Donna Albrecht

Affiliation

Indiana University Southeast

Track

Biography

Dr. Donna Albrecht is the Director of Graduate Studies in Education, Coordinator of Gifted and Talented, and Director of The New Neighbors Education Center, a center that focuses on the professional development needs of schools as they work with culturally and linguistically diverse communities. She has taught and administered in PK-12 and higher education settings for over 30 years, specializing in English as a Second Language (ESL), High Ability/Gifted and Talented, and Educational Administration. Donna has designed and administered ESL programs in several countries for both PK-12 and university institutions, in addition to teaching and administering in International Schools. She was the Primary Investigator for a National Professional Development Grant that created an English Language Teaching Program and Professional Development Academy. Donna leads a Gifted and Talented/High Ability-ESL Collaborative with the participation of school districts across Indiana and the State Department of Education. To date, she has led the Collaborative in analyzing their current GT/HA programs and collecting baseline data, and in their development of pilot programs to include ELs in their districts’ GT/HA programs. With the help of the Indiana Department of Education, Donna has conducted a statewide survey to gather data from school districts to determine the current level of inclusion of English learners in GT/HA programs, along with their needs for professional development. Dr. Albrecht has also developed a Framework for Teaching and Learning in the Gifted/High Ability-English Learner Collaborative Classroom through an iterative process of development with schools and leaders of both ESL and GT/HA.