April Leach, PhD - Educator, Literacy & Media Innovation Expert

Curriculum Vitae

APRIL MARIE LEACH PhD

*** ******** ****, ****** *****, FL 33444

Voice: 561-***-**** Email: **************@*****.*** Educator/ Innovative Researcher/Media/Communication/Arts & Humanities/Grant Writer Experience encompasses Curriculum Design, Media Literacy, K-12 Teaching as Literacy and Instructional Coach, Professional Development Design and Presentation for faculty (8 years), Reading Department Chair, Literacy Coach, Curriculum and Assessment designer, State of Florida Educator Support Program (ESP) New Teacher Program Coordinator, International Baccalaureate Visual Arts instructor, and Literacy Conference presenter at Cyberlearning, Washington D.C., Literacy Research Association, FAME (Florida Association of Media Educators), Digital Media conferences, and Grant Writing. Reading Department Chair, Literacy Coach, Experience working with Diverse Populations. Education

Ph.D.in Education Technology & eLearning

Focus on Multimodal Literacy and Communication through Engagement & Motivation~ Northcentral University - Renamed National University

Dissertation: Struggling Adolescent Readers Authoring Multimodal Media Demonstrations of Reading Comprehension: A Motivation and Engagement Case Study Artifact - Student Produced Video

M.Ed. Education

Specialization in Adolescent Literacy ~ Reading PK-12 University of Nebraska – Kearney B.A. Comparative Literature, Teaching Certification K-12 Minors in Sociology & Social Psychology, Ramapo College of New Jersey

FIDM A.A. Interior Design, San Francisco A.S.I.D Interior Designer - work published in Architectural Digest and other shelter magazines

PUBLICATIONS ~ PAPERS ~ PRESENTATIONS ~ Videos~ ~ Grants EDITORSHIPS

● Editorial Advisory Board Member – National Association for Media Literacy Education 1

● Editorial Board Member – Journal of Literacy and Technology

● Board Member Grants Made Simple Foundation

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● FAME (Florida Association of Media Educators) Presentation of Cyber Cafe SEL Grant utilizing Minecraft for Education

● Co-Editor Special Issue – Journal of Literacy and Technology Through the Portal of Art and Culture: Media Literacy as the Art of Communication Paper Presentation

● Literacy Research Association Conference - Building Adolescent Literacy Community through Creative Transmediation Practices

● Article: Journal of Media Literacy Educators – Special Issue on Disabilities Digital Media Production to Support Literacy for Secondary Students With Diverse Learning Abilities 2017 Literacy Practice and Research -Beyond State Requirements: Examining Teacher Preparation for Literacy Instruction in United States Teacher Education Programs 2017 Present paper at International Literacy Association: International Literacy Association Final Report: (ILA) Task Force on Teacher Preparation for Literacy December 2016

● Chapter: Literacy Learning and Assessment for the Digital Age Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Third Edition 2016 IGI Global Volume IV 2014 scroll to page 2555

● Presenter at University of Rhode Island Media Education Lab Summer Institute in Digital Literacy 2016

● Media Literacy through the Portal of Art and Culture Presenter at Palm Beach County School District Technology Conference “At the Crossroads of Innovation: Shaping the Digital Classroom” Presentation Title; Building a Digital Learning Hub Paper Presentation for Literacy Research Association for Theme: Literacy, Equity & Imagination 2015 Title: Creativity, Motivation, and Engagement: Perceptions of Struggling Adolescent Readers Immersed in a Multimodal Media Literacy Production in Access Across Disciplines. Seattle, WA Shared Student Demonstration of Understanding as Alternative Assessment of Comprehension across Disciplinary Reading

● Presenter at National Association of Media Literacy Educators, June 2015 Changing Ecologies of Literacy: Connecting Communication, Critical Thinking, & the Common Core

● Presenter at University of Rhode Island Media Education Lab Summer Institute in Digital Literacy 2015 Digital Era Literacy: Evolving Promising Practices to Engage Struggling Adolescent Readers

● Invited to Attend CIRCL 2016 (The Center for Innovative Research in CyberLearning) in Washington D.C., Designing for Deeper, Broader, and More Equitable Learning 190 Invitees to address:

• How CyberLearning can empower the next generation of diverse learners • How can we create innovative technologies that draw upon sound theories of learning through productive collaborations among researchers, designers, learners, and formal and informal educators?

• How can we foster an inclusive design community that balances real world problems and settings with promising CyberLearning approaches?

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• How can we integrate contributions from multiple research projects for broader impact(e.g., combining our theories or combining our tools into a common infrastructure)?

● Meet with State Representatives and Senators regarding current initiatives in CyberLearning Teaching & Academic Experience

● Media Center Specialist – Lake Worth Community Middle School 2020 - present. Melaleuca Elementary School 2019 - 2021 Teaching K-5 students to utilize technology to create multimodal media presentations as demonstrations of learning. Work with teachers to design learning for ELL and struggling readers. Research augmented reality merge cubes lessons with a diverse student population in 96% Free and Reduced Lunch Title I school. Design parent interface to support digital literacy learning

● G-Star School of the Arts for Film 3D Animation & Performing Arts G-Star School on the Today Show West Palm Beach, FL 33406 Literacy & Instructional Coach ~ Developed and Delivered Schoolwide Literacy Initiatives, Media Literacy for Instructional Communication and Content with a Trans-disciplinary Focus Classroom instructional modeling ~ Coaching Continuum ~ Universal Design for learning employing multiple forms of media Professional Learning Community Coordinator– Design & Deliver PD for Faculty of 65 - Evaluate Teacher Products for recertification points 2011- 2019 Served on Palm Beach County School District Professional Development Advisory Council

