Tanya Coffelt, EdD

Tanya Coffelt believes in the power of education. She understands how education can influence and impact a person in a positive way. Tanya is driven to help her students be successful inside and outside of the classroom. As an educator and advisor, she supports and guides her students to be the best scholar and teacher they can be.

Tanya earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Iowa State University. She taught in the elementary and middle school levels for 12 years and worked as the Assistant Director of Curriculum and Instruction for two years. During that time, she completed her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and her educational specialist degree in Educational Administration from University of Missouri – Kansas City.

Tanya started teaching at Graceland in 2006, joining a strong group of professionals focused on instilling the importance of providing students a quality education. She has continued this effort as she developed the Professional Development Schools (PDS) model on the Lamoni Campus.  This program gives students the opportunity to work one-on-one in an elementary classroom to provide a year-long clinical experience. In addition, within each of her classes Tanya embeds strategies that future teachers can utilize in their own classroom.

Tanya finished her doctorate from Drake University in Educational Leadership and has continued to utilize her experience in the classroom partnered with her knowledge of curriculum development to further guide the curriculum and content within the courses at Graceland. She currently serves as the Edmund J. Gleazer School of Education curriculum coordinator, teacher education committee chair, and faculty member at Graceland University.