About Us

Frances Lively

I have always felt quite fortunate that at the ripe, young age of two, I knew that being a teacher was what I wanted to do when I grew up. As Shakespeare said in The Taming of the Shrew, “I have not budged an inch” from that decision (Induction, Scene I). Throughout my thirty-plus years in education, my students have profoundly influenced me to crawl out on that narrow branch in order to taste the sweetest fruit. “Hereby hangs my tale.” (Shrew, Act IV, Scene I)

• B.S. in Education in English and Speech from Longwood; M.S. in Education in Reading from Virginia Commonwealth University
• Certification in English, reading, drama, speech, communications; experience teaching grades 4 through adult education
• Secondary English, language arts, and reading specialist for Henrico County Public Schools
• 3 years experience teaching adults how to read: Basic Reading, Level
• Former adjunct faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University
• Henrico County Schools’ Teacher of the Year, 1990
• Henrico County Schools’ Reading Teacher of the Year, 1991
• Participant in the New Hampshire Writing Project, 1994
  Member of Virginia’s Department Of Education Standards of Learning review committees
  • Standard setting for 8th-grade Writing
  • 8th-grade Reading, 2 years
  • 8th-grade Writing, 1 year
  • End-Of-Course Reading, 6 years
  • Bias Committee, 1 year
• Member of selected state committees
  • All America Reads Wish You Well by David Baldacci: development of online lesson plans
  • When Kids Can’t Read What Teachers Can Do: a portfolio of lesson plans
  • Development of a college course on reading in the content area—currently taught in four zones throughout state of Virginia
  • Revision of the current Standards of Learning for English, grades 6-12
• Former board member for Virginia Association for Teachers of English and Richmond Area Reading Association
• Workshop presenter throughout Virginia and at local, state, and national conferences
• Co-author of SOL Grand Slam™ Reading Review: End of Course

M.J. Weatherford

Though my mother told me I should be a teacher, I rebelled and worked in business for one year. I was miserable, and applied for a teaching position before the year was over. My mother was right. I was born to be a teacher. She would have been proud to read this list of accomplishments and qualifications:

• Master's of Education with concentration in Reading—Virginia Commonwealth University
• Bachelor of Arts Degree with English major, history minor—Mary Washington University
• Certified reading specialist
• Certified to teach English, reading, and history
• Twenty years teaching experience in reading and language arts in secondary classrooms
• Eight years on Virginia Department of Education's Review Committee for the Grade 8 SOL Reading Test.
• 1999 winner of the REB Award for Excellence in Teaching
• Participant in the New Hampshire Writing Project
• Past President of the Secondary Reading Council of the Virginia State Reading Association
• Presenter on the local and state level at conferences for reading, English, and library conferences.
• Co-author of SOL Grand Slam™ Reading Review: End of Course

Linda MacCleave

I was born in Richmond, Virginia, moved away when I was young, and returned when I was eighteen. I graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a bachelor’s degree in English Education and a few years later completed my master’s degree.

I taught English, journalism, and computer technology in grades 5-8 in Hanover and Henrico Counties for 30 years and served as English department head at Brookland Middle School the last seven years of my career.

With the introduction of computers into education in the mid-eighties, my life changed. This tool was one of the most exciting technological gadgets I had ever seen. My generation was a generation used to being mesmerized by a screen, and the generation I was teaching was even more attracted to moving images on a screen. Having the user control the images on the screen was powerful. Soon my students were using the computer for research, writing, and visual presentations.

When I retired from teaching in 1999, my goal was to learn more about developing content for the Internet. While still working, I had started taking classes in html and web site development and had developed a web site for the school. But I knew I had barely scratched the surface of what I wanted to know. The most exciting and frustrating thing about venturing into this skill is that it has no end. There are always new things to learn.

In addition to Reading Core, here are a few of the web sites I have developed and maintain:

Henrico County’s English Treasure Chest
Virginia Association of Teachers of English
Richmond Bridge Association
Cocoa Beach Alumni Association