Dr. Denise Furlong., Assistant Professor and Director of Advanced Programs for Reading Specialist and ESL, is releasing her new book Learners First: Purpose and Practicality in Your Early Years of Teaching on April 29, 2025. Co-authored with Dr. Keri Orange-Jones, Learners First is meant to empower and equip aspiring and early-career teachers with the tools, perspectives, and insights they need to engage students effectively through health-focused comprehensive practices. The book is not only a guide but also a call to action for growth that encourages and helps them evolve.
We spoke with Dr. Furlong about Learners First, including its inspiration, purpose, and how her experience in education helped shape it. She also shared what makes Georgian Court’s Graduate degrees and Education and ESL Endorsement programs unique.
GCU: What is your new book Learners First: Purpose and Practicality in Your Early Years of Teaching about?
Dr. Furlong: My co-author, Dr. Keri Orange-Jones, and I considered what pre-service teachers working towards their certification in education programs, and those in the early parts of their careers need to know to find joy, connection, and purpose in our profession. Each chapter highlights the voices of current educators, and we designed the topics and content through a lens of educator empowerment.
GCU: Who is the intended audience?
Dr. Furlong: Pre-service teachers may benefit from this as a guide for conversations with their cooperating teachers and professors. This book is also intended to be a roadmap for district mentorship programs to help novice teachers thrive in their first years.
GCU: What key points do you want readers to take away from your book?
Dr. Furlong: The ways that we support educators who are entering our field have changed. We must empower them to foster connections and feelings of belonging for themselves and their students. Supportive communities are critical for early-career educators, and this book shares ways to align ourselves with others who will learn alongside us. We want to provide a platform to engage educators in ways to healthfully stay in our profession—for everyone’s benefit.
GCU: How did the idea for your book come about?
Dr. Furlong: As the author of my previous book, Voices of Newcomers: Experiences of Multilingual Learners, for educators of multilingual learners, I spoke with many educators who were new to our profession, and they weren’t finding the right resources to support them in their classrooms. Many existing books for novice educators focus on classroom management or interactions with students and families that are not culturally responsive or sustainable. This book combines what we now know are best practices to engage students holistically with health-centered practices that will support educators in practical ways.
GCU: Why did you want to write this book?
Dr. Furlong: Keri and I met years ago as she was completing her dissertation study at Rutgers University. She researched with some of the teachers in my district, and as a fellow Rutgers alumna, I volunteered to participate in her work. That began a solid friendship that supported us through family updates and career changes and brought us to Learners First. We are both strong women who champion education, human rights, and empowerment. This book was our way to make a difference in our field and start with our newest members.
GCU: What particular research did you conduct while writing your book?
Dr. Furlong: Much like in my previous book, voices from the field are key to Learners First. Educators from different parts of the world share their experiences, quotes, and advice for educators as they enter this profession. These vignettes shaped some of the content. Highlighting the authentic voices of educators is powerful.
GCU: What is your experience in education?
Dr. Furlong: I have worked as a classroom teacher, mentor, instructional coach, professional learning facilitator, and consultant, in addition to my time as an assistant professor at Georgian Court. I’m so lucky to have had such varied educational experiences, and each moment informs me of every step I take.
GCU: How has your experience teaching at Georgian Court informed the subject of your book?
Dr. Furlong: I’ve always shared that my role at Georgian Court is my dream career—and I mean that sincerely. I have the amazing opportunity to work with the most passionate and knowledgeable educators in my advanced studies programs for language and literacy. I am constantly in awe of my students and love learning alongside them.
I am now working with student teachers in the field, and I absolutely love this new chapter. Building on my own experience as a teacher and sharing in the joys and challenges of these internships is so fulfilling.
GCU: How has your experience, including as a teacher for over 25 years, helped you write your book?
Dr. Furlong: Everything Keri and I write is authentic and backed by experience and practice. We are both researchers and practitioners by nature, and we seek to make connections between meaningful scholarship and real-life application and practice.
GCU: What was the process of collaborating with co-author Dr. Keri Orange-Jones?
Dr. Furlong: This was such an incredible experience, so we are starting the process for our next book together. Keri and I complement each other well, and our strengths are built on one another. This book needed us to each bring the best parts of ourselves to it. The way that we collaborated and empowered each other while writing this book is what happens every day in schools among educators. I’m so grateful to Keri for taking this journey with me.
A quote that resonated with me is one by Michelle Obama. It says, “Friendships between women, as any woman will tell you, are built of a thousand small kindnesses…swapped back and forth and over again.”
GCU: What is special about Georgian Court’s education programs?
Dr. Furlong: Georgian Court’s undergraduate and graduate education programs are like no other. Our graduates feel confident and prepared to teach. Each of our education pathways ensures that our students graduate with both general education (P-3, elementary, secondary) certifications and Teaching Students with Disabilities (TOSD); this places our graduates in the position to meet the diverse needs of today’s learners. Additionally, our solid connections with local districts provide Georgian Court students with the best internship experiences in New Jersey.
GCU: Why should prospective students consider Georgian Court’s graduate degrees and ESL Endorsement programs?
Dr. Furlong: The graduate degrees and endorsement programs that we offer at Georgian Court are second to none, and I stand by this statement one hundred percent. We craft educational pathways for our graduate students in ways that boost their own feelings of confidence and self-efficacy and provide them with experiences that benefit their students and colleagues. Our programs are authentic and meaningful to educators. The effects of what our graduate students learn alongside Georgian Court graduate faculty are long-lasting and well-respected in our field. As director of the literacy and language advanced programs, I strive to empower educators to teach multilingual learners and aspiring readers, with joy and culturally sustaining practices at the forefront of everything. Our classes are small, and students get to know faculty and peers in ways that broaden professional and supportive communities that last long after graduation. Georgian Court builds language and literacy leaders.
