Webster Completes Work for Doctorate


Lisa Webster

Lisa Webster

Lisa Webster, the teacher for academically and intellectually gifted students at Zeb Vance Elementary School, said she did it to honor her mother.

She worked for more than five years and recently earned her doctoral degree for Exceptional Children in Education. Her degree is from North Central University and she completed all of her work online.

“My mother always instilled education in me,” Webster said. “Education was a big thing to her. She saw me get my bachelor’s degree and then my master’s degree. She passed away in 2007 and after that I was determined to do this for her.”

Her dissertation was entitled, “Today’s Gifted Child: A Qualitative Case Study on Teachers and the Twice Exceptional Student.” Webster said she interviewed eight teachers each at Zeb Vance and Dabney elementary schools about their experiences with students who are ADHD and learning disabled and have the potential to be gifted.

“I owe a lot to everyone who helped me,” Webster added. “I had great support from everyone here at Zeb Vance. Michelle Foster (AIG coordinator and teacher at Dabney) and Janette Johnson (Zeb Vance media specialist) were my cheerleaders and they did lots of reading and editing for me.

“I was so excited when I heard I had successfully completed everything,” she said. “I no longer have to do writing and editing all weekend. I can relax and not have to sit in front of the computer.”