Candidate: Linda Lou Cleveland

Dr. Lou Cleveland holds a Bachelor’s, Master’s, Specialist’s and Doctorate degree in an educational field from Florida State University. She also has a Florida teaching certificate, clinical educator training certificate, clinical educator train- the – trainer certificate, and English for Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) Training. Dr. Cleveland has 46 years of experience as a teacher or teaching administrator. She was a mathematics teacher at Chipley High School from 1973 – 1982. Dr. Cleveland became the mathematics coordinator at Chipola Junior College where she taught classes and began the Chipola Mathematics Olympics, mathematics and science tutoring laboratory and numerous initiatives for supporting education in mathematics and science. In 1989 while still a full time instructor at Chipola, she co-taught mathematics dual enrollment classes at Chipley High School. Dr. Cleveland was serving as Division Chair of Mathematics and Science when Chipola became a four year college and the teacher education was added to her division. Under her leadership, Chipola’s bachelor’s education programs grew from two majors in Secondary Mathematics and Biology Education to degree programs in Middle School Mathematics, Middle School Science, Elementary Education, Exceptional Student Education, English Education and The Educator Preparation Institute. She was serving as Dean of the School of Education when she retired in 2015. During the 2015-2016 school year, Dr. Cleveland worked part-time as a teacher candidate evaluator and mentor in the K – 12 classrooms of Walton County. Dr. Cleveland was recognized during her career with the following teaching awards: FACC Professor of the Year, Florida Two Year College Mathematics Association (FTYCMA) Mathematics Professor of the Year, Florida Council Teachers of Mathematics (FTCM) Mathematics Educator of the Year, J. R. Kirkland Teaching Award, and the American Council of College Trustees (ACCT) Southern Region Outstanding Faculty Award. She was recognized with two FACC state curriculum awards and a Chamber of Commerce state award for Exemplary and Innovative Efforts to Improve Teaching of Mathematics and Science in Florida Schools. During her tenure at Chipola, Dr. Cleveland served as Chairman of the Statewide Committee for the College Level Academic Skills Program which made recommendations on the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) to the Governor and the State Cabinet. During the 2014 – 2015 school year, Dr. Cleveland co-wrote and administrated an approximately half million dollar grant that provided CPALMS training to teachers and pre-service teachers in thirteen counties. “Teaching students and assisting each one of them in achieving his/her educational goals has been the passion of my career in education. I have been fortunate to teach and share in the lives of many outstanding students. It has been a joy to watch them excel in their careers and make positive differences in their communities. “ “Working in education has been an amazing and exciting journey. It has required my adaptation to changing student learning styles and the implementation of innovative instructional strategies that maximize student learning. State curriculum revisions have challenged me to develop curriculum plans that bridged the gap from what students had previously learned to what they were now expected to know and on what they were going to be tested. The diversity of today’s classroom required me to use multi-sensory and technology-based teaching methods to engage non-traditional learners and second language students. These challenges have driven me to keep learning and growing as an educator. “ “My administrative experience at Chipola College and at the state level has given me the opportunity to develop educational policies and see the impact of these policies on students, teachers and/or administrators. This experience broadened my understanding of how to interpret written policies and foresee impacts of these policies. Through my experience working on the CLAST, I learned how to interpret statewide testing data, read item specifications, write test items, and review test assessment guides. I used these skills to write teaching units for both classroom and review sessions that enabled Chipola students to perform their best on CLAST. These teaching units were incorporated into a textbook, The CLAST Review Book, published by Harcourt and Brace. “I would be honored to use my educational experience to serve the students, teachers, school administrators and parents of Washington County. Because I am retired, I am willing to work full time serving as a School Board member. “ Dr. Cleveland is married to Al Cleveland who is retired from the Washington County Health Department. They have two children, Colby who is employed with the Florida Department of Transportation and Emily Phillips who works at CVS in Chipley.