Patti Permenter
Assistant Professor of Education
ppermenter@wmcarey.edu
Patti Permenter is an educator and facilitator who specializes in working with K-12 school leaders and teachers to find innovative ways to transform leading and learning. Through her work as associate director of the non-profit, Program of Research and Evaluation of Public Schools (PREPS), she has been instrumental in building community to assist efforts in rural schools and those in poverty including the MS Delta. Forming partnerships with other non-profits and agencies to support student learning has been paramount in her work with PREPS. One of the most recent partnerships encouraging and promoting rural student engagement with STEM is a joint effort with NASA and the MS Public Library System.
Dr. Permenter has 28 years as a K-12 educator, and she achieved National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist. This experience combined with IHL experience as an assistant professor for undergraduate and graduate education coursework provides a broad perspective and extensive background to assist others reach their potential. She has mentored both novice and pre-service teachers and continues to find this challenge most rewarding.
She has been actively engaged in keeping up-to-date and researching alternate strategies for learning, teaching, and leading. She is most proud to have worked with great researchers first-hand including Phil Schlechty, author of Schools of the Twenty-First Century and founder of the Center for Leadership in School Reform (CLSR) and Grant Wiggins, developer of Understanding by Design (UbD). Dr. Permenter authored exemplary lesson plans for the Mississippi Department of Education, and piloted a multi-age program Learning is New Knowledge Shared (LINKS) through a state funded grant. She has also worked with testing companies as test item reader ensuring that test items remained bias free.
Dr. Permenter has written and managed numerous grants which required organizational planning for cross-functional projects, retreats, and conferences. Most recently she organized a joint symposium for MS and AL administrators where transformational leadership was the key. Also, she is currently working with the Southeastern Early Childhood Association (SECA) and the Mississippi Early Childhood Association (MsECA) to help reestablish the Alabama Early Childhood Association which supports work for the growth and development of young learners.
Dr. Permenter serves on several board of directors. She will serve as the SE Member-At Large for the Mississippi Early Childhood Association beginning in October 2019. In the past, she has also served as their Diversity Chair for the state of Mississippi. She is the only educator on the Mississippi Vision Board. Just this past legislative session, Dr. Permenter was elated to help with the signing of a bill into law whereby all public school children have access to eye examinations upon failing vision screeners.
She holds a B.S. in Elementary Education (1988) and M.S. in Educational Leadership from Mississippi State University (1997), and Ed.S (2017). and Ed.D. in Instructional Leadership from William Carey University (2019).
Certifications
116 Elementary Education K-3
117 Elementary Education 4-6
111 Computer Application K-12
486 Administrator
National Board Certified Teacher – Early Childhood Generalist
