Stephanie M. McConachie
Stephanie M. McConachie is a Fellow at the Institute for Learning (IFL), Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh. As part of the Disciplinary Literacy (DL) team at the Institute for Learning, she has designed and led professional and curriculum development in English language arts for school and district educators in over ten urban school districts and a state consortium. Presently, she is working with the school districts of New York City, Boston, and Prince George's County Public Schools. She is also part of a design team to develop assessment prototypes in English language arts and literacy for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC). She was instrumental in developing the DL framework, design principles, and collaborative protocols. As part of the IFL, she has also served as a site liaison and worked with district and school leaders to improve principal instructional leadership and to support the development of coherent district instructional systems and routines. She has presented professional learning sessions at the National Staff Development Council, National Association of Teachers of English, PA Educational Research Association, and the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. She has co-taught the Instructional Leadership course at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. Her most recent publications include co-editing the recently published book, Content Matters: A Disciplinary Literacy Approach to Improving Student Learning, co-authoring several of its chapters, including one on professional learning and leadership.
Before coming to the IFL, McConachie led a variety of educational initiatives. She taught English, theatre arts, and English education to students from middle school through graduate school. She has also been a middle school principal, high school assistant principal, and an English language arts coordinator, K-12. As part of her district leadership position, she led the development of a district wide writing curriculum. She is a past president of the Virginia Association of Teachers of English and a former co-director of a National Writing Project site. While a principal, she coached new principals as part of a National Association of School Principals program. She holds a doctorate in educational administration and a masters of arts in English education from the College of William and Mary.