Dr. Martha Foote

Professor & Head, Department of Curriculum & Instruction

Teaching Highlights

• Has taught numerous ECE, ELED, & RDG courses at all levels- Undergraduate, Masters & Doctoral.
• Developed three new doctoral special topic courses (Action Research, Family Literacy, and Reggio Emilia & Constructive Pedagogy)
• Opened and coordinated the Plano field-based center; led the faculty design team to plan and teach all seminars (Internship & Residency) for six years.
• Initiated  the study and research of Reggio Emilia Approach on A&M-C campus; participated in an International Study Tour to this Italian city in 2000, along with two doctoral students

Scholarship Highlights

•    Co-Edited four books  
•    18 articles and/or book chapters
•    Over fifty peer-reviewed presentations at national or international  conferences (AERA, AACTE, NAEYC,    NAREA, ALER/CRA, NRC, LESIG/IRA, and others)
•    Co-author and PI for the !Listo! Grant: Strategies for ELL Student Success ~ $1.2 million over 5 years from the Dept. of Education, along with Dr. Chris Green and Dr. Carole Walker, Co-PIs

Service Highlights

• Dept. Head for a large and complex department;  undergraduate program with yearly enrollment of around 900 students in one of sixteen BSIS degree variations [EC-6 generalist, EC-6 Bilingual, 4-8 Math, 4-8 Science with ESL, ..to name a few]; four (4)  masters degree programs [Curriculum & Instruction, Early Childhood Education, Reading, & Secondary Education] ; and,  the SCI Doctoral Program [currently has around 80 students with  20 new applicants recently applying from Rockwall ISD].  The programs are delivered in geographically diverse settings; and, through various delivery modes (online, web-enhanced, and televised distance ed. classrooms).  Some accomplishments include:

• Regent’s Initiative Grant to begin the Bill Martin Jr Symposium, a  now yearly event impacting our students and public school educators in the region
•  Implementation of  LOAs for all six degree programs  
•  Reorganization from the department of ELED to the Department of C&I
•  Expansion of some programs to Midlothian and the Collin Higher Education Center (CHEC)
  •  Development of the Middle Level Programs
  •  Development of the Bilingual/ESL Program...has grown over 500%
  •  Program reviews completed for all programs
  •  Implementation of the ¡Listo! Project to provide professional development for  C&I faculty leading to   

 redesign of courses with infusion of best practices for teaching English Learners (ELs); and

 support for teaching ELs to two public school districts (Greenville & Garland).

•      Departmental faculty (Naizer, Bell, Sinclair, Reid, Foote, Green, Walker, Hammack, and Thompson) have co-authored grant proposals securing over $5 million in external grant dollars for the university.
•     Mesquite ISD/A&M-Commerce Partnership received  the coordinating board’s STAR Award
  • The department has grown over 40% in SCH.

Even with the large numbers, the department maintains high standards of success for students. TExES pass rates are consistently strong as are other indicators of our graduates’ performance (principal ratings and TAKS class averages of our first year graduates). Doctoral graduates have won numerous dissertation awards and are now working in many universities and leadership roles in public schools.  Dr. Wayne Linek was designated a Regent’s Professor and the department will soon cheer on Dr. David Brown as the university’s newest Mayo Professor. Many faculty, Rhonda Clark, LaVerne Raine, Mark Reid, Carole Walker, and Larkin Page, have won the Chancellor’s Teaching Award. And, another, Barbara Hammack, will soon be awarded the first Jim Vornberg Teaching Award.

•    Chair  or member of over twenty doctoral committees
  • Coordinator for  the Cohort of Rockwall Educators [CORE] Masters Program
    • Serves on the University Strategic Planning Committee

• Chaired search committees  for the Dean of College of Education (Dr. Frank Ashley); and, the Department Head for Educational Leadership (Dr. Madeline Justice)

• Community service has been focused on the Destination Imagination program in Greenville ISD & various activities with Kavanaugh United Methodist Church in Greenville.

On a personal note, Martha is married to John Foote who is with Tedford Chevrolet in Farmersville. They have two children, Rachel and Parker. Rachel is married to Chris Carter, an investment banker in Dallas.  “The joy of my life is their two precious daughters, Hunter (almost 3) and Macauley (9 months).”  If you see “Emmie” on a license plate, that is Martha’s grandmother name.  Rachel is a graduate of TCU and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in sociology here at A&M-C. “She has loved TAMU-C’s sociology department and if all goes well should graduate this December”.  Parker is now a sophomore at TCU.  He is majoring in advertising and plays bass guitar in a Christian rock band, the Holy Smokes.  “Go Frogs!”...and “Go Lions!” (different conferences)

Historical “foote”note….Martha’s father, Dr. L.D. McNew, was head of the Educational Administration Department for twelve years in the seventies and eighties. He chaired the first doctoral dissertation completed at ETSU. There’s a note in the library to him from Dr. Gee, congratulating him on this milestone for the university.  Martha’s mother, Norma McNew, age 91, still lives in Commerce and is active in the First United Methodist Church and the Delphian Club.