetts Public School System in various capacities. Along with teaching third and fifth grade, her focus has been on educational technology implementation, classroom differentiation strategies, student empowerment and leadership. Leah has provided educational technology workshops at various conferences in Massachusetts as well as served on the district technology committee responsible for transforming Winchester’s outdated resources into effective and efficient supports that foster creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication in a 21st century classroom.
In 2014, Dr. Ferullo volunteered for the Winchester’s Cooperative Teaching Initiative and has worked for the past 5 years researching, analyzing and reporting on the benefits and success of teaching classes of students of varying abilities. She has advocated for resources, services and modes of instruction to benefit students of all learning profiles and has used various forms of data to adapt instruction, assessment and content to the needs of the children in her classroom. She is currently employed as a cooperative teacher in fifth grade in Winchester and most recently joined the Social Studies Curriculum team. This year the committee will continue updating district content and instruction to align with state standards and frameworks to promote civics, anti-bias education, social justice awareness and inquiry driven learning.
Dr. Ferullo began her career in education as the head of the field hockey program and a physical education teacher at Buckingham Browne and Nichols. She has continued to foster her love of athletics, academics and passion for female empowerment through research as well as action. She created and operated The Muraco Elementary School’s first after-school program which offered classes and workshops of varying interests and topics as requested by families and students. Leah is most proud of the all-female athletic program that inspired and empowered elementary age girls to take risks and expose themselves to new opportunities. For her dissertation, Leah conducted extensive research regarding the development of necessary competencies for adolescent females to successfully navigate workplace bias and achieve leadership status.
Prior to her graduation from their Leadership in Schooling program, Dr. Ferullo worked in the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s College of Education’s Center for Program Evaluation. Here, she assisted with academic research and work such as interviews, focus groups, field observations, literature reviews and data analysis. Dr. Ferullo contributed to manuscripts for two National Science Foundation projects as well as a project funded by the Massachusetts Department of Education.
Research
Dissertation: “Exploring Competencies of Female Leaders in the Workplace: The Influence of Athletics.”
Newton, X. A., Thompson, S. R., Oh, B., & Ferullo, L. (2017, October). Improving opportunities for bridging social capital: The story of a full-service community school initiative at an alternative high school. In The Educational Forum (Vol. 81, No. 4, pp. 418-431). Routledge.
Presentations
Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age Conference: “Technology for the Nervous Novice,” and “Working with Everyday Math Online”
Masscue & M.A.S.S. Technology Conference: “Rolling Out the Mobile Cart: Integrating Ipads into the Classroom”
40th Eastern Evaluation Research Society Conference: “Engaging Women and Minorities in the Field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Through Informal After School Interdisciplinary Programs”
Elaine Santelmann, M.S., M.Ed
Elaine is an accomplished curriculum designer and professional development provider with 28 years of experience in education. Her primary area of interest is inquiry-based learning, and she has been trained by Kathy Swan, the originator of Inquiry Design Model, on how to write inquiry-based social studies units focused on compelling questions, rigorous investigations, and summative performance tasks that lead to civic action. She has also applied inquiry-based learning to create science units that engage students in an anchoring phenomenon to stimulate curiosity about the natural world. That curiosity drives students through hands-on investigations designed to help students discover the scientific concepts that explain the phenomenon and eventually answer their own questions.
After 20 years in the classroom, Elaine became the K-5 Science and Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator for Westford Public Schools in Westford, Massachusetts. In that role, she created standards-aligned science and social studies curricula and provided professional development to teachers on new content and practices, inquiry-based learning, and standards-based grading. That work expanded when Elaine took on the role of K-12 Science and Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator in Lowell; a large urban district in Massachusetts with a diverse population of learners. Working with teams of teachers, local universities and community partners, Elaine created inquiry-based units with strategies for remote learning. She has trained teachers in both virtual and in-person settings, in small and large groups. Her trainings emphasize collaborative protocols and small group reflections designed to engage teachers in experiential learning and inquiry-based practices. Elaine has worked with teachers as both an evaluator and a coach, and enjoys listening and learning about their specific interests and needs and providing workable solutions.
Elaine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Botany from Ohio Wesleyan University, a Master of Science degree in Ecology from the University of Minnesota, and a Master of Education degree from Lesley University. She holds a professional Supervisor/Director license from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Elaine is also proud to serve on the Littleton School Committee where her background in education helps inform policy and provide guidance to the district.
Brian A. Hyde M.Ed., C.A.G.S., ABD D.Ed.
Students First. Brian Hyde’s core belief of unity of purpose has been evident throughout his 34+ year career in Massachusetts public education. Brian Hyde has distinguished himself as an effective instructor, mentor, and community leader and is known for his exemplary curriculum design, fiscal responsibility and educational leadership. Brian Hyde's contribution to public schools as an educator, advisor, varsity coach, curriculum chair, school administrator, school business manager and superintendent of schools, has left an indelible impression on the school districts and communities across the Commonwealth.
Brian has presented at local and state professional development symposiums and many state conferences including the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE) Fall Convening; the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) / the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS) Joint Conference; the Paul J. Andrews Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Executive Institute; the Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials (MASBO) Annual Institute; and Massachusetts Computer Using Educators (MassCUE) Fall Conference.
Brian consults for The Management Solutions, Inc. (Team TMS); Lyons Consulting LLC; is a special education advocate; and does business as All School Consulting.
A father of eight children, Brian enjoys spending time with family, skiing, boating and golfing (although not very good at the latter!) Follow him on Twitter @bhyde1
Ms. Diane Tucceri, M.Ed.
Ms. Tucceri is an experienced educator who recently retired after a successful 34-year career in education. She holds a Master of Education (M.Ed) degree in Educational Leadership from Endicott College. Throughout her career, Ms. Tucceri has held various roles, including middle/high school principal, physical education/health teacher, and coach. She has a wide range of experience and expertise in different areas of education.
One notable achievement in Ms. Tucceri's career was overseeing a multi-million dollar building project. Additionally, she has made significant contributions to her school community by implementing a Global Studies Program, which aims to provide students with a broader perspective and understanding of global issues. Recognizing the importance of professional development, Ms. Tucceri has conducted various workshops for teachers in areas such as educator evaluations, ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training, bullying prevention and intervention, and mental health awareness. These workshops reflect her commitment to supporting educators' growth and enhancing their skills to create a positive learning environment for students.
Central to Ms. Tucceri's educational leadership philosophy is her belief that every individual has the ability to learn and grow. This belief serves as the foundation for her approach to leadership and guides her interactions with students, teachers, and the broader educational community. By fostering a growth mindset and providing opportunities for continuous learning, Ms. Tucceri aims to empower and inspire others to reach their full potential.
Educational Consultants
Academic Discoveries, LLC will work closely with public and private schools, districts, and organizations to determine individual needs. Based upon these discussions, Dr. Ekstrom will reach out to her network of educational consultants throughout the United States who specialize in the requested areas to ensure alignment of goals and outcomes are met.