● International Baccalaureate Visual Arts Teacher

● Set Up Professional Learning Community Google Site for School Wide Collaborative Learning New Teacher Educator Program Coordinator ~ Teacher Development & Retention Teach International Baccalaureate Visual Arts Class

● Delivered Pre-School Professional Development for Palm Beach County School District 2013 Literacy Coach ~ Reading Department Chair ~ Reading Teacher John I. Leonard High School, Greenacres, FL 334**-****-**** Helped move John I. Leonard from three years of a D grade to an A grade in 2010 before accepting present position August 2011 Video-recorded by The Palm Beach County School District to demonstrate use of the Rotational Instructional Model for Secondary Intensive Reading Instruction 2007

● E-Rate Grant writer – 4 years – Obtained funding for schoolwide Internet Connectivity, increased broadband and firewall. $125,000. ● Journal Reviewer: Journal of Literacy and Technology

● 2013-Present IGI Global Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology Literacy Research Association

● Conference Proposal Reviewer Journal of Media Literacy Educators European Journal of Educational Technology (EjeTECH),

● International Baccalaureate Visual Arts Grant- Fishing for Art: Fishing for Art 2019

● Florida Learn & Serve Grant John I. Leonard HS: Wrote $10,000 grant and served as Project Director for three consecutive years Struggling Adolescent Readers visited neighboring Elementary Schools to read with little children To build self-esteem and reading skills 2007-2010 End-of-Project Celebrations attended by State Senator Dave Aronberg now Florida Palm Beach County State Attorney

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● Palm Beach County School District - K-12 Support Programs – Yearly Grant supported with Data for Saturday School tutoring to prepare students for end of year standardized assessments 2012

● 2017 E-Rate Federal Funding Grant Wrote and processed $150,000 educational grant for wireless system to support one-to-one Devices school wide for 1000 Students and staff + Yearly updates to build infrastructure 2016-2019

● Media Production Development Grant WWII Veterans Stories from Boots on the Ground ● Additional Research - Teacher and Literacy Coach Participant in Fusion Reading Research conducted by University of Kansas 2007-2009 Researchers Michael Hock and Irma Brasseur for two academic years. Research focus: Multimodal media as formative and summative trans-disciplinary assessments to support critical thinking pedagogy inclusive of diverse learners in Math and Science 2007

● Present Research Software Experience: Dedoose mixed methods software includes capacity for video data mining

● Grant - 2022-2023 Cyber Cafe :Student-directed Minecraft Projects advancing ELL Media Literacy, Language, and SEL Learning - Education First $8,000.00

(Palm Beach Post Video) Palm Beach Post Article - a collaboration with Randall Fujimoto of WeThink Learning, in which Middle School Students worked collaboratively to investigate real world issues, devise solutions, then build them in Minecraft for Education while tracking 15 measurable categories of Social Emotional Learning.

● Research 2023-2024 My Media Story - Students creating digital responses to scaffolded media literacy prompts to develop media literacy and awareness, students collaborated on a journey of self-discovery, developing an awareness of, a relationship with, and investigating how to apply media literacy in their future.

● Grant 2024-2025 Empowering Youth through Coding with AI - Students making apps to benefit others $5,000

● 2019- Present Media Specialist Palm Beach County School District working wtih Students to Produce TVStudio Announcements in addition to running the scool’s library, developing the library collection, teaching Media Literacy through the creation of Media. Co-editor with Dr. Ian O’Byrne of the Special Issue of the Journal of Literacy and Technology “Through the Portal of Art and Culture: Media Literacy as the Art of Communication”

Articles include: Journal of Media Literacy Educators – Special Issue on Disabilities, Digital Media Production to Support Literacy for Secondary Students With Diverse Learning. Teaching literacy as communication using Generative AI text to image with Adobe tools. Palm Beach County Technology Conference 2026- Presentation -Communication is the Ultimate Literacy -An interactive hands-on session. Participants create responses using Adobe Express AI Text to Image features and Learn skills immediately transferable across content areas to demonstrate understanding Express ideas graphically. This session emphasizes critical thinking that precedes imagery; how writing to develop an image through text is a surreptitious strategy to embed reading and writing 4

skills. I would argue that teaching students to communicate across all forms of media in order to develop civil discourse is the ultimate literacy

FAME - Florida Association of Media Educators - 2025 Presentation -Demonstrating Understanding with Adobe Express AI

Florida Atlantic University Brainwaves Symposium 2026 My Media Story- A Media Literacy Project with Dr. Alicia Haywood of iSpeakMedia

Certifications & Related Endeavors:

English 6-12, Art, ESOL, Media Specialist, Reading Endorsement ~ ASID – Former Professional Member 1991-2005 Worked in Private Sector, self-employed, responsible for project design & management of Multi-million-dollar projects. Delivered ASID adult professional development at National Conferences.

Danced Alvin Ailey Modern Jazz

Yoga Practitioner

LANGUAGES

English – Native Language

French – Speak fluently, read, and write intermediate level Professional Memberships: FAME (Florida Association of Media Educators) Honor Society for Education Literacy Research Association,

National Association of Media Literacy Educators, Florida Association of Media Educators, American Library Association, International Literacy Association, American Educational Research Association

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