Leading With Reading

Written By: Tonya Hensley - Highlands Literacy Council | Issue: 2015/03 - March

The Literacy Council of Highlands first began tutoring in 1992 in the basement of the Methodist Church and shortly thereafter moved to the Peggy Crosby Center.

There have been lots of transformations since that time, many of them in the last four-and-a-half years. When Judy and I came on board in August of 2010, we had a common vision for where we wanted to take the Literacy Council. While she and I have accomplished quite a bit, there is still much work to be done. With the addition of two new staff members, many more goals will be accomplished.

Brandy McElroy is our new Program Director.

“I have been with the Literacy Council of Highlands for a little over three months now, and when I get home after a long day I am exhausted, but I feel complete as I think about the children who have learned a new vocabulary word or the smiles on their little faces when they got to participate in a fun and educational activity,” Brandy says. “One of my favorite books as a child was ‘The Missing Piece.’ And guess what? I have found my missing piece.”

Brandy lives with her family in Sapphire, where she and her husband settled 17 years ago as it was a nice, safe place to raise their two daughters. She earned her BS and MS degrees from Western Carolina University and has a broad range of experience in administration, marketing, hospitality, sales, and computers. She will be a strong asset to our team.

Kathryn Buckley joined our team in December. Her role as Education Director is a new position made possible through the generosity of our contributors and grantors. Kathryn will be in charge of our Mobilizing Literacy program, traveling to local preschools and Highlands School primary grades to promote literacy skills. She will also be in charge of tutor training and oversight.

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Kathryn is a newcomer to the Highlands area where she and her husband are settled. In recent years, she served as a reading specialist in Georgia’s DeKalb County School District’s middle and high schools, as well as in private practice. Her broad experience includes training, supervising and mentoring teachers, parents, and students, as well as facilitating programs in a variety of educational settings. Kathryn has a B.A. in History from the College of Charleston, and an M.Ed. in Reading from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is certified as a Global Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Her interests include her children and grandchildren, hiking, yoga, reading, traveling, and the finer arts. Empowering people and facilitating their opportunities for learning is Kathryn’s passion.

“I welcome the opportunity to make a positive and lasting contribution in my newly- adopted community,” Kathryn says.