Lakeva Barnes, Ed.D.

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

Dr. Lakeva Barnes is an educator who specializes in K-8 literacy. Over her 12 year career, she has taught 7th & 8th grade language arts in both a regular and co-teach setting. She is also certified to teach the gifted and talented. She started her career as a 3rd-6th grade learning lab teacher in Memphis City Schools where she instructed students who were two grade levels below in both reading and math, she taught 7th-8th grade reading language arts for Shelby County Schools, and 7th grade gender-based reading classes for Gestalt Community Schools, where she currently works as the K-8 literacy coach.

She is responsible for providing professional development for K-8 teachers and school leaders around standards based planning, data analysis, classroom management, differentiated instruction, literacy & learning strategies, text-based planning, vocabulary instruction, writing instruction, & text-dependent and text-specific question design. She helped to design a middle school humanities curriculum for Shelby County Schools. She designed a middle school pacing guide for literacy for Gestalt Community Schools.

Lakeva has a Bachelor of Science degree in K-8 education from Crichton College in Memphis, Tennessee, a Master of Science degree in 6-12 literacy and technology from Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a Specialist degree in teaching and learning from Union University in Germantown, Tn., and a doctorate in Instructional Leadership from Union University.

She is currently examining the effects of gender-based strategies on the achievement of 7th grade boys in reading and 7th grade girls in math. The goal of the study is to help close the achievement gap between boys and girls in literacy and numeracy at a local charter school.

Lakeva has taught language arts for ten years and understands how to implement strategies for boys especially in the literacy classroom. The research study she completed at a gender-based middle school involved the use of fidgets and movement breaks in the all male reading classes. She has also completed research around the use of writing and conferencing with female students in the math classroom.

Lakeva and her husband of 15 years have a 13- year old son who has given her real-world insight into many of the struggles that boys face in the classroom. Lakeva’s interest in the effects of gender-based instructional strategies was inspired by her son’s need to fidget in class and the fact that he designed his own fidgets.

She is passionate about empowering students, parents, teachers, and school leaders with the necessary tools needed to effect positive change in the field of education.

lakevab@bellsouth.net

Lakeva S. Barnes Ed.S.
Literacy Coach
Gestalt Community Schools
Building Better Communities Through Education
6120 Winchester Road

Memphis, TN 38115

Web: www.gestaltcs.org