Debbie Penso earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Auburn University in Secondary English Education and spent years teaching middle and high school English in communities around the U.S.
“I enjoyed these experiences and felt like my heart was in English education. I wasn’t looking for another degree at that point in my career,” she said. In 2001, Debbie decided put her career on hold to stay home with her three children. Nearly a decade later, after her family relocated to Sandy Springs, Georgia and her children were a bit older, she decided to go back to work.
“With education and probably a lot of other fields, when you’re not in the daily grind every day and keeping up with the latest technology, you end up feeling a little distanced from what’s current. I had come from this place where I felt like I was highly sought after before, but here I was feeling almost at a disadvantage, wondering How do I get back into this?” she explained. Soon she found a wonderful opportunity to join an independent school, the Atlanta Academy, as a middle school English language arts teacher.
“Now I had the life experience of raising three children and understanding the developmental stages and needs they have. My son struggled with some learning issues so my personal experiences had given me a different lens than I had before. Where English had been my passion before, now there was another facet of education calling to me, and I was reading everything I could get my hands on about it.” As Debbie’s focus turned to various learning differences students have, her principal noted her unique fitness for a role in a new program at Atlanta Academy.
“They decided to start the Bridge Program, which is a program for student support in a college prep environment. It’s developed to help students who have average and above average IQs that may have some learning issues.” Debbie was able to bring her personal experiences from teaching her own children into the role as she worked with middle school students as a learning specialist.
As the program evolved and demand increased at the academy, Debbie began to want a stronger background to help her serve students better. “I was feeling the need to develop myself professionally, but I had a family, and I knew I couldn’t maintain my full-time job and go to a brick-and-mortar institution locally.” She started researching programs she could complete in other formats, and that’s when she found The University of Alabama’s master’s in Educational Psychology – School Psychometry available in a hybrid format through UA Online.
“I wanted to know more about school psychology that would help me serve my community and would give me a new level of expertise to share with my colleagues. At this point I had grown into the director of the Bridge Program and wanted to lead effectively. I knew that The University of Alabama meant quality. Even as an Auburn fan, I knew that UA is reputable and if they’re putting their name on it, it’s got to be a quality program.” Another important factor for Debbie was the program’s combination of online coursework with limited weekend meetings, so she benefited from flexibility while also being able to enjoy face-to-face time with classmates and instructors.
The program’s coursework helped Debbie to serve her students and community. “It helped me understand not just about students with learning differences, but just in general how students learn best. I was able to take away best practices of learning and it has helped me fill the needs we have here,” she said.
The program also requires a practicum component, which most students are able to complete in their public school settings, and Debbie completed hers with Dr. Melissa Lang at the Center for Psychological Education and Assessment in Marietta, Georgia. “I got to see the framework of testing and what that looks like, and I gained experience in delivering sometimes difficult information to parents. That was valuable for me because it gave me insights on testing services and the different testing instruments utilized in the profession. I’m really happy with what I learned in getting my master’s, and I feel like it has been sufficient for me in my career.”
Debbie graduated with her master’s in 2018. In addition to being the director for the Bridge Program, she has since also been given the role of upper school curriculum coordinator, serving all students in fourth through eighth grades.
“Anytime you’re embarking on something new, it can be scary. There are a lot of things you’re second-guessing, and there are a lot of reasons to say no, but from a personal perspective, seeing my own children watch me learn and go back to school — that was really valuable. Putting yourself out there and growing in your profession is really valuable. Whether it’s the next step or starting over, going back to school can be really helpful in equipping you for what’s next.”
Published: August 31st, 2020