ACADEMIC TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Simpson College

Professor of Teacher Education, Early Childhood Special Education 

Fall 2023 - Present, Indianola, Iowa

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EDUC 231: Foundations of Inclusive Education

EDUC 324/324P: Elementary Special Education Methods + Practicum

EDUC 330: Inclusive Early Childhood Methods

EDUC 334: Early Childhood Classroom Environment, Relationships, and Management 

EDUC 335: Special Education Teaming, Assessment, and Intervention

EDUC 352: Inclusion Team & Assessment B-8

 

Trinity Washington University

2017- 2019 Adjunct Professor, Trinity Washington University, Washington, D.C.

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EDCC 207: Development of Learning Experiences in Early Child Education

EDCC 211: Development of Early Childhood Oral Language and Literacy Skills

EDCC 250: Technology in Education

EDCC 301: Classroom Management

EDCC 340: Teaching and Learning

EDTE 421: Emergent Literacy

 

 

MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Literacy Teacher

July 2022 - May 2023

The Sycamore School, Arlington, VA

 

EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION & ELEMENTARY TEACHING EXPERIENCE

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First Grade Teacher,

Pine Spring Elementary School, Fairfax, VA

August 2019 - Fall 2021

• Implementation of Workshop Model in Reading, Writing, and Math

• Grade Level Team Leader

• Facilitator of Collaborative Team Learning (CLT)

• Family Engagement Coordinator

• Student Teacher mentor during Digital and Distance Learning through George Mason University

• Weekly yoga offering for staff members

 

Third Grade Teacher,

John W. Ross Elementary School, Washington, D.C.

August 2018 – June 2019

• Daily differentiated lessons for Guided Reading, Close Reading, Writers Workshop, and Mathematics (Eureka)

• Co-Chair for Peace of Mind Implementation and Staff Development

• Point of Contact: Breathe for Change Change Agent Program​​

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First/Second Grade Inclusion Teacher,

August 2015 – June 2018

Amidon-Bowen Elementary School, Washington, D.C.

• Daily differentiated lessons for Guided Reading, Close Reading, and Mathematics (Eureka)

• Differentiated center activities, ELA and Math, for students based on data collection

• Collaborated with grade level partner teachers, and Special Education teachers, during weekly Professional Development (LEAP)

• Co-Chair of Culture and Climate, Hospitality Committee and STEM Night

• After school tutoring sessions for students significantly below grade level

• Professional development for City Year Corp members on teaching to multiple intelligences

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Self-Contained Autism Teacher,

June 2016 – July 2016

Amidon-Bowen Elementary School, Washington, D.C.

• Planned center activities for students based around IEP needs

• Collaborated with five paraprofessionals to ensure IEP goals were used to drive instruction, and data was collected on a daily basis

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Year 3 Form Teacher,

August 2014 – July 2015

Kenton College Preparatory School, Nairobi, Kenya

• Planned and carried out lessons for all major subject areas, including Art and Social Skills, whilst aligning to IAPS Standards and British National Curriculum

• Differentiated instruction within lessons, accommodating all documented needs

• Participated in weekly Professional Development meetings with Year 3 and Junior School team members to enhance learning experiences

• Planned and carried out Junior and Senior school activities; ballroom dancing and singing

• Co-lead of props in the Senior School production of Bugsy Malone

 

 

Long Term Substitute, Grade 5

April 2014 – June 2014

Liberty Elementary School, Frederick, MD

• Planned and carried out lessons for all major subject areas using the Common Core Curriculum

• Participated in weekly Professional Learning meetings with Grade 5 team members

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Teacher, 4 Year Old Kindergarten

August 2013 - March 2014

Good Shepherd Preschool, Green Bay, WI

• Implemented the Gradual Release of Responsibility teaching model for student independence

• Collaborated on a regular basis with a co-teacher and team of 4K teachers within the school

• Participated in PLCs with surrounding schools to build foundation skills for the Creative Curriculum

• Communicated with parents about student progress through weekly newsletters, social media, e-mails and personal conferences

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Related Employment Experience 

June 2019 - August 2019

Legends of Learning, Online Gaming for Classrooms

• Played standards related math games up for review on the Legends of Learning site

• Assessed games based on standards alignment, vocabulary, accuracy, and ease of play

• Crafted questions to support teachers in pre-assessment/post-assessment

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Undergraduate Student Teaching Experience 

Teacher Candidate, Early Childhood, Grade 3 – Spring 2013

Liberty Elementary School, North Ridgeville, OH

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Teacher Candidate, Early Childhood, Grade 5 – Spring 2013

Liberty Elementary School, North Ridgeville, OH

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Methods Experience Teacher Candidate, Early Childhood, Grade K – Fall 2012

Independence Primary School, Independence, OH

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Methods Experience Teacher Candidate, Generalist Endorsement, Grades 4/5 – Spring 2012

Olmsted Falls Intermediate School, Olmsted Falls, OH

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SERVICE

Reviewer of Submissions:SIG-Arts and Learning for the 2025 AERA Annual Meeting

 

Tibetan Department of Education, Professional Development (July 2024- November 2024)

• Professional development facilitator around Universal Design for Learning and supporting students with neurodiversity in classroom settings

 

Playground Signboard Project for Picture-Based Communication (Fall 2023 - Present)

