educational leadership program perkins

Perkins School for the Blind

Marianne Riggio

Director, Educational Leadership Program at Perkins School for the Blind

She is the co-author or editor of over 15 publications focusing on the education of children with deafblindness that are now used internationally as the basis of trainings for teachers, administrators and parents. Riggio was named coordinator of Perkins’ Educational Leadership Program in 2012. Prior to her current role, she served as an Educational Consultant for Perkins International, and as a regional coordinator for both the Africa and Asia & Pacific regions. Riggio earned a master’s degree in Multi-handicapped and Deafblind Education from Boston College, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Special and Elementary Education. Over the years, Riggio has traveled to Israel, Ukraine, Jordan, Portugal, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, Korea, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Haiti to provide technical assistance to local partners. Before she joined the Perkins International team, Riggio was the Project Director for the National Deafblind Training Project, which developed training institutes in deafblindess for teachers and parents.

Director, Educational Leadership Program

Leadership team.

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Educational Leadership Program – Perkins School for the Blind

• International programs
• Equipping adults to teach

Educational Leadership Program

Leaders change the world

Educational Leadership Program (ELP) participants travel from across the globe to take part in an immersive education experience. Graduates become leaders in their home countries—expanding educational opportunities for children with visual impairment and multiple disabilities wherever they work.

A group of ELPs walk through Harvard Yard.

Meet the Educational Leadership Program

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For 100 years, the Perkins International Educational Leadership Program has trained educators in 90 countries to help children with multiple disabilities learn and thrive. Today, all around the world, our graduates are doing just that.

Learning from experts at Perkins

Studying to become a leader

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• Capability Statement

Perkins Entrepreneurship Training and Leadership Institute

Merging the Past, with the Present, to create the business leaders of Tomorrow.

To promote entrepreneurship education and training for business education students.

To increase the establishment of sustainable wealth building enterprises that fuel economic development and job creation especially within under-served communities.

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Institution Dates

May 26, 2019 – June 1, 2019

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Curriculum, Instruction, and Educational Leadership

Graduate programs.

Have you considered becoming a Reading Specialist? Literacy Coach? A leader in the content areas of Mathematics and Science?  Our programs are designed to support your goal in achieving a graduate degree, certification, or endorsement while juggling the demands of life and work. All of our programs are offered 100% online by highly-qualified faculty with the experience to provide you with all of the knowledge and tools you need to specialize in areas of teaching that are of most interest to you.

All candidates completing K-12 Reading Specialist, M.ED. or K-12 Reading Specialist Certification & Instructional Coaching Endorsement: Literacy Emphasis, M.ED. are eligible to receive Pennsylvania certification after completing a practicum and achieving a passing or qualifying score on Pennsylvania Department of Education required exam(s).   If you are interested in teaching in another state, please contact the Department of Education in that state.

Contact Information

Curriculum, Instruction, and Educational Leadership 724.738.2041

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Ramona perkins.

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Dr. Ramona Jean-Perkins is an Associate Professor currently serving as the Educational Leadership Program Coordinator for the Masters and Doctoral Programs at Xavier University of Louisiana. A native of New Orleans, she earned a BA degree in Elementary Education from Xavier University, and an M.Ed. from Southern University in Baton Rouge, certification in Supervision and Instruction and Principalship from The University of South Alabama, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from The University of Southern Mississippi. She taught in public schools in Mobile, AL and in New Orleans, LA. She held positions at the district level in Mobile and New Orleans as an Elementary Curriculum Supervisor, Director of Elementary Curriculum, Instruction, and Evaluation, District Reading Specialist, Associate Director of Reading and Language Arts, and Assistant Principal K-8.

Collegiate experiences in education include methods courses, reading, early childhood, secondary reading, content, assessment, and leadership courses. She served as the PK-16+ Coordinator (SUNO) and the Quality Enhancement Coordinator (Dillard University). These positions focused on preparing university units for accreditation compliance for NCATE and SACS. She has served as the External Evaluator of the NOYCE (MSTI) grant for Xavier University.

Dr. Perkins’ research interests include: Early Childhood Education, Assessment, Graduate Service-Learning, Program Evaluation, Accreditation, Curriculum, and Program Design. She has served on State Department Advisory Councils in AL & LA.

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The Perkins Administration Division coordinates the activities of the Perkins Act and civil rights legislation to enhance student learning.

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Applications for the Basic Grant (421, 422, 423) and Innovative Grants (424, 426, 429, & 479) are now closed for FY25.

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Breaking news, minnesota education plummeted under democratic vp pick, former teacher tim walz’s leadership: critics.

Democratic vice-presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz touts his credentials as a former public school teacher on the campaign trail — but the North Star State’s education performance has deteriorated under his leadership, critics told The Post.

Since Walz entered the governor’s office in 2019, students’ comprehension statewide for reading and math has plummeted, while his administration has come under fire for pushing what’s been described as an extremist, ideology-influenced curricula in the classroom.

“He spent most of the last two years working to accommodate far-left demands in his party rather than working to address real education issues in our state,” Republican state Sen. Carla Nelson, also a former teacher, told The Post. 

“The Walz agenda has included burdensome mandates on schools … [that] have since led to budget shortfalls across the state and pulled teachers away from their students to comply with requirements,” Nelson added.

Under Walz’s leadership: 

• Reading proficiency among Minnesota students fell to 49.9% in 2023, down from 59.2% in 2019, according to the state Department of Education. Math comprehension similarly sank, from 55% in 2019 to 45.5% last year. 
• Thirty percent of all Minnesotan students were chronically absent, or missed more than 10% of school days, during the 2021-22 school year. That’s more than double from just 14% during the 2019 school year, according to the American Enterprise Institute . 
• The Minnesota Department of Education revised the state social studies standards for schools requiring an “ethnic studies” component for K-12 students, which critics say is aimed at influencing graduates with a radical worldview.
• A 2023 bill from the state Legislature mandated all schools offer some type of ethnic studies courses in public schools by 2026. 

Catrin Wigfall, a policy fellow at the state’s conservative Center of the American Experiment think tank, said there has been a greater emphasis under Walz on leftist ideology and woke political statements — such as a recent “book ban” prohibition bill — than tackling legitimate challenges afflicting the public school system. 

“We’re seeing a shift in our education system, from a traditional focus on excellence and pragmatic instruction to one that is more ideologically and politically driven,” she said.

Walz, who emphasizes his decade-plus as a high school social studies teacher and football coach at Mankato West High School, has also been slammed for instituting draconian measures to keep schools shuttered during the pandemic.   

Follow The Post’s coverage on Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz:

• Kamala Harris chooses Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate
• Who is Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ VP pick?
• Tim Walz signed laws catering to illegal migrants, giving them free health care, tuition
• Trump team says it’s relieved Kamala Harris chose ‘extremist’ Tim Walz: ‘An easy opponent’
• Editorial: Kamala Harris bows to the radicals by picking lefty Tim Walz as her running mate

He fell in line with the big teachers’ unions demands to extend schools’ closures during the pandemic, to the detriment of students’ education, critics have charged.

Minnesota’s national education rankings subsequently fell from 7th in 2021 to 19th this year, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Book, which bases its analysis on the state’s National Assessment of Educational Progress test scores.   

“As Governor, Tim Walz chose teachers union money over putting students first and the results have been disastrous,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told The Post. 

“Minnesota students’ test scores fell to their lowest levels in decades because of Walz’s failed, anti-student agenda.” 

Walz in a resurfaced interview batted down criticism over the detrimental effects school lockdown measures had on students’ learning, insisting he didn’t “buy” the complaints.

“These kids learned resiliency,” he said of remote learning, adding, “These kids learned problem-solving. They had to figure out how to get online and do this.”

Kevin Munoz, a Harris-Walz campaign spokesman, said “schools shut down because [former President Donald] Trump failed on COVID.”

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Campus life, learning and growth: Beula Christy on the Educational Leadership Program

The elp is one of the streams that perkins follows to be a part of the united nations’ global push to provide access to quality education for all children around the world by 2030, including the most vulnerable..

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The world over children with disabilities form part of a vulnerable group that is not part of the regular education system. Perkins International endeavors to break down the dividers and advocates change through a format that ‘Every Child Can Learn’.

For over the years, the Educational Leadership Program (ELP)  has been moving the needle for social impact.  Says Beula Christy, Class of 2023, “I am honored to be a student at Perkins School for the Blind, a world-renowned institute known for its state-of-the-art facilities for special needs care. As a participant, I am constantly amazed by the wealth of learning opportunities available to me. From classroom observations and lectures to field visits and interactions with children with special needs, every aspect of the ELP adds value to my core skills and knowledge”.

The faculty at Perkins come with a wealth of unique perspectives and experiences. Their expertise in communication strategies, sign language, assessment, and interventions add a wealth of knowledge to their teaching.

My deep passion for learning about Cerebral Vision Impairment is being fueled by the excellent platform that ELP provides for studying this mysterious brain-related vision impairment. The learning I am receiving at Perkins is enriching my understanding of CVI assessment and intervention. Beula Christy

The green corridors, outdoor running tracks, indoor gym, a tactile museum, and horticulture center add to the mindfulness of the program. Perkins has something to offer everyone. Beula signs off thus – “Come with an open mind. You will be well-equipped to make a positive difference in the lives of people with special needs and their families”.

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The Education Leadership Program – Applications are open for the 2023 – 2024 Cycle

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