The 5l-year-old CEO of sister com­panies Sound Manufacturing and Mon­ster Power Equipment in Old Saybrook, Kellie-Marie Vallieres, took over the family business from her father in 2006. She never planned to run the company, but when earning her Ph.D. in adult experiential learning at UConn she did a class project on Sound Manufacturing, which makes precision sheet metals for a variety of industries – landscaping, telecommunications, industrial, automotive, etc.

University of Connecticut psychology professor James C. Kaufman, an expert in creativity research, in a Psychology Today post, sees people sheltering in place exhibiting “an increase in everyday creativity.” Although he lists a hierarchy of creative achievements, from “the family singing a song from ‘Les Miserables’” to publishing a “book about kiwi cultivation,…it is important not to let such a comparison diminish their value.”

Grace Beshlian and Alyssa Conklin will return to the UConn women’s lacrosse program for the 2021 season as announced by head coach Katie Woods. Both will return after the NCAA’s decision to grant spring athletes another year of eligibility.

Ann Traynor, the director of advising and certification for UConn’s Neag School of Education, says students graduating this spring have begun creating online lesson plans to show prospective employers, and school professors are helping critique the lessons.

Host Danielle Scorrano invites READ listeners to enter the classroom with Devin Kearns, Ph.D. Kearns, a former teacher, is an expert in educational research and a professor of special education at the University of Connecticut. Kearns shares his expertise about dyslexia, dispels its pervasive myths, and presents research on reading.

Greenwich Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones has appointed Dana Tulotta as assistant headmaster at Greenwich High School, effective July 1, 2020. Most recently, Tulotta held the role of Folsom House administrator at Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Conn.

“This graduation celebration is fitting because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as this is the way we started ScHOLA2RS House – a lot of uncertainty, some anxiety, fear of the unknown. Yet many of us were courageous to face this uncertainty, as we knew a blessing would come on the other side. That blessing has manifested today, the first ScHOLA2Rs House freshman cohort to graduate,” said Erik Hines, the first faculty director and former Neag School professor.

Connolly, a fifth-grade teacher at the Mather School in Boston and a former UConn women’s hockey player, has created a YouTube channel called “Ms. Connolly’s Math at Home,” which contains around 70 videos covering elementary school math topics from first to fifth grade.

Welcome back to another edition of Starkville! Jayson and Doug invite in MLB Network do-it-all and broadcasting icon, Bob Costas, to today’s show!

Superintendent Craig Cooke states, “I am very excited to have someone with Mr. Mihalko’s level of experience and background in regular and special education to our team. His work from Prek through grade 12 will bring new ideas and perspectives to Poquonock School. Jay impressed us all with his commitment to student learning and equity.”