Kristin Harty, Ph.D.

Hometown:  Pittsburgh, PA
Joined Chatham:  2012

ACADEMIC AREAS OF INTEREST

Preservice Teacher Education Students with Reading Disabilities

PERSONAL AREAS OF INTEREST

Dr. Harty is a mother to three children who attended and graduated from the Woodland Hills School District. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, traveling and attending plays/musicals performed in Pittsburgh and New York. 

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Kristin Harty joined the Chatham faculty in fall 2012 as Associate Professor of Special Education and was named Chairperson/Program Director in 2014. Dr. Harty earned her Ph.D. and M.Ed. in special education from the University of Pittsburgh and her B.S. in special education from Penn State University. Dr. Harty is certified as a special education teacher and reading specialist. Dr. Harty has taught reading in a variety of settings in the public schools and has provided in-service training to several school districts on developmentally appropriate practices and reading interventions. For four years, Dr. Harty served as a Reading Consultant for Plum Borough School District. In that position, she observed teachers and provided suggestions and commendations on their small and whole group reading instruction. Dr. Harty previously was a special education teacher in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Early Intervention, for Easter Seals of Western Pennsylvania, and a service coordinator for Early Intervention, Alliance for Infants in Pittsburgh. Dr. Harty has completed model demonstration projects and has served as Project Co-coordinator for Dr. R.E. O’Connor’s Reading Comprehension in Inclusive Classrooms and Layers of Intervention Model Demonstration Project. As a Project Co-Coordinator, she was involved in all aspects of both studies from the initial grant proposal through the final analysis and dissemination of the information.. Dr. Harty has co-authored several publications about reading interventions and has presented at local, state, and national conferences. Dr. Harty is Latina and has a strong interest in teaching students who are from culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Dr. Harty's current interests are Youth Mental Health First Aid in which she is a trainer and working to increase diversity in the field of teaching. 

EDUCATION

• Ph.D. Special Education, University of Pittsburgh
• M.Ed. Special Education, University of Pittsburgh
• B.S. Special Education, Penn State University

CERTIFICATIONS