Beloved Hyattsville Elementary Reading Specialist Dies

, reading specialist at , passed away Dec. 11 after a battle with cancer.

A post on the HES PTA’s Facebook page indicates that Chapman “provided professional development to the staff on reading strategies and initiatives such as Comprehension Toolkit and the Writing Fundamentals program.”

She also managed the school’s Book-it program with Pizza Hut, a reading program with the Bowie Bay Sox, Monster Word Mondays and the DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) program, the post states.

Chapman came to HES in August of 2006. She Chapman grew up in Massachusetts and Vermont and learned to speak Spanish in 2001 while teaching second-grade in a dual language program at the American School of Guatemala in Guatemala City, Guatemala, according to the Facebook page.

She taught primary students at Cesar Chavez Elementary in a bilingual program from 2002 to 2006 and received the Washington Post’s and the Embassy of Spain’s International Teaching Fellowship, allowing her to attend educational programs in Spain, the post states.

A memorial service will be held for Chapman at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 20 at HES. School staff said a counselor is at HES to provide assistance to children who have questions about her passing.