The Stern Center for Language and Learning named three directors to its core programs.
Melissa Farrall, PhD, Director of Evaluations, is the author of Reading Assessment: Linking Language, Literacy, and Cognition, and the co-author of All About Tests & Assessments published by Wrightslaw. Dr Farrall presents nationally on topics related to assessment, learning disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia and intellectual functioning. She has performed nearly 1,000 diagnostic evaluations of children and adolescents.
After earning her doctorate from Brown University in the area of Slavic Linguistics, Dr Farrall received her Master of Education from Rivier University, where she specialized in learning disabilities.
Dr Farrall worked as a learning disability specialist in New Hampshire public schools for several years. In 1999 she became a certified Specialist in the Assessment of Intellectual Functioning, focusing on the link between reading and oral language. She taught courses in the structure of language, cognition, and assessment at Simmons College in Boston and at Rivier University in Nashua, NH. She has worked with the International Dyslexia Association at both the national and branch levels, and she serves as a reviewer for conference speakers. Prior to joining the Stern Center, Dr Farrall worked as an educational consultant for St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, NH.
Michelle Szabo, MEd Director of Instruction, is certified in various intensive instruction programs supporting reading, writing, executive function, and spelling. She joined the Stern Center in 2002 as an Instructor, and in 2006 she assumed the role of Coordinator of Instruction. As the Director of the department, Ms Szabo oversees each student and teacher, ensuring that every student receives excellent instruction and every teacher continues to advance his or her own professional development.
In addition to teaching students from elementary school through college, Ms Szabo works closely with public and private school educators and schools, providing consultation and Professional Learning.
After receiving her Master of Science in Education degree from Simmons College, Ms Szabo taught at Landmark High School in Massachusetts, where she specialized in teaching reading to students with Language Based Learning Disabilities and became a certified teacher of the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing program. Upon returning to Vermont with her family, she worked as a Title One Reading Specialist in one of the largest elementary schools in the state.
Julie Erdelyi, MA, Director of Social Learning and Communication Services, provides consultation and instruction. She has extensive experience as a Special Educator and Autism Specialist designing and implementing academic instruction, proactive behavior intervention plans, and social thinking instruction for elementary school students who have Autism Spectrum Disorders. Ms Erdelyi has provided trainings for more than 1,000 educators, and she presents frequently at local and national conferences. Her article Introducing Julie Scrumptious! was published in the Autism Asperger’s Digest Magazine (Sept.-Oct. 2009), and she is currently writing a book about social learning that Corwin Publishers has slated for publication in 2020.
Ms Erdelyi earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of St Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she focused on special education and developmental disabilities. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Vermont. Ms Erdelyi carries a Vermont Professional Educator License, Level II that carries the endorsement of Intensive Special Education Teacher, Age 3 through 21.
The Stern Center for Language and Learning is a nonprofit educational resource in Williston, VT, dedicated to enriching the lives of learners. For 35 years the organization has recognized that all great minds don’t think alike, and its staff helps children and adults reach their academic, social and professional goals. The Stern Center provides research-based learning evaluations and customized instruction, including those with learning disabilities, dyslexia, language disorders, social learning challenges, autism, attention deficit disorders and learning differences. Its staff also designs and delivers customized professional learning programs and systems change using current research and trends in education. Through the Cynthia K Hoehl Institute, the Stern Center works with schools and individual educators in early literacy, oral language, reading, written language, social cognition, executive functioning and math. Courses are offered live and online. Scholarships are available. More information is at www.sterncenter.org.