RLL Grad wins scholarship award

VSLA Recognizes Longwood RLL Grad with Scholarship Award

For Charley Carroll — a member of Longwood’s 2024 Reading, Literacy & Learning (RLL) endorsement cohort — exemplary teaching, leadership, and collaboration are simply part of a day’s work at Louisa County Middle School. That professionalism made her a clear choice for the Virginia State Literacy Association (VSLA) Carmelita K. Williams Scholarship, a distinction for active graduate students and professionals in literacy, which came as no surprise to her Longwood professors.

“Dr. [Wendy] Snow, my advisor, was on the front row at the VSLA conference when I received the award,” Carroll said. “She congratulated me as soon as I walked off the stage!”

A 15-year teaching veteran, Carroll learned about Longwood’s RLL graduate endorsement when her school division sponsored a cohort. A full-time literacy intervention specialist and a mother of three raising her kids on a Christmas tree farm in rural Virginia, she needed a program that was fully online and flexible. Having already earned a master’s in career and technical education from Virginia Tech, she also wanted something practical that would open doors to future leadership roles. Longwood’s professional endorsement in Reading, Literacy, & Learning fit the bill perfectly.    

“I knew that Longwood’s program was grounded in literacy research and that I would be supported by phenomenal advisors and professors,” Carroll said.

With prior teaching experience limited to middle school and high school, Carroll noted that her hands-on practicum experiences at the emergent, beginner, and instructional levels were key in building her confidence and skills. 

“I was nervous about working at the elementary level,” she said. “My professors prepared me for success at each level by providing literacy theory and research; modeling assessment, curriculum, instruction; and supporting me whenever I had questions or needed additional resources.”

With the RLL endorsement’s practical and practice-based curriculum, Carroll found it simple to turn theory into practice. She now feels equipped to teach literacy across the curriculum.

“It was not uncommon for me to learn a new strategy or practice one day and be able to apply it the next day at school with my students!” 

As she worked with different Longwood professors, Carroll met people who were personally invested in her success.

“Each professor was deeply knowledgeable and had an open-door policy. They were always willing to answer questions, provide feedback, and steer me in the right direction.”

Carroll also noted Longwood’s lasting impact, as she works to be a change agent in the literacy community.

“As a student and a professional, I strive to center my work around doing what’s best for students,” she said. “That concept is at the heart of my teaching, learning, and leadership. I refuse to settle for anything less than what I would want a teacher or administrator to do for my own three children. Sometimes, that means having courageous conversations with colleagues. A lot of times, it means forging a new path or failing forward. At all times, it means serving others.”

Now, thanks to the RLL endorsement, Carroll has the tools to make that change happen. 

“Longwood's program empowered me to be a lifelong learner in the field of literacy. I now know how to find, critique, apply, and communicate literacy research. I'm a stronger advocate for research, which means I'm able to more effectively reach our students and help others do the same.”