Experience

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  Cherokee county schools

  Jan 2010 - now

  Etowah High School (2011 - present)Current Courses: College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) English Language & Composition (11th grade); American Literature & Composition (11th grade); Authored and taught a Leadership & Business Course for Peer-Led, Peer-Run Tutoring Center.Activities Sponsored: Facuty Advisor for the National English Honor Society (2016 - present); peer-tutoring club sponsor.Past Courses: College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) English Literature & Composition (12th grade); Advanced Composition (12th grade); Honors Advanced Composition (12th grade); Honors American Literature; 9th Grade Literature & Composition; 9th Grade Response to Intervention (RTI) Literature & Composition.Leadership RolesFaculty Director & Founder: East WING Peer Tutoring Center (2016 - current)Faculty Advisor: National English Honor Society (2016 - current)English Department Head (2020 - 2023)Principal's Leadership Team (2015 - 2017; 2020 - 2023)Faculty Co-Director: Teachers As Advisors (TAA Program) (2012 - 2018)Attendance Committee (2011 - 2015)9th Grade ELA Lead (2011 - 2015)Principal's School Council (2012 - 2014)Technology Committee (2010 - 2014)Senior Project Capstone Coordinator (2011 - 2013)9th Grade Lead: Teachers As Advisors (2011 - 2012)Rigor and Relevance Committee (2011 - 2012)Accomplishments & Awards:Recipient, Delta Kappa Gamma Golden Apple Award (2021)Nominee, Teacher of the Year (2018, 2019, and 2023)Finalist, Governor's Office of Student Assessment (GOSA) Innovative Teacher Grant (2013)Utilize a variety of teaching methods and strategies through differentiated opportunities to provide learners a space to grow in the study of ELA. Show less Etowah High School (2010 - 2011)Served as a year-long substitute during a year of furloughs for school systems throughout Georgia. In this role from July - September, substituted for CTAE classes, ELA classes (9th grade,11th grade & ESOL 12th grade). Beginning in October through May, served as the long-term substitute for the EBD self-contained classroom. Attended IEP meetings and supported special-education case hold manger with data collection. Designed individualized lesson plans for each self-contained student's academic and behavioral needs. Implemented evidence-based classroom management strategies, behavior management strategies, and social strategies. Show less

  • Secondary English Teacher

    Aug 2010 - now

  • Secondary English Teacher

    Jan 2010 - May 2011
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  Georgia council of teachers of english

  Feb 2014 - Feb 2014

  Presenter | using multimodal technology to rock writing instruction
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  Georgia department of education

  Jun 2014 - Jun 2014

  Presenter | using multimodal technology to rock writing instruction

  2014 ELA Summer Academy

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  National council of teachers of english (ncte)

  Nov 2014 - Nov 2014

  Presenter | using multimodal technology to rock writing instruction
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  Etowah east wing tutoring center

  Aug 2016 - now

  Founder / faculty director

  The East Wing Tutoring Center consistently serves students while also reaching out to our larger peer-tutoring community. The center began out of a desire to find a solution to concerns I saw in my own classroom surrounding students receiving and applying feedback. I believe in the nature of feedback steeped in the process approach to writing as the key to student success both in ELA classes as well as success in other curricular areas. Because of my belief in the benefits of a feedback-rich writing culture, I researched, proposed, and piloted a secondary writing center at Etowah that opened in August of 2015 - the third such secondary writing center in the state of Georgia located in a public high school upon its opening. Our center, which is student-led and student-run, serves over 5,000 session each year in ELA and other core studies. Show less

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  National council of teachers of english (ncte)

  Nov 2017 - Nov 2017

  Presenter | write, engage, empower: building a writing community through a secondary writing center
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  Georgia council of teachers of english

  Feb 2018 - Feb 2018

  Presenter | the language of feedback: building power within a writing centric classroom
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  Georgia department of education

  Jul 2018 - Jul 2018

  Presenter | l4 summer institute (high school)

  Led the two day workshop focusing on narrative and argument writing.

