Dr. Bless’s contributions to ACUE’s Community of Professional Practice include:
• Cultivating Communities of Teaching Practice at Scale
Dr. Bless is an Academic Director at ACUE. She was drawn to ACUE’s mission because her passion is to create transformative learning experiences for educators in order to develop and support their practices and improve student outcomes. An educator for more than 19 years, Bless is a certified teacher, administrator, and literacy specialist. She has taught high school English and served as Department Chair and as a K-12 District Literacy Coordinator. Since 2010, Bless has taught in the Education Department at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT. She is also a faculty member in the Education Department at Southern Connecticut State University, where she teaches both face-to-face and online courses.
Since 2008, Bless has been working as an Education Consultant, providing faculty development and technical assistance for teachers and administrators throughout the Northeast. She has created and conducted workshops and written participant workbooks to accompany sessions on topics such as educational technology, effective teaching practices, instructional design, evidence-based observation, instructional coaching, literacy across the curriculum, teacher leadership, and more. She has worked with the New Haven, CT Public Schools on implementation of its nationally recognized teacher evaluation system and has worked with districts across Connecticut to assist them in the development of their educator evaluation systems.
Bless received her PhD in Educational Technology from Walden University. She received her undergraduate degree in English from Post University and Master’s degrees in English and Educational Leadership from Southern Connecticut State University. Her research interests include exploring the role of technology in helping faculty and administrators improve student learning and support professional growth.
