Katherine Roe serves as Chair of the Education and Educational Psychology Department. Dr. Roe began her career as a Special Education Teacher in a diverse community inside of New York City. This experience inspired her research and teaching efforts to support and identify barriers to literacy. Her specializations include literacy, special education, classroom technology, and differentiated instruction with a commitment to support diverse students. Her doctoral studies in Educational Psychology allowed her to research academic reading acquisition with English language learners. Dr. Roe made the transition into teacher education while working for the City University of New York taking the lead on the New York teacher certification process and is now working with Western's student teacher candidates seeking Connecticut State Teacher Certification.