Marie LeJeune will join the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee\u2019s School of Education in June as associate dean and head of school. She replaces Hope Longwell-Grice who came out of retirement to fill the position on an interim basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
LeJeune brings years of experience as a classroom teacher, researcher, college educator and administrator to the position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was really drawn to the fact that UWM has this really strong research mission and also an access mission,\u201d she said. Having spent the majority of her middle and high school teaching career in a large urban district in the Clark County school district in Las Vegas, \u201cI was really intrigued by the School of Education\u2019s mission to urban education,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before joining UWM, she served as professor of literacy education and coordinator of graduate reading and literacy specialist programs at Western Oregon University. In her 18 years at WOU, she also coordinated the undergraduate licensure programs, several graduate programs and oversaw licensure and clinical programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
LeJeune came to the field of education by an indirect path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was always interested in education though I initially resisted it,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cI was the child who would line up my siblings and stuffed animals and teach them.\u201d However, she started at Gonzaga University planning to major in journalism. While taking part in a service program there, her focus changed. \u201cI was working with young people in high schools and realized that was actually what I wanted to do \u2014 be a teacher.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After earning her undergraduate degree in English with minors in journalism and religious studies, she completed her master\u2019s degree in teaching at Whitworth University. She was an English and journalism teacher for 15 years and loved the work, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But her classroom experiences led to another change. \u201cI was teaching ninth grade, and I had a lot of students who were not reading,\u201d she said. \u201cI was prepared as a high school teacher and hadn\u2019t taken many classes on reading.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n To help those struggling readers, she started taking classes to earn an endorsement as a reading intervention specialist and developed a passion for literacy. Then, one of her professors returned a paper to her with the note: \u201cYou should think about getting a doctorate.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n She earned her PhD at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, with a focus on literacy, eventually joining the faculty at Western Oregon University. \u201cWhen I was getting my doctorate, I didn\u2019t think I was going to leave K-12 because I loved teaching so much, but when I was doing university teaching, I realized that preparing teachers was an extension of the work I loved teaching middle and high school.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n LeJeune has researched and written extensively about young adult literature and teacher preparation. Her literacy work has had a particular focus on diverse literature for young adults. In talking with students and teachers, she found many young adults didn\u2019t enjoy reading because they didn\u2019t see themselves in the books they were assigned. Often children whose first language is not English are not really represented in the literature or the curriculum, she said. \u201cI want to be part of helping change that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n She has focused her teacher preparation efforts on encouraging aspiring teachers, in particular first generation and multilingual teachers, who are underrepresented in the profession. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A key is removing barriers, she said. \u201cI\u2019ve been really passionate in my work over the last few years considering more flexible ways for working adults, especially paraprofessionals or others already working in the schools, to become licensed teachers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Student teaching\/clinical practice is often another barrier. \u201cI\u2019ve personally seen many candidates that can\u2019t figure out how they\u2019re going to pay their rent and keep their families fed during student teaching,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Financial need is a continuing issue since student loan debt can discourage some who would like to teach. It\u2019s critical to continue to advocate at the state and national level for scholarships, and grant programs, particularly for students going into urban schools, she said. Research funding, though currently challenged, is also vital. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mentoring and induction into the profession are also important both for aspiring teachers and those who are early in their careers. Teaching can be fulfilling, but also depleting, she said. \u201cI think communities of practice are so important so they realize they are not in it alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n LeJeune and her husband, Nathan Meyer, are looking forward to the move to Milwaukee. Three of their four children are young adults and either in college or on their own. Their youngest daughter is in high school so choosing a high school is a factor in the relocation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She has friends and colleagues in Wisconsin and is a longtime Green Bay Packers fan (and a team owner) so is packing up her Packers jersey along with her thousands of young adult books for the move. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She is \u201cincredibly excited and truly honored\u201d to join the UWM School of Education, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Faculty and staff at UWM \u201cshare many of the values and commitments I have to supporting students \u2014 a deep dedication to equity and access.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Marie LeJeune will join the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee\u2019s School of Education in June as associate dean and head of school. She replaces Hope Longwell-Grice who came out of retirement to fill the position on an interim basis. LeJeune brings years …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22499,"featured_media":13712,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cYou should think about getting a doctorate.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/blockquote>
Removing barriers for working adults<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
LeJeune has focused her teacher preparation efforts on encouraging aspiring teachers, in particular first generation and multilingual teachers, who are underrepresented in the profession.\u00a0\u00a0<\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n