Amanda Bastoni
Dr. Amanda Bastoni is the Director of Career, Technical & Adult Education at CAST. During her 20+ years in education as a researcher, teacher and Career and Technical Education (CTE) director, Amanda has focused on increasing equity and access for special populations in CTE. Specifically, she sought to use UDL to increase pathways for English Language Learners and females interested in exploring STEM careers. Most recently Amanda has been working with agencies and organizations to remove barriers and utilize local assets to increase access to STEM for rural populations.
At CAST Amanda spearheads work with CTE educators and administrators at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Through one-on-one coaching, workshops, and presentations her work has focused on work-based learning, designing competency-based assessment tools, supporting non-traditional learners, and effectively using Perkins funds to support innovative initiatives. For example, in New Hampshire, Amanda has been working with school districts and the Bureau of Career Development to create a CTE pathway in outdoor recreation. She is the Association for Career and Technical Education's (ACTE) national Inclusion Access Equity and Diversity (IAED) Coordinator. Amanda is currently serving as the PI on two National Science Foundation (NSF) funded projects and iTEST and an AISL (#2146613 and #2213919). Both projects are focused on Career and Technical Education (CTE) and rural middle school youth. She is also currently the Co-PI on an NSF ATE project designed to build pathways from secondary Career and Technical Education programs into post- secondary biotechnology and biomanufacturing programs (#2202033).
Before working at CAST, Amanda was an accomplished Career and Technical Education (CTE) director and teacher with a proven record of achievement including being named the 2019 NH CTE Leader of the Year.
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou
My Inspiration
I am inspired by people who dig deep, dare greatly, and have the courage to challenge the status quo. I consider myself a “change agent.” My favorite authors include Maya Angelou, Viktor Frankl, Malcom Gladwell, Mary Oliver, Nick Offerman, and Langston Hughes.
Education
Ed.D., New England College
M.F.A., Antioch University
B.A., Keene State College
Selected Presentations
Expanding the Definition of Family | TEDxKeene 2018
Selected Publications
Amanda has written articles for local, regional, and national publications, including three co-authored books in 2020 and 2021, on the use of flexible time, assessment design, and CTE.
Andrusiak, R., Bastoni, A., Fitzgerald, C. J., Geraghty, C., Laurian-Fitzgerald, S., & Petruno-Goguen, R. (2020). From the inside-out: Concrete steps to transforming education today. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Bastoni, A. (2018, April 1). CTE: Preventing Dropouts, Increasing Postsecondary Enrollment. Principal Leadership Magazine, 18(8).
Bastoni, A. (2018, January 1). Best Practices for Increasing Student Autonomy. Principal Leadership Magazine, 18(5).
Bastoni, A. (2017, March 1). Reframing Leadership: Start with Recognizing Self-Actualization Trends. Principal Leadership Magazine, 17(7).