Samantha Vann is a second-year doctoral student in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education department at the University of Virginia. She completed her B.S. in Liberal Studies/Special Education and M.A. in Special Education, Curriculum, and Instruction at Longwood University. Before coming to UVA, she worked as a special educator at a public high school in Virginia for 6 years. During that time, Vann assumed a variety of teaching roles. She worked intensively with students who receive special education services under the disability category of Emotional Disturbance as the Positive Behavior Support teacher. Additionally, Vann co-taught as a collaborative Geometry teacher and collaborative English 10 teacher. Currently, Vann works with her advisor, Emily Solari, in the Reading and Academic Development Research (RADR) group as part of the Virginia Is for Leaders: Development of Experts in Evidence-based Literacy (DEEL) Practices for Students with Disabilities training grant. Her research focuses on students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) who have difficulty reading. She is passionate about improving the post-secondary outcomes of students with EBD.
Current Projects: