Congratulations, Dr. Jacob!

William O. Schaefer Elementary School Speech-Language Pathologist and Tappan Zee High School alumna (Class of ‘12) Melissa Jacob graduated earlier this month with a clinical doctorate in speech-language pathology (SLPD) as Kean University’s 2025 Doctoral Student with Distinction for maintaining a 4.0 GPA and passing her research defense with an excellence distinction.

Jacob's research, which culminated in a 12-week experimental study, focused on literacy, inclusion, critical thinking, and the role the school-based SLP plays in promoting inclusive learning environments. The findings of her study, “To Push or to Pull: The Effects of Reading to Engage Children with Autism in Language and Learning (RECALL) Across Service Delivery Models,” suggest that RECALL can be a viable method to improve vocabulary, a necessary component skill for text comprehension.

“I wanted to explore ways in which we can harness and modify existing strategies to support all learners,” explained Jacobs, who serves on the District’s Response to Intervention Leadership Team and Special Education team. “Early elementary is a unique setting because children, regardless of their previous levels of educational experiences, are still developing and acquiring the linguistic and executive functioning skills needed to be successful readers. RECALL provides ample opportunities to facilitate increased social engagement, shared attention and vocabulary within the school setting. 

"My research and my experiences have affirmed time and time again that a collaborative approach to student education promotes better outcomes, both for students and school professionals. SOCSD has created a warm welcoming environment in which these collaborative relationships are not only encouraged but inherent to the fabric of our school culture."

During her time in the SLPD program, Jacob presented on critical thinking and its application to masters’ level speech-language pathology education curriculum at the annual New Jersey Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention, created a caseload management tool using computer languages SQL and C++ and submitted two articles for publication. She received the Award for Continuing Education by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association for completing over 70 professional development hours within a 36-month period.