First Recipient of Literacy Ph.D. Helps
Children Succeed Through Writing
As an undergraduate education major, Toni-Ann Barone ’95GEd,
’12Ph.D. thought she’d go on to a career teaching English
Literature to eager high school students. Her first professional
experience in an elementary school classroom with a majority of
disadvantaged, at-risk youth changed all that. “I was totally taken
aback by their literacy deficiencies and realized there was a
tremendous gap to fill,” she said.
Today, Dr. Barone is a Reading Specialist at the Plaza Elementary
School in Baldwin, NY — and the first recipient of the Ph.D. in
Literacy from the Department of
Human Services and Counseling in The School of Education at
St. John’s University. She successfully defended her dissertation
on February 9, 2012, and will receive her degree at Commencement on
May 13, 2012.
Richard
Sinatra, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and former
Chair, Human Services and Counseling, was instrumental in launching
the program in 2008 to promote both the theory and methodology
needed for teaching literacy to underachieving, at-risk
learners.
That focus was ideal for Dr. Barone. “I quickly realized that my
students lacked basic literacy skills,” she said. “It undermined
their ability to develop intellectually, build self-confidence and
stay motivated. I knew that without these characteristics, they
were more likely to succumb to a life cycle of poverty and
disadvantage.”
Dr. Sinatra personally invited Dr. Barone to join the first cohort.
He was one of her mentors when she was pursuing her master’s degree
in the field of teaching literacy, which she received in 1995. As a
doctoral student, she began a period of extensive research on the
relationship between reading skills and success for at-risk
children.
Dr. Barone’s dissertation topic is titled “The Immediate and
Long-Term Impact of a Summer Literacy Approach on Writing
Performance and Self-Perception of Writing of Urban Housing
Authority Children.” As part of her research, she led an intensive
summer composition program for 250 disadvantaged Grade 4 – 6
students.
Employing a self-perception scale, Dr. Barone asked her students to
evaluate their experience in the program. The students’ responses
reflected the confidence they had gained along with their new
writing skills. One student said, “The program improved my
understanding of how to organize my sentences in a way that makes
more sense.” Another participant said she learned to “map out” and
revise her sentences for greater clarity.
“The Ph.D. program in Literacy is very much aligned with the
Vincentian mission of St. John’s,” Dr. Sinatra observed. “Our goal
is to produce scholars and teachers who will create opportunities
for disadvantaged students to acquire the skills necessary to move
beyond their current situation and realize future success.
Toni-Ann’s work fits this vision perfectly.”
Dr. Barone added, “I grew up in a family that deeply believed in
serving those who are most in need. I’m thrilled to be able to
extend those values in my professional life, thanks to the support
I received from my doctoral mentor and committee members at St.
John’s.”