My Purpose
As my resume indicates, I possess more than ten years of progressive experience in the special education field. My professional history includes positions such as Special Education department chair and teacher at a Prince William County High School, Teacher Assistant at a Stafford County High School and an equine therapy professional. I am licensed in Special Education with endorsements in English and English to Learners of a Second Language. I have passed the RVE for reading Specialist and am trained in Orten-Gillingham Methods.
Most recently, my responsibilities as department chair at Brentsville High School have developed my desire to help other educators not only maintain compliance with policy but grow in their profession, while simultaneously providing the support needed to students in the real world educational setting. My responsibilities include oversite of the special education department, teaching, working with students, parents, teachers as well as building and central office administrators to help provide the best possible outcomes. In addition to managing my own case load at Brentsville and our students in alternative settings, I conducted file audits as needed and consulted, offering support for the IEP/ eligibility process and implementation. I have assisted in the successful completion of department and building professional development. I introduced programs, including “I’m Determined” and “Acellus”, to our building, attending trainings in the “train the trainer model”. Both programs produced increased student progress. I participated in decision making committees, master schedule creation, resource management and school improvement plans.
School Improvement
The Strategic Improvement Plan 2017-2018 is focused on student performance, measured by end-of-course assessments and inclusive practices, and a positive school climate as measured by the division survey. Professional development, supportive practices, intervention strategies, and student behaviors (attendance, referrals, acceptance) are identified as activities to help achieve the related goals.
Strategies
Inclusive Practices- The staff, students, and SAC will discuss ways to increase feelings related to safety, belonging, and sense of school community. In addition to the culture of the school, the staff will work to identify students for appropriate placement in various programs including Cambridge, Horticulture, and gifted programs. All discussions and decisions will be based on survey and assessment data.
Professional learning Community- Collaborative teacher or administrative teams will develop appropriate schedules, identify instructional learning outcomes, designed aligned assessments, and use reflective and feedback practices to support student learning. Data collected will be used by the team to identify and address student learning deficits.
Reading-Reading will be further encouraged across content areas. English teachers will monitor performance of students and determine appropriate interventions. Specific strategies when reading will include close reading and annotating. These strategies will be shared and discussed with staff as part of professional development to develop consistency among the staff regarding how best to improve reading comprehension.
Work Place Skills will be developed in all Career and Technical Education classes, with special attention devoted to soft skills and working knowledge of job place requirements.
Support Technologies
Student laptop/tablets
Soft that is meets the students where they are
Smart Boards
Communication Platform
Standardized on line calculators
Learning management system that is user friendly for students, staff and parents