The University of Montevallo remained busy this summer.

The College of Education at the University of Montevallo recently hosted the 2009 Teacher Leader Academy.

Thirty teachers from schools across the state participated in this dual site program between UM and Maplesville High School.

This event was made possible by a teacher leader initiative grant awarded in 2008 and is an offshoot of the Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) degree program in teacher leadership –– the only program of its kind in the state.

Stacey Ayotte, assistant professor of French, recently published an article titled “Timed-writing in the foreign language classroom: Does practice make perfect?”

The article appeared in the electronic journal Crisolenguas, published by the department of foreign languages at the University of Puerto Rico.

Mary Beth Armstrong, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of communication science and disorders, was an invited speaker at the Special Needs in the Early Years Conference, held in Arkansas.

Her topics were “Early Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorders” and “Evidence Based Practices in Emergent Literacy.”