Teacher-Scholar Legacies: Leah McCoy

By Alan Brown, Chair and Professor of Education

Dr. Leah P. McCoy arrived at Wake Forest University in 1990 and has distinguished herself as a dedicated teacher, scholar, program director, and colleague. After 36 years of leadership and service to the Department of Education, Leah is retiring this year from Wake Forest.

Leah is originally from the great state of West Virginia. She holds a B.S. in Mathematics Education from West Virginia Institute of Technology Montgomery, an M.A. in Measurement and Statistics from the University of Maryland, and an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in mathematics education and computer education from Virginia Tech.

For the majority of her career at Wake Forest, Leah has served in three important and distinct positions in the Department of Education, including as mathematics education program coordinator, director of assessment and accreditation, and graduate program director. 

Leah has taught elementary and secondary education mathematics methods courses and first-year seminars, led edTPA and professional development seminars, and collaborated with students and faculty colleagues on graduate action research. As a teacher, she was known for hands-on, student-centered instruction that made mathematics education accessible and engaging. 

As an advisor, Leah has mentored and supported graduate students, education majors and minors, and lower-division students throughout her career. Students most appreciated her personal touch and her caring and attentive nature. In 2004, she won the university award for outstanding lower-division advising.

As a scholar, Leah has countless publications and presentations to her name across leading mathematics and education journals and conferences. During her career, she received the prestigious Noyce Teacher Scholarship grant from the National Science Foundation as well as a Spencer Foundation grant. Yet, what she always seemed to enjoy most was collaborating on projects with students and alumni to showcase their efforts and achievements.

As the director of assessment and accreditation, Leah has overseen and assisted with the preparation of departmental, university, state, federal, and national accreditation reviews and reports. She has also overseen the collection and analysis of student evidences, key assessments, and learning outcomes. In recent years, she has coordinated edTPA — a process that measures content and pedagogical knowledge and skills as part of the student teaching internship — for the Department of Education. Under her leadership, the department has maintained a 100% pass rate for elementary and secondary education students. 

Leah is well known for her work supporting the program approval process for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), assisting eighteen institutions across the state of North Carolina over many years. Further, she has been an ardent supporter of public education in our state and a great resource for teachers and administrators here in Winston-Salem.

Leah is perhaps best known, particularly among alumni, as our long-serving graduate education program director where she taught and advised a generation of graduate students across content areas and programs. In recognition of her years of work as director of graduate education, the Department of Education recently announced that it will give out the first annual Leah P. McCoy Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in Education in summer 2026.

On behalf of my colleagues, I wish Leah the very best in her retirement and express my gratitude for her years of service to the Wake Forest Department of Education.