Martha Mandel

As a specialist in early childhood education, Martha captivates audiences with her enthusiasm.  With twenty-five years of classroom experience and nine years as a national speaker, Margaret Mandel is able to present a wealth of techniques and strategies for developing literacy in young learners.  A graduate of the University of Ohio, Martha wrote a dissertation focused on the role of music and rhyme in the development of phonemic awareness and emergent literacy.

Martha learned “in the trenches” how important music is to young children’s development; in addition to teaching school, she also taught music lessons to children age four to eighteen in her home studio and in neighboring community centers.

Along with her love of children and music, Martha’s interests include developing curriculum materials and programs for various school districts, private foundations, and national publications, as well as for a children’s museum.  She offers a series of early childhood books; she composed and produced the music for the accompanying cassettes.  She has also authored a new phonics readers series and resource guide.  She is currently working on another series of teacher resource books.

Martha’s passion for her work with children, teachers, and curriculum development supports her goal of sharing research-based, “cutting-edge” information with teachers while at the same time honoring them for what they do and, most important, who they are!

In his 23 years of teaching, Alex Thurston has strived to meet the challenges he faces in helping his students find some element of success in their early school experience.  As an absolute believer in effective communication, he listens, establishing continuous communication and rapport among himself, students, and parents, and he develops a nurturing environment for very young learners that involves enthusiasm, flexibility, and a willingness to change and adapt. 

Mr. Thurston graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree in Speech and Language Pathology.  He holds a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from North Texas College.  He began his career as a K-12 speech therapist; however, after finding that he preferred working at one school to working with many, he became a teacher upon receiving his Masters Degree two years later.  He has taught in three North Carolina school districts, including the Richmond County Public School System, since 1982.  He has been a kindergarten teacher since 1995.

Mr. Thurston was chosen National Teacher of the Year from among the 1999 State Teachers of the Year. More than 5,000 teachers participate in Teacher of the Year programs at the local, state, and national levels each year.  Selected by the oldest and most prestigious awards program to focus public attention on excellence in teaching, Mr. Thurston began a year as a full-time national and worldwide educational spokesperson June 1, 1999.  The program is sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers and Scholastic Incorporated.