For the last 14 years, I have been providing professional development to teachers. With a background in reading and technology, I am passionate about supporting literacy skills for the 21st century.
As a Literacy Specialist, I provide K-12 professional development to ensure strong core instruction. I have implemented K-8 balanced literacy programs with guided reading, as well as reading and writing in the content areas in middle and high schools. This includes support within the classroom, working side-by-side with teachers and students. I customize professional development for each building and district I work with based on their individual needs.
In addition, I have been heavily involved in Response to Intervention, including assessment, intervention and progress monitoring. I’ve facilitated building-wide interventions, as well as implemented a variety of reading assessments to increase the achievement of all students. Beyond training teachers how to administer the assessments and interpret the results, I also give teachers strategies to use in their classroom based on assessment data. This has included both workshops and modeling within the classroom.
I teach graduate courses for Aurora University and serve as an Adjunct Professor for the University of St. Francis, teaching courses for their Reading and Instructional Technology graduate programs. I offer a series of workshops on Response to Intervention for the Illinois Principal’s Association.
I have been involved in numerous one-to-one initiatives utilizing handhelds, as well as laptop computers. I was on the Design Team for Bridging the Disconnects, an $8 million dollar reading across the content area grant. As a facilitator for the Technology Immersion Project, I provided professional development for two schools in this one-to-one initiative. Each student was given a laptop in these middle schools.
I’ll be happy to provide contact information for current and past clients.