Our Team

Author | Educator | Innovator | Creative Problem Solver

Dr. Krisann Pergande’s lifelong commitment to education, as an instructional leader and innovative researcher, created a mission-driven devotion to improving literacy which led to the development of the Sound Symbols Approach. Seeking to enable and empower others to succeed in life and career, her methods are described as disruptive, pioneering, and needed; enabling anyone to read and speak with better comprehension and broader vocabulary than previously realized using traditional phonics or see-and-say techniques. Dr. Pergande has achieved remarkable results in persons of all ages and across a wide range of cognitive abilities, leading to consultations, presentations, and speaking invitations in education, community and business forums.

Dr. Pergande improves the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching and learning activities in ways that yield measurable outcomes with long-term consequences. Working within individual elementary and secondary educational institutions, as well as across district-wide collaborations, Krisann hs creatively made use of, developed, and applied a wide range of low-tech and high tech educational tools, including augmentative communication devices, to quickly achieve learning and literacy improvements. Some of her most successful methods are described in Sound Symbols: Speaking and Reading Approach (Amazon, 2018). Her literacy approach works with English language learners of all backgrounds, as a result of Dr. Pergande’s extensive background in linguistics, bilingual and foreign language learning, English as a second language (ESL), and immersion language learning programs.

Current and past affiliations include: the American Speech, Hearing, and Language Association; the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; Pi Lambda Theta; Milwaukee Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa; and the Milwaukee Administrators’ and Supervisors’ Council. Her speaking engagements include local, regional, and national educational events. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Wisconsin District Special Services Teacher of the Year award and selection as a Graduate Student Representative at the University Counsel for Educational Administration Symposium, a Herb Kohl Teaching Fellow, and a Milwaukee Women’s Club scholarship recipient. She has also received a variety of research awards and grants, including a Phi Delta Kappa research award and a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board.

Because of her results-driven, project-oriented approaches and expertise, she has been asked to give presentations locally, regionally, and nationally on a wide range of topics, as well as to provide input and leadership on educational committees at school, district, university, and community levels. Her experience includes collaborative work with national leaders in education, as well as an invitation to testify to Congress, which resulted in changes to proposed educational legislation.

As an educator, Dr. Pergande has worked as a speech pathologist, classroom teacher, and K-12 administrator (school and district levels) for over forty years. Her experience includes working with regular and special education students from diverse backgrounds and of all age levels, from preschool to adults. Throughout this time she has worked actively to support parent participation and involvement in schools. Krisann is a lifelong learner with a doctorate in urban education, having earned her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, in addition to graduating with honors with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech pathology and audiology.

On a personal note, Krisann is born and raised in Wisconsin. She enjoys the quality and variety of life offered by the four seasons and cycles of sporting events throughout the year. She particularly enjoys family boating on the beautiful lakes of southeastern Wisconsin. Krisann has been a world traveler and a student of languages, history, and international cultures since her youth, inspired in large part by her parents’ jobs and travel interests. These experiences and her strong sense of empathy, which developed from early childhood on, taught Krisann to look at the world through the eyes of others and profoundly influenced her problem solving approach to her work as an educator. therapist, and mother. “Being the eyes for others” and understanding their needs continues to drive her volunteer work in schools and community organizations.

Dr. Krisann Pergande’s publications include the following:

Pergande, K. (Anticipated publication in 2026). Examining the implementation of the Sound Symbols Program for improving speaking and reading skills.

Pergande, K. (Anticipated publication in 2025). Sound Symbols: Visual prompts for speaking and reading workbook.

Pergande, K. (2018). Sound Symbols: Visual prompts for speaking and reading.

Pergande, K. (1999). Teacher efficacy from the teacher’s perspective: Defining successful teaching and support for success. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Dissertation Services.

Pergande, K. & Thorkildsen, T.A. (1995). From teachers as experimental researchers to teaching as moral inquiry. In J. G. Nicholls & T. A. Thorkildsen (Eds.), Reasons for learning. New York: Teachers College Press.

Pergande, K. (1993, May). Response to the recommendations of the task force on assessing the national goal relating to postsecondary education. Paper presented at the hearing of the National Education Goals Panel, Chicago, IL.