As a teacher, I specialized in literacy practices that supported all students. I spent my first five years as an educator at a small, Title I school in rural Baldwin, Florida. During that time, I became the Lead Literacy instructor for the school and a state-certified mentoring teacher. I worked collaboratively with teammates to plan and improve instruction in the school. My strengths were building close home-school relationships and supporting all students in making continuous academic growth.
In 2013, I moved to Edmond, Oklahoma, where I began teaching at Northern Hills Elementary while pursuing my Master's Degree in Educational Leadership. I participated on the school's leadership team, received Literacy First training, and mentored a student teacher from the nearby university (who was later hired to fill my position when I left the classroom for administration!). While at Northern Hills, I focused on utilizing best practices (such as Balanced Literacy, Response to Intervention, and differentiation), building and maintaining a positive learning environment, and helping all students to make adequate or better yearly progress (including but not limited to: general education students, Special Education students, English Language Learners, etc.). I was instrumental in setting up collaborative flex groups and common intervention time among my grade level, which supported effective Respone to Intervention practices. Nothern Hills Elementary serves the families who live in student housing at the local university, which is known to attract international students. I enjoyed the challenge of having many English Language Learners that spoke a variety of native langauges, including Korean, Spanish, Swahili, and Mandarin. While in graduate school, I traveled with my professors (Dr. Haxton and Dr. Webster) to New Zealand. While there, I had the privilege of attending workshops, observing a wide variety of urban and rural New Zealand schools, and participating in educational rountables with area leaders from a variety of disciplines (teachers, primary/upper-level leaders, professors, etc.). The wide variety of experiences I have had has given me a wider lens to look through when approaching challenges as an educational leader.
Upon completion of graduate school, I took a job as an Assistant Principal in the larger Oklahoma City Public Schools district. OKCPS is the largest school district in the state, serving over 40,000 students. I am currently in my second year at Coolidge Elementary. Coolidge serves over 850 students from prekindergarten to sixth grade in a low socioeconomic area. The school has two self-contained special education programs, and a large English Language Development department to help serve our many English Language Learners. In this position, I am responsible for Response to Intervention, staff professional development, state test coordination, new teacher support and mentoring, student discipline, building maintenance, teacher observation and evaluation, special education compliance, data analysis, needs assessment, and various other tasks that may arise. I work collaboratively with my head principal to make sure that we are developing solutions to address challenges, meeting the needs of our students and teachers, and completing all district tasks as requested. It is in this position that I have become devoted to working with students from low SES backgrounds. In addition to continuously improving instruction, my focus has been on building relationships with students, families, and staff that support a community devoted to students and learning.
In 2013, I moved to Edmond, Oklahoma, where I began teaching at Northern Hills Elementary while pursuing my Master's Degree in Educational Leadership. I participated on the school's leadership team, received Literacy First training, and mentored a student teacher from the nearby university (who was later hired to fill my position when I left the classroom for administration!). While at Northern Hills, I focused on utilizing best practices (such as Balanced Literacy, Response to Intervention, and differentiation), building and maintaining a positive learning environment, and helping all students to make adequate or better yearly progress (including but not limited to: general education students, Special Education students, English Language Learners, etc.). I was instrumental in setting up collaborative flex groups and common intervention time among my grade level, which supported effective Respone to Intervention practices. Nothern Hills Elementary serves the families who live in student housing at the local university, which is known to attract international students. I enjoyed the challenge of having many English Language Learners that spoke a variety of native langauges, including Korean, Spanish, Swahili, and Mandarin. While in graduate school, I traveled with my professors (Dr. Haxton and Dr. Webster) to New Zealand. While there, I had the privilege of attending workshops, observing a wide variety of urban and rural New Zealand schools, and participating in educational rountables with area leaders from a variety of disciplines (teachers, primary/upper-level leaders, professors, etc.). The wide variety of experiences I have had has given me a wider lens to look through when approaching challenges as an educational leader.
Upon completion of graduate school, I took a job as an Assistant Principal in the larger Oklahoma City Public Schools district. OKCPS is the largest school district in the state, serving over 40,000 students. I am currently in my second year at Coolidge Elementary. Coolidge serves over 850 students from prekindergarten to sixth grade in a low socioeconomic area. The school has two self-contained special education programs, and a large English Language Development department to help serve our many English Language Learners. In this position, I am responsible for Response to Intervention, staff professional development, state test coordination, new teacher support and mentoring, student discipline, building maintenance, teacher observation and evaluation, special education compliance, data analysis, needs assessment, and various other tasks that may arise. I work collaboratively with my head principal to make sure that we are developing solutions to address challenges, meeting the needs of our students and teachers, and completing all district tasks as requested. It is in this position that I have become devoted to working with students from low SES backgrounds. In addition to continuously improving instruction, my focus has been on building relationships with students, families, and staff that support a community devoted to students and learning.
