Do you want the super unofficial down-to-earth answer that I give over cocktails? 

 

I’m a former high school English teacher who is super geeked about education. It’s what lights me up. So now I am working with teachers because I want to connect you with education ideas that light you up too! 

 

But Holy Hannah, there is so much info out there--a million books and programs and websites and curriculums and research and initiatives--all promising you some magic formula for creating success in your classroom. Let’s be real. There is no magic formula. Teaching is deeply personal. You are not the same as anyone else in your building and neither are your students. So you have to find your own way to that sweet teaching spot. 

 

I personally tend to approach teaching ideas as though I am approaching a big, beautiful glorious buffet. I believe in a cafeteria-style approach to all of the teacherly things. When I taught, I read, researched, consulted colleagues, studied what was out there-- the evidence-based books and programs and methods that had “ the answers”--and found what worked for me, what worked for my personality and above all, what worked to help me connect to my students and to connect my students to the learning. 

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"Picking and choosing" strategies and interventions can often lead to temporary, mitigative fixes. I help you find the tools you need for long-term transformative change. 

 

We all want to create an environment where students feel a sense of belonging, where they are engaged, where they feel they are included and valued and where they can learn, right? But there is no one-size-fits-all program or framework or curriculum that can do that for you. That comes from you. You have to load up your own teaching tray with whatever ideas from the big buffet that speak to you.

 

But what do you pick off of the buffet? It can be overwhelming to be sure. So here I am, digging through all of the teacherly things out there and trying to organize it into some semblance of order so you pick and choose the things that light you up. Because once you are geeked, once you are all lit up, that passion--that’s how you create success in your classroom. 

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Check out my teaching philosophy here!

 

How Can I Help You?

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My goal is to assist schools in identifying and focusing on critical, high-needs areas for change and improvement. I approach these goals with a focus on strengthening those three crucial components to ensure a positive and consistent learning environment: Systems, Relationships, and Engagement. I call this The Teacherly Three or the T3 Model for short. My primary work is to use the T3 model in small cohort communities of professional learning. Learn more about the T3 Model here! 

 

In addition to the T3 Model, I consult and coach teams and individuals. In partnership, I work with educators to:

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• Conduct holistic needs assessments to identify areas for long-term transformative growth and improvement; action planning for growth

• Support leaders, teams, and individuals in examining curriculum, policies, and practices through an equity lens. 

• Establish long-term school/district professional development plans tied to and supportive of individual educator professional growth goals

• Design, implement, and facilitate professional development programs on a variety of topics to support equity, engagement, responsive practice, educator and student wellness, and student success

• Facilitate ongoing teacher reflection, collaboration, and self-evaluation through a PLC coaching model

• Identify patterns of disproportionality in data that perpetuate systemic inequity

• Facilitate data cycles centered on student engagement data

• Ensure that school-wide behavior systems, expectations, rituals, and routines are common, consistent, and equitable across the building

• Ensure that classroom expectations are consistent and tied into school-wide expectations

• Support Implementation of school-wide behavior systems

• Support administration/leadership teams with progress monitoring

• Support the creation and evaluation of engaging, highly rigorous instruction

• Identify and strengthen responsive teaching strategies to increase student engagement

• Synthesize and implement the latest research around developing relationships

• Integrate the Four Rs (Relationships, Relevance, Rigor, and Realness) of culturally responsive teaching into practice

• Understand and utilize proactive components for classroom success

• Support and facilitate Q-Comp processes and programs

• These are just examples of the ways I can support growth and transformation in education. I work with each district, school, team, or individual to tailor the work to specific, personalized goals.

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For more information about my work, check out my nifty online resume-y website here.