• Grants through crowdfunding, Warren County Philanthropic Partnership (WCPP), and Simpson College

• 12 AAC signboards printed and installed on elementary school and public playgrounds across Indianola, Iowa in collaboration with PSTs, local special educators, principals, speech-and-language pathologists, and students

• 2 signboards printed and installed at schools in Nairobi, Kenya

• Collaborated with Indianola Community Youth Foundation (ICYF) and Indianola Parks and Recreation

 

North River Arts Council, Warren County, Iowa

• Member from July 2023

• Board Member and Secretary from November 2023 - Present

 

Campus Representative, AERA Division K (Teaching & Teacher Education)

• George Mason University Campus Representative (2020-2021)

 

Virginia Educators Association (VEA), November 2020  

• Invited Presenter: Conference Opening Yoga-Practice

 

American Educational Research Association (AERA)

• Session Co-Chair, A Community 'AERA' for Peace (February 2021)

• Graduate Student Council (GSC) Newsletter Editor (2020-2021)

• Panelist representative for Division C in a roundtable entitled Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing

 

Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education (SITE) Interactive, October 2021

• Leadership Team: Social-emotional Impact of Technology  

 

Jacob’s Promise, Invited Author Educator, August 2020, Boston, MA

• “Maggie the Moomaid” is an accessible, digital, interactive read-aloud

 

Student Teacher Supervisor

• Lori Cullen, George Mason University

• April - May 2020, Distance Learning, First Grade

 

Alpha Delta Kappa, Virginia Tau Chapter, Invited Speaker

• Virtual Teaching in 1st Grade During COVID-19

 

Virtual Research Lab, Co-Presenter

• Connecting researchers from across the country in discussing Young Children’s Curiosity About Physical Differences Associated with Race: Shared Reading to Encourage Conversation by Kemple et al. (2015)

 

George Mason University, Invited Speaker, February 2019

• ECED 513: Integrating Social Studies Across the Content Areas for Diverse Young Learners

 

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), May 2018, W.D.C.

• “The Day I Graduated” Campaign

 

Trinity Washington University Research Colloquium, April 2018, W.D.C.

• Gamification of assessment and integration in early childhood classrooms

 

National Early Childhood Workforce, September 2017, W.D.C.

• State of Early Childhood Education in the Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland area; Representative from the public school sector

 

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Kappa Delta Pi, Nu Alpha Chapter, National Honor Society in Education (2023-Present)

Pi Gamma Mu, The Social Science Honor Society (2022 – present) 

Alpha Delta Kappa, Beta Gamma Chapter 

• Altruism Chair (2021 – 2023)

Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)

• Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE)

  • Reviewer for SITE 2021, 2022, 2023 Conference Papers and Proposals

American Educational Research Association (AERA)

• Interim Senior Editor of AERA Graduate Student Council (GSC) Newsletter (2020-21)

• Elected Social Media Chair for GSC (2022-2023)

• AERA Conference Proceedings Reviewer (2025)

• Div K – Teaching and Teacher Education

  • George Mason University Graduate Student Representative (2020-21)

Yoga Alliance (2018-Present)

• 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-500)

Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) (2019-2022)

• Virginia Council for Exceptional Children

• Div. for Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners

Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning (TACTL) Student (2019-2021)

• Technology, Instruction, Cognition, and Learning

National Association for the Education for Young Children (NAEYC) (2019-2021)

• Northern Virginia Association for the Education of Young Children (NVAEYC)

• Virginia Association for the Education of Young Children (VAAEYC)

Virginia Educators Association (VEA) and Student VEA (SVEA) (2019-2021)

Virginia State Literacy Association (VSLA) (2020-2022)

• Virginia State Reading Association (VSRA) 

Association of Teacher Educators in Virginia (ATE-VA) (2020-2022)

 

TEACHING CERTIFICATES AND ENDORSEMENTS

 

Ohio Early Childhood Educator

Generalist Endorsement (4th and 5th grade)

 

Wisconsin Early Childhood Educator

 

Maryland Early Childhood Educator

Reading Specialist

 

Washington, D.C. Early Childhood Educator

Reading Specialist

K-12 Special Education

 

Virginia Early Childhood Educator

Reading Specialist

K-12 Special Education

English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) K-12

 

Registered Yoga Alliance Teacher (RYT-500)

Breathe for Change Wellness Champion and Social Emotional Learning and Facilitation Coach

Breathe for Change; Change Agent Graduate

 

Limited Resource Teacher Training (LRTT)

Academic Coach

 

AWARDS AND HONORS

2022 Family Choice Award, Maggie the Moomaid

2020-2021 Outstanding Educator/Teacher of the Year, Falls Church, VA

2020 Mom’s Choice Award, Maggie the Moomaid

2020 Cox Internet: Heroes of Distance Learning Winner-Virtual Classroom Makeover

2019 Henry Ford Innovation Nation Teacher of the Year 

2018 Henry Ford Innovation Nation 1st place 

2017 Graduated Magna Cum Laude, Trinity Washington University

2017 Henry Ford Innovation Nation 1st place

2017 Maryland Association of Teacher Educators (MATE) - Distinguished Teacher Candidate Award

2017 Life Changer of the Year (LCOY) Nominee

2016 Life Changer of the Year (LCOY) Nominee

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