Instructional designer, federal program director bolster Mississippi College’s TEL Department
A pair of Mississippi College alumni and experienced educational leaders who have made their mark in Clinton Public Schools have joined the MC faculty as assistant professors in the Department of Teacher Education and Leadership.
Brittany Ricker, an instructional designer in the School of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, and Teresa Duke, federal program director and district test coordinator for the Clinton Public School District, have joined the MC School of Education’s TEL Department.
Jennifer Stafford, department chair and professor of Teacher Education and Leadership, said Ricker serves as coordinator of TEL’s Elementary Education Master’s Program.
“Dr. Ricker is a well-known and admired local elementary teacher and administrator,” Stafford said. ‘She brings a wealth of knowledge to our undergraduate elementary students and our graduate students.
“Dr. Ricker was on campus very often this summer to support our incoming freshmen in orientations and planning for the fall semester. We are very aware of how blessed we are to have her be a part of our MC family.”
Ricker obtained her B.S. in elementary education and her M.Ed. in elementary education and in educational leadership from Mississippi College. As a teacher at Eastside Elementary School in Clinton, she developed strong relationships with students, parents, and colleagues by maintaining open lines of communication and fostering a supportive learning environment. She enhanced classroom engagement through the use of interactive teaching methods and supported students in developing social and critical-thinking skills.
Promoted to assistant principal at Eastside Elementary, Ricker improved school performance by developing and implementing data-driven instructional strategies and enhanced teacher effectiveness through regular classroom observations and feedback sessions. She collaborated with faculty to create interdisciplinary lesson plans, increasing student engagement across subjects, and supported a positive school culture by addressing student behavior concerns promptly and effectively.
She spent the last year at the UMMC School of Medicine, enhancing learning experience by designing interactive and engaging instructional materials and collaborating with subject-matter experts to create accurate, relevant, and effective learning content. She improved learner retention rates by developing innovative instructional strategies and assessment methods and conducted comprehensive needs analyses to identify areas for instructional improvement and targeted training solutions.
Ricker obtained her Ed.D. in educational administration from the University of Southern Mississippi. Her capstone project was “The Affects of a Pull-out Intervention Program on Student Achievement in the Classroom.”
Stafford describes Duke as an “amazing leader” who will be working to lead principals across the state from MC.
“Dr. Duke began teaching as an adjunct professor this past spring and did a phenomenal job,” Stafford said. “She is well-known throughout our state and locally as being a model of excellence and a strong advocate for children. Educational law, federal programs, and personnel leadership are definitely part of her skillset.
“We could not be more excited to have her be a part of Teacher Education and Leadership in the School of Education.”
A graduate of Mississippi State University, where she received her B.S. in business education, Duke taught at the Gulfport High School Technology Center, Columbus High School’s McKellar Vocational Center, and Sumner Hill Jr. High School in Clinton – where she became assistant principal – before obtaining her M.S. in educational leadership from Mississippi College.
She served as principal of the alternative school at the Clinton Success Center and joined the Clinton Public School District as federal programs director, district test coordinator, EL coordinator, homeless liaison, foster care liaison, hearing officer, and OCR coordinator while earning her Ph.D. in educational leadership at the University of Southern Mississippi.
An active member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Mississippi Association of Secondary School Principals, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the Mississippi Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Duke was the recipient of the 2023 Clinton Public School District Administrator of the Year Award, among many other scholastic honors.
Her areas of endorsement include administrative license, business education, computer education, business and computer technology, cooperative education, and technology discovery.
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