Meet the CLE Team

Before we share our English education expertise on the CLE blog, get to know our team! We are pleased to meet you and so glad you are interested in our mission.

Ernest Morrell // The new Notre Dame Center for Literacy Education is Directed by Dr. Ernest Morrell, a leader in the field of literacy education. Dr. Morrell is the Coyle Professor of Literacy Education and Director of the Center for Literacy Education at the University of Notre Dame. He is also an elected member of the AERA Council, a past-president of the National Council of Teachers of English, and an appointed member of the International Literacy Association’s Research Panel.

— Favorite aspect of teaching English and Literature: I love helping young people to develop as critical questioners of texts. Asking great questions, to me, is the highest manifestation of intellectual life. I want all of my students to be voracious and critical consumers of the spoken word, the image, and the print text. As Paulo Freire would say, I love the art of developing informed and engaged readers of the word and the world. Only powerful readers can become powerful writers.

— Hobbies: I have been very interested in youth sports. I have coached football, basketball, track, and soccer at the youth and high school levels. I now enjoy watching my three sons play sports. I also enjoy taking road trips with my family. We have now driven through most of the 48 states. We are semi-professional backyard grillers. Steak is a favorite.

— Currently reading:  War and Peace is my favorite novel. It is the best and most complete story I have ever read. Toni Morrison is a very important novelist for me. She is probably the most painful of the authors I teach but I am re-reading Beloved in preparation for our Postcolonial class. People need to have the courage to read Toni Morrison!

 

 

Jodene Morrell // Dr. Jodene Morrell is a Teaching Professor and Associate Director of the Notre Dame Center for Literacy Education. She is also a faculty member in the Education, Schooling and Society program and a Faculty Fellow in the Institute for Educational Initiatives.

Jodene and Ernest are the parents of three boys (freshman at Notre Dame; 8th grade and 1st grade) who love spending family time together with travel sports and road trips.  

— Favorite aspect of teaching English and Literature: My favorite part of teaching literature is to watch students become completely engaged in places, time periods, and events that may be entirely different from their own experiences or making powerful connections with characters and places because of similar experiences. My greatest joy comes from seeing wonder and epiphanies in the faces of students as they read to themselves or as we share in a read-aloud. Watching individuals develop a passion for reading and learning is the most rewarding part of teaching—whether this was when I taught in the elementary and middle school classroom or currently at the university level.  

— Hobbies: Our life is focused on family, so the best times are those spent on sidelines for soccer or lacrosse, cheering on our oldest in track and cross country, and long road trips when we get to spend time together talking, listening to music, listening to audiobooks, and exploring new places.

— Currently reading: I just started a challenge of reading the Bible in 90 days. It's a quick pace, a wonderful challenge, and most importantly, an opportunity to read parts of the Bible that I would not typically read. I am currently reading the 2nd book in the Box Car Children series with our 7-year-old and remembering how wonderful these "classic" mysteries are for blooming readers. Finally, I'm reading through one of my Mother's Day gifts—a biography of Catherine Medici who was an incredible matriarch.

 

 

Kati Macaluso // Dr. Kati Macaluso is the Director of ACE Advocates, a unit of the Alliance for Catholic Education charged with the strategic engagement of ACE graduates in sustaining, strengthening, and transforming Catholic schools. She also serves as Faculty of Supervision and Instruction in ACE’s M.Ed. Program, and co-teaches the middle and high school English Language Arts methods sequence.

— Favorite aspect of teaching English and Literature:  I love helping people find their voice. If words, as JK Rowling wrote, "are our most inexhaustible source of magic," then the work of an English Language Arts teacher is magical.  What's not to love about that?

— Hobbies: classical ballet, kickboxing, and cooking

— Currently reading: I'm reading Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban because I made a pact with my children that I'd read the Harry Potter series with them, so we could talk about it. They're on Book 4, and I'm only on Book 3!

 

 

 

 

Mike Macaluso // Dr. Michael Macaluso serves as a faculty member of the Alliance for Catholic Education and a Fellow of the Institute for Educational Initiatives. In this role, he teaches education-related courses through the Teaching Fellows M.Ed. program and through the Education, Schooling, and Society program. He also visits and advises ACE Teaching Fellows in various communities around the country, including Tampa, Washington, D.C., and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

— Favorite aspect of teaching English and Literature: Talking through new ideas and new books with students; making real-world connections.

— Hobbies: playing with my kids, running, reading, Netflix binging, writing about teaching.  

— Fun Fact: One reason I wanted to be an English teacher was to be able to teach Lord of the Flies.  

— Another Fun Fact: I love “The Price is Right.”

— Currently reading: Refugee by Alan Gratz.  

— Books I miss teaching: Wuthering Heights and Arthurian Legends.

Kati and Mike are the proud parents of four children, two girls and two boys.

 

Betsy Okello // Dr. Betsy Ferrer Okello is a member of the teaching and learning team for the Notre Dame ACE Academies and a faculty member in the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program. In these roles, Dr. Okello advises and guides school leaders and teachers in how to implement best literacy practices in their classrooms.

— Favorite aspect of teaching English and Literature: I love everything about teaching English and Literature! I was an early reader and have loved books for as long as I can remember. As a teacher, I love sharing this love of words and worlds with students and seeing that love and enthusiasm come alive in them. Writing is one of my favorite aspects of ELA to teach. I love helping students find their voice and discover how to carefully craft their ideas on the page. To me, reading and writing changes us in fundamental ways. Each new book opens up a new world for us and each new piece that we write, helps us engage more deeply with ourselves and the world.

— Hobbies: I love theatre, particularly Shakespeare. I also love to do anything outdoors (when it is warm outside!) running, yoga, hiking. Living in Kisumu, Kenya was one of the highlights of my life. I speak Swahili and a little Luo. I especially love spending time with my husband Zack and daughter Beatrice. As a family, we love the arts and spend lots of time reading, writing, and creating.

— Favorite books/stories: I have lots of favorites - too many to choose! I'm partial to redemption stories (The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, Graceland by Chris Abani).

— Currently reading: Right now I'm reading Disrupting Thinking by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst and Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

 

 

Darby Evans // Darby Evans is the Associate Program Director for the CLE, which means that she manages the Center’s messaging and programming logistics. She also assists with graduate and undergraduate teacher formation courses, such as the Macaluso’s ELA Methods Course and Diversity in Children’s and YA Literature.

— Favorite aspect of teaching English and Literature: I live for that moment when a student has written something he or she deeply cares about, and they realize that it’s good. I consider it a great privilege to assist students in discovering their own latent talents! It brings me great joy to help children fall in love with reading and writing or at least help them realize that these subjects are integral to their success and well-being.

— Hobbies: watching British TV, reading and writing (is that too obvious?), following Kansas basketball, running, listening to podcasts or Broadway soundtracks, doodling

— Fun Fact: Both of my pinky fingers are double-jointed.

— Another Fun Fact: I have a deep and abiding love for all kinds of soup.

— Current favorite book: My favorite is always changing! But as of now, my favorite author is Annie Dillard. Specifically, I love her collection of essays, The Abundance. I also love the poetry of Mary Oliver.

— Currently reading: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and her volumes of poetry, Ariel and The Colossus.

Interested in contributing to our work or learning more about us? Explore the site or contact us at CLEatND@nd.edu. Thanks for reading!