"Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood."
- Helen Keller
Randi Saulter has an extensive history with Direct Instruction programs and materials, having helped districts, schools, and teachers from Ohio to San Francisco implement DI programs since 1989. Randi is a proven and effective DI trainer and coach, and has trained a variety of subjects, including reading, math, language arts, and writing. With her wealth of curriculum knowledge and experience analyzing classroom and school-wide data, Randi is able to ensure that schools choose the most pertinent materials and programs for their specific situation.
Randi received her M.S. in Communicative Disorders from San Francisco State University, a Clinical Rehabilitative Services Credential for Speech-Language-Hearing, a Certification in Language Acquisition and Development, a California State License in Speech/Language Pathology and Audiology, and a Special Class Authorization for Severe Disorders of Language. Much of Randi’s work has been with students with severe language disorders, and she has worked with Special Education Programs often throughout her career. Randi also has an M.A. in Special Education, as well as one in Elementary Education from San Francisco State University, and has completed doctoral course work in Urban Education at the University of San Francisco.
"Instruction does much, but encouragement everything."
- Goethe
Pam Beck is a seasoned Direct Instruction teacher and trainer, as well as an experienced professional in the field of education. She began using Direct Instruction materials in her various teaching jobs in Fayette County, Kentucky from 1975- 2003. These included being a K-6 L.D. Resource Room Teacher, a Special Education Consultant, an L.D. Self Contained Teacher, as well as a Classroom Teacher for grades two and three. She became the Lead Reading Teacher at her school in 1998 - coaching teachers and teaching intervention reading groups with RM Classic, Reading Mastery, Corrective Reading Decoding, and Corrective Reading Comprehension. Pam became a Per Diem Educational Consultant in 2004. She has coached Corrective Reading Decoding and Comprehension implementations in middle and high schools. She has coached and trained Reading Mastery Signature and Connecting Math Concepts for schools using them as core programs. She currently is an Implementation Manager for several IDEA schools in Texas implementing DI as part of the Critical Student Intervention (CSI) program in grades 3-8. She has trained teachers in Guam, Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Florida.
Pam Beck has a Master’s of Science in Education – Special Education, and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Education – Special and Elementary Education from the University of Kentucky.
"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."
-John Wooden
Kurt E. Engelmann, Ph.D., began his career in education in the early 1980s as a tutor working with a variety of learning-disabled students, ranging from adult remedial readers to severely language-delayed first graders. In the mid-1980s, Dr. Engelmann worked as a behavioral consultant for the Engelmann-Becker Corporation in cooperation with the Eugene "4J" School District and Lane County ESD in Oregon. During that time, he also worked on the development of a behavioral research program for the Oregon Research Institute that focused on teaching students appropriate social behaviors. From 1994 to 2000, Dr. Engelmann served as an Outreach Coordinator at the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington.
Since July 2000, Dr. Engelmann has been the Administrative Director and President of the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). As Administrative Director and President, he is responsible for organizing administrative support for Direct Instruction (DI) implementations, serving as liaison between school district administrators and NIFDI, and coordinating medium and long-term planning of NIFDI implementation efforts. Under his direction, NIFDI has implemented the DI model in elementary schools and middle schools, serving highly at-risk populations in a variety of settings, including rural communities (Oregon, Kansas, Nebraska, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia), urban communities (Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, Los Angeles County, New Orleans, and Philadelphia), island communities (Hawaii and Guam) and internationally (Cape York, Australia).
Under Dr. Engelmann's leadership, NIFDI became affiliated with several organizations that promote effective school reform. NIFDI joined New American Schools in 2002 and the Coalition for Comprehensive School Improvement (CCSI) in 2004. Engelmann served as the Treasurer of CCSI. For two years, he also served as Implementation Manager of a Comprehensive School Reform Quality Initiative grant received by NIFDI and the Center for Applied Research in Education (CARE) from the US Department of Education.
Dr. Engelmann has authored Direct Instruction: A Practitioner's Handbook, which was published by John Catt/Hodder Education in 2024. The handbook has received very positive reviews on Amazon.com.
"The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice."
- Peggy O'Mara
Kristal Childs is a longtime member of the NIFDI family, having been a trainer at the National Direct Instruction summer conferences for 26 years. A veteran teacher with over 36 years in the field, Kristal is highly experienced in Direct Instruction and has extensive knowledge of numerous DI programs, data analysis, behavior modification, and program implementation. She has spent dozens of years teaching students with DI while training teachers and administrators on DI best practices. Kristal is also an experienced special education teacher, most recently at Gunnison Elementary in Gunnison, Utah as a Reading Coach, where she implemented specialized instruction for students while also training teachers on techniques and data analysis to improve instruction.
Kristal has earned a Bachelor’s of Special Education, as well as a Bachelor’s of Elementary Education from Brigham Young University, and a Master’s of Education from Southern Utah University. She became an onsite preservice (program) trainer for NIFDI in 2005 and has worked as a NIFDI IM supporting IDEA Schools since 2020.
