The Special Education Department (SED) at Illinois State University is proud to announce that Dr. Allison M. Kroesch has taken on a new role as the Graduate Program Coordinator. In this position, she will work closely with current and prospective students looking to further their education, as well as develop SED’s graduate programs to better meet the needs of these students.
Kroesch is in her eighth year at Illinois State and currently holds a position as Assistant Professor. She began her career as a general Elementary Education teacher before later earning her master’s and doctoral degrees in Special Education. As Assistant Professor, her background in both fields provides her with a unique perspective working with both general education and special education students. Kroesch’s expertise provides them with the tools to understand and handle the nuances within the special education field regardless of their teaching specialty. In recent years, her research has been in elementary mathematics, reasoning, and problem solving to support the practicing teachers she works with in her graduate courses.
“I have a passion for evidence-based practices and making them relevant to teachers and paraprofessionals currently in the field,” Kroesch said. “My teaching and research really lies in helping to meet the needs of all students in the classroom by giving teachers the skills and tools to do so. It’s amazing to be able to connect with students on another level in both special and general education fields. What I love about bridging these interests is that I have a role in making a more accessible classroom for everybody.”
Her integrated approach to her teaching made her uniquely prepared to take on her new position as Graduate Program Coordinator. Previously, each graduate program was led by separate coordinators, but have since been consolidated under Kroesch’s leadership.
“I was originally the Program Coordinator for the Director of Special Education (DOSE) program,” she shared. “In that role I worked to make it more manageable for potential students, and along with aligning the program to ISBE’s regulations, I was able to generate more interest in that program and seek out those teachers and administrators who were a good fit.”
Now that she oversees all of the graduate programs, Kroesch is continuing to help prospective students get connected with the program that’s right for them. “I want to continue making changes that are enticing to our stakeholders and students, making sure that SED is providing a robust program meeting the ever-growing needs of the K-12 educators in the field.”
Kroesch’s organizational and leadership work has already made its mark on the College of Education, having worked with Lindsey Hall in Education Administration and Foundations (EAF) on establishing a collaboration between the existing Principal Prep Program with DOSE to bridge the gap between administrators and special education programs. As Graduate Program Coordinator, she is able to work closely with the faculty, staff, and students enriched by the pathway she established.
“I’m so proud of this collaboration, we’re helping prepare teachers who want to become administrators while also providing them with more coursework in order to really, truly understand being a special educator. Most administrators have a general education background, so it’s great to know that I helped in the early stages of establishing principals with a special education background to better serve their schools.”
“I was one of few teachers with a general education background wanting to expand into special education as a graduate student,” said Kroesch. “Many teachers and administrators want to make accommodations, and make everything inclusive in their schools. This program, along with the other programs I now get to work with, helps to bridge that gap.”
Along with the DOSE/Principal Prep collaboration, she is already invigorated by the opportunity to work in connection with the variety of graduate programs within SED. “I’m excited to be taking a deep dive into master’s curriculum, and listening to the wants and needs of my colleagues and stakeholders, and merging those things together during the curriculum process”
She also looks forward to taking on a more substantial role in the daily needs of her students. “I’m so excited to work more closely with a greater number of graduate students. I see them starting right fresh out of college all the way up to veteran teachers teaching 20 plus years looking to make a career change or add on to the education they already have,” Kroesch said. “I enjoy getting to work in alignment with each individual’s life and needs as they take this next step in their teaching.”
Her passion for adapting to student’s needs is all-encompassing. Kroesch prioritizes the connection and well-being of all who she works with in order for them to succeed. “I approach my advising through constant communication, and I try very hard to make sure that I am available to my students, and in every email – and I truely, deeply mean this – I add a scheduling meeting link and always encourage them to contact me,” she said. “Especially for grad students, it’s important to know you’re there and that they’re getting their needs met. Now that I have a greater understanding of the variety of programs, I can recommend a certification or courses to an individual student to provide a personalized, tailored education.”
“I enjoy getting to work in alignment with each individual’s life and needs as they take this next step in their teaching.”
– Dr. Allison Kroesch
Not only is she meeting the individual student’s needs, but also she looks at how the graduate program is supporting the schools and communities. “I attend the Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education (IAASE) conferences to just talk with Directors of Special Education and Superintendents about their struggles, what they need, and how our programs may help them or their teachers,” said Kroesch. “Building these connections and listening to the current needs in their field helps us to establish future collaborators and create pipelines for prospective students in the graduate program.”
“This role has taken a team to work,” she shared. “I’m really grateful for my colleagues who have done this before and were willing to share and mentor me in all of the programs to understand each of their complexities. All of the others played an important role in understanding what this role entails for me and in helping me and my students be very successful at the graduate level”
“I may be the coordinator, but I also need my colleagues to add that vital support. I always look to them for more ideas for development and improvement. In the future I look forward to building a more robust behavior intervention program, and I’d like to dabble in creating a Deaf/Hard of Hearing masters program. These are things we are already working to develop in our department that I’m looking forward to working on with this team.”
“I have a deep appreciation for what my colleagues have already done to develop our doctoral and master’s programs, Low Vision and Blindness programs, as well as all of the certification opportunities I get to share with stakeholders and those in the field,” she said. “I look forward to taking on their vision, integrating it into new and existing programs, as well as marketing what we have to offer and filling the gaps for all schools and educators.”
To learn more about the number of graduate programs Dr. Kroesch currently advises, visit the SED Graduate Course Catalog.