Nathaniel Dennison

Experience

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  Granville Public Schools

  Jan 2001 - Jun 2001

  K-12 Substitute Teacher
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  Spring Hill Elementary School

  Aug 2001 - Jun 2003

  Fifth Grade Teacher
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  Vienna Elementary School

  Aug 2003 - Jun 2004

  K-3 Elementary Teacher
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  Club Blvd Humanities Magnet School

  Aug 2004 - Jun 2005

  Fifth Grade Teacher
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  Mary Scroggs Elementary School

  Aug 2005 - Jun 2006

  Principal Intern

  •Responsible for supervising staff through daily walkthroughs, participation in weekly grade level meetings, and regular observations. Direct Supervisor of 3rd Grade and Specialist teaching teams. Worked in partnership with Principal and AP to facilitate School Leadership Team, Equity Team, PTA, and Parent Advocacy Committee.

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  W. G. Pearson Gifted and Talented Magnet School

  Jul 2006 - Jun 2008

  Assistant Principal

  •Worked in partnership with the Principal to open the first ever Gifted and Talented Elementary School (K-5) in Durham County Public Schools. The program offered a balance of core and elective classes for all students to pursue and nurture their gifts and talents. Supervised curriculum writing and scheduling for the program.•Worked in partnership with the Principal to hire 40 faculty and staff members for the new school.•Led professional development for faculty and staff on topics including Professional Learning Communities, differentiated instruction, Positive Behavior Support, Socratic Seminar, and data-based decision making.•Served as Interim Principal during extended absence of Principal in 2007. Show less

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  Hong Kong International School

  Jul 2008 - Jun 2015

  Associate Principal Lower Primary

  •Work in partnership with the LP administrative team to plan and carry out our vision for early childhood education. Implement divisional and school-wide goals, facilitate the day to day running of a school with over 100 faculty and staff and 660 Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 2 students.•Supervise and evaluate teachers across all grade levels and specialist teams. •Co-facilitator of the Instructional Facilitators Team (grade level leaders) and Parent Advisory Group. •Coordinate Language Arts Committee with representation from all grade levels, to ensure school-wide articulation of literacy curriculum, policies, and practice. •Develop and conduct chapels for Lower and Upper Primary clusters and grade levels. Administrative representative serving on the Lower Primary chapels and assemblies planning team.•Provide leadership in determining best practice in curriculum development, instructional improvement, and student assessment. Developed curriculum units using the Understanding by Design framework and established a unit review process and cycle across all content areas.•Plan and implement with administrative team a 3-5 year professional development plan, which includes focused PD in Reading and Writing Workshop, Math Differentiation, Standards-Based Reporting, Project Based Learning, and Making Learning Visible.•Serve as part of the Education Leadership team with all school administrators for HKIS. Develop and implement strategic initiatives, school-wide goals, policies, and processes that support student learning, faculty and staff and the parent community.•Recruit and hire faculty and staff. Work with senior administrators in the ongoing recruitment and retention of faculty. •Research, design, and collaborate with the Principal and Administrative Team, Nelson Chen Architects Ltd, HKIS Advancement office, teachers, and parents in developing a HK$950 million state-of-the-art school. Show less

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  Washington Episcopal School

  Jul 2015 - Jul 2019

  Elementary Grades Director

   Work in partnership with the administrative team to plan and carry out the vision for education at WES, a Nursery through Grade 8 independent school serving 285 students with over 60 faculty and staff. Facilitate the day-to-day running of the Elementary Grades division: Grades 2-5, comprised of 105 students. Supervise and evaluate a team of 20 faculty and staff. Serve as part of the senior administrative team for WES. Develop and implement strategic initiatives, school-wide goals, polices, and processes.  Member of 2017 strategic planning committee. Faculty chair of academic excellence sub-committee. Provide leadership to the Elementary Grades division in determining best practices in teaching and learning, including promoting a ‘culture of thinking,’ establishing professional learning communities, implementing new systems for curriculum mapping, unit review, curriculum development and alignment. Leading review of assessment and data points to inform instruction and decision-making. Leading the school through a transition to a balanced literacy approach with a focus on reading and writing workshop. Chair of the K-5 Language Arts Committee.  Leading the research, planning, and coordination of multiple professional development initiatives, including the hiring of a literacy consultant and developmental pediatrician to provide ongoing training to the faculty and staff.  Responsible for hiring all Elementary faculty and staff. Have hired nine classroom teachers since arriving to WES.  Responsible for budgeting, planning, and all fiscal responsibilities involving the Elementary Grades. Teaching responsibilities include Grade 5 reading. Team-teach writing workshop units with various teachers. Show less

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  Concord Hill School

  Jul 2019 - now

  Head of School