Tolliver grinned ear to ear, too, as she was introduced Sept. 9 to Norton School Board.
She joins the system as part of its new Reading First initiative, which employs scientifically based reading programs to improve reading achievement. Norton was one of only 14 school divisions to land first-round funding for Reading First, a component of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
The initiative "moves research into practice, Sessoms said. "I fully expect Norton will be a leader in this project."
"I do, too," Tolliver told the board. She explained to the board how she would be working with teachers and students in coaching and modeling. Progress is tracked on a daily basis.
"Not only do students need to learn to read, they need to learn to enjoy reading," she said.
What prompted Tolliver to apply for the Norton job was her work as a member of the Reading First grant review board.
"I got excited with the idea of Reading First," Tolliver said after the meeting. "It's on the cutting edge." She wants to be a part of putting it in play.
Over the next two years, Norton Elementary will have an additional $236,149 to invest in improving student reading ability. In essence, the Reading First program combines technique, training and time to get the job done.
"This is a significant event for us. It will give us the means of moving our reading instruction where it ought to be," Sessoms recently told the board in making the announcement of the grant award.
A former reading specialist with Washington County schools, Tolliver brings to Norton Elementary School both academic credentials and real-world achievement.
"She had a documented impact on performance over there," Sessoms said.
Tolliver has taught for 13 years in the Washington County school system, all in elementary grades. She was most recently a reading specialist where she had impact on increasing third grade reading scores to about 23 percent. She has degrees in elementary education, administration, reading specialist and educational specialist in curriculum, training and development in technology.
She is editor of the statewide Virginia State Reading Association newsletter. In May, she was selected by the Department of Education to serve on the Reading First grant review panel.
She has two children, a senior at Abingdon High School and a fourth grader at Abingdon Elementary. They reside in Washington County.
