Featured Instructors
Tanya Conover
Since 2006, Tanya has worked as an instructor for the Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) Adult English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Program, where she teaches beginning through advanced literacy classes. Tanya also coordinates the PWCS Adult ESOL English Language/Civics Grant initiatives and she taught all levels of ESOL to inmates at the PWC Adult Detention Center, from 2007-2008. Tanya holds a B.S. in middle school education from the University of Virginia and a Master’s degree in teaching English as a second language from the University of Mary Washington. She taught middle school in Bath and Fairfax County Schools in Virginia and English in Bogotá, Colombia. Tanya believes students internalize the forms and functions of English when they receive authentic, comprehensible linguistic input and engage in meaningful interaction and language production. She creates learning communities for her students and recognizes the individual differences students bring to the classroom.
Janet Daley
Janet is the Adult Basic Education (ABE)/GED Center Coordinator for the Johnson County Adult Education program. She holds a B.S. in elementary education from Creighton University. Before joining the Johnson County Adult Education program, Janet taught 2nd and 3rd grade for 5 years. She started her career in adult education as an ABE/GED instructor with the Northeast Nebraska Community College in South Sioux City, Iowa. Since March 1996, Janet has taught basic literacy through GED preparation at the Johnson County Adult Education program. She has participated in the Kansas Board of Regents Summer Institute for 10 years and the Teachers Investigating Adult Numeracy Institutes in 2007-08. Her specialty areas are all levels of math instruction and basic and intermediate reading instruction. Janet provides instruction relevant to adults' needs and life experiences, using a variety of teaching styles and methods to find what works for each student.
Michelle Nicolai
Michelle has taught ESOL with the Prince William County Public Schools Adult Education program for seven years and began teaching ABE/pre-GED there in 2009. She holds a B.A. in sociology and a K-6 Virginia teaching endorsement from the University of Mary Washington and a M.Ed. with an endorsement in learning disabilities from the University of Virginia. Michelle incorporates many accommodations into her lesson plans to meet the wide range of abilities and skill levels in her classrooms. Her lesson planning is informed by needs-based assessments of her students, and she adjusts her teaching to meet students' learning needs.