Education
- Ph.D. Literacy Education, Rutgers University
- M.Ed. Reading Education with Reading Specialist Concentration, Rutgers University
- B.A. English, minor in Secondary Education, Rutgers University
Professional Certifications
- Secondary English Educator
- Elementary Educator
- Reading Specialist
- Supervisor
Professional Background
Dr. Casey teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in literacy education at Rider University and coordinates the graduate-level literacy concentration. Dr. Casey works with K-12 school partners to support future elementary and secondary classroom educators and Reading/Literacy Specialists. Dr. Casey is a former classroom teacher and is a certified Reading Specialist, English Educator, Elementary Educator and Supervisor. Dr. Casey is actively involved in the Rider community and the literacy education community and has served multiple leadership roles in both. Dr. Casey’s research focuses on the use of collaborative learning structures and new literacies to support adolescent literacy development and the intersection of school and community literacy practices. Dr. Casey has published books, articles, and book chapters on these topics and has also led grants in partnership with local schools focusing on building community and teacher leadership. Dr. Casey is the 2019 recipient of the Dominick A. Iorio Faculty Research Prize from Rider University.
Courses Taught at Rider University
- ELD 307 Emergent Literacy
- ELD 308 Fostering Language and Literacy Across the Disciplines
- ELD 360 Structure and Culture of the Middle School
- ELD 395 Literacy Learning in the Middle Grades
- SED 431 Content Area Literacy
- TEC 403 New Literacies for New Learning
- LITR 501 Theories and Processes of Literacy and Language Development Across Disciplines
- LITR 520 Curriculum, Instruction and Supervision in Literacy
- Student Teaching Supervision
- Seminar in Student Teaching
- Supervised multiple Supervised Studies
- Supervised multiple Independent Studies
- Supervised multiple BHP capstone projects
- Dissertation committee member and chair for multiple doctoral candidates
Selected Publications
Casey, H.K. (2025). Productive, Not Polarizing: Ensuring Effective Literacy Instruction
through School-Community Conversations. Teachers College Press. https://www.tcpress.com/productive-not-polarizing-9780807787304
Casey, H.K. (2023) Best practices for literacy in the intermediate and middle school grades. In
L.M. Morrow, E. Morrell, & H.K. Casey (Eds.), Best practices in literacy instruction (7th ed.). New York: Guilford Press. https://www.guilford.com/author/Heather-Kenyon-Casey
Morrow, L.M., Morrell, E., Casey. H. Eds. (2023) Best Practices in Literacy Instruction – 7th ed.
Guilford Press. https://www.guilford.com/author/Heather-Kenyon-Casey
Casey, H. (2017) Literacy learning clubs: Engaging students across the disciplines. New York:
Guilford Press. https://www.guilford.com/author/Heather-Kenyon-Casey
Selected Presentations
Casey, H. (2025). Literacy as a community commitment: Creating pathways for productive,
not polarizing conversations. Paper presented (Dec 2025) at the LRA (Literacy Research Association) conference, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Casey, H. (2025). Literacy is a community commitment: Moving beyond polarizing debates
towards productive conversations. Paper presented (Nov 2025) at the NCTE annual conference, Denver, Colorado.
Casey, H. (2024). Literacy learning is a community commitment. Paper presented at the AERA
annual conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Casey, H., Morrow, L.M., Morrell, E., Pearson, P.D., Tierny, R., Edwards, P., Fisher D., Hicks,
T., Kuhn, M., Frey, N., Doughtery, S., Lapp, D., Risko, V. Walker-Dalhouse, D. (2023). What is the role of prek-12 pedagogical practice in building a humanitarian research architecture that binds? (Chair, organizer, and panel discussant.) Literacy Research Association