Janice Melichar-Utter

Janice Melichar-Utter has worked with students at all levels from preschool to college during her thirty-four years in education. She was an adjunct professor at Mount Saint Mary College teaching Foundations of Literacy. Presently, Jan tutors women recovering from substance abuse.

Working as a reading specialist for eighteen years, primarily at the middle school level, Jan learned to adapt strategies to meet the challenges of learning disabled and gifted readers. In the Social Studies classroom, she was passionate about developing brain friendly study strategies and memory techniques to bring success to all students. Guiding students to understand how they learned became paramount to covering curriculum.

Jan presents teacher workshops on a variety of topics throughout the Hudson Valley, including the New York State Reaching Association Conferences, Mid-Hudson Reading Council Fall Conferences, the IRA Convention in Toronto, and was a guest lecturer at Vassar College for over 20 years. As readability editor and consultant for Scholastic-Grolier, she involved her middle school students in focus groups to evaluate books. She is a member of professional organization such as ASCD, MHRC, Delta Kappa Gamma, and APCE.

Currently Jan is using her educational background for work in Christian ministry. She and her husband Jim, an ecology professor, live in the Hudson Valley of New York and share five children and four grandchildren in their combined family.

You can reach her at 7 William Way, Stormville, NY, 12582. E-mail: mrsjmutter98@aol.com