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  Secondary schools writing center association (sswca)

  Aug 2018 - now

  Executive board member

  IWCA - SSWCA Representative (Sept 2020 - current)At-Large Representative (Sept 2018 - Sept 2020)

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  Kmwp

  Nov 2018 - Jan 2019

  Professional development consultant

  Led writing professional development for Dekalb County (GA) Middle and High School ELA teachers. Invited to present through the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project (affiliate of the National Writing Project), the series of four sessions focused on teacher as writer, narrative, argument, informative, and assessment practices.

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  National council of teachers of english (ncte)

  Nov 2018 - Nov 2018

  Presenter | remapping geographies of exclusion: advocacy, equity + student voice in the wc

  Affiliated with SSWCA & IWCA

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  Georgia council of teachers of english

  Feb 2019 - Feb 2019

  Presenter | creating the write space: a tale of 2 writing centers

  During this session, we will explore the nature of secondary writing centers as a place for students to receive support outside of the classroom. We will share strategies, tips, and materials that participants can use to open a secondary writing center in their own school communities.

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  Georgia department of education

  Oct 2019 - Oct 2019

  Gadoe ap specialist (ap lang)
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  National council of teachers of english (ncte)

  Nov 2019 - Nov 2019

  As English teachers, we often forget the struggles many face when starting a writing task. While we appear to move seamlessly through the process of writing, we often fail to model for students our own writing moves, complete with stops and starts. Our goal in this session is to help participants understand that by shifting our teaching perspectives from a teacher of writing to a writer who teaches, we will empower teachers to open up the doors to authentic writing moves in the classroom. While both of us are classroom teachers who work with writers of all abilities, we cherish the little moments when we see how our writing WITH our students supports their growth. Show less

  • Presenter | The Writing Coach: Cultivating a Writing-Centric Classroom

    Nov 2019 - Nov 2019

  • Presenter | How Inquiry Led to a Reawakening of High School Writing

    Nov 2019 - Nov 2019
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  Georgia council of teachers of writing

  Jan 2020 - Jan 2020

  Presenter | building agency through writing
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  Georgia department of education

  Aug 2020 - now

  Gadoe ap virtual specialist (ap lang)

  Build 4 webinar sessions each year designed to support AP Language teachers throughout Georgia. Each session provides participants with resources to take back to their classrooms and support their own students in building mastery towards the AP Language skills necessary for success on the AP test in May.

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  National council of teachers of english (ncte)

  Nov 2020 - Nov 2020

  • Presenter | SIG Secondary Writing Centers (with IWCA)

    Nov 2020 - Nov 2020

  • Presenter | Building ¡Confluencia! Through Secondary School Writing Centers

    Nov 2020 - Nov 2020
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  National council of teachers of english (ncte)

  Nov 2021 - Nov 2021

  Led Special Interest Group discussion of secondary writing centers. Co-presented on how secondary writing centers are a hub for equity and social justice. The session included steps writing center directors can take to move their own centers into social justice work.

  • Presenter | SIG

    Nov 2021 - Nov 2021

  • Presenter | Panel - Disrupting Barriers by Building Inclusive Spaces

    Nov 2021 - Nov 2021
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  National council of teachers of english (ncte)

  Nov 2022 - Nov 2022

  Three high school English teachers will share how we leveraged the power of our National English Honor Society to become beacons of light for our feeder elementary schools. We will share evidence along with personal accounts of our work towards bridging the literacy gap for our future students. During this session, participants will receive materials and approaches to build their own writing exchanges. Secondary school writing center directors will reflect on the pandemic’s impact on student emotions and relationships, highlight ways their centers have served as “lighthouses” for students as they reconnect to social settings, and celebrate the various strategies used to create safe spaces within their school communities. Opportunities for sharing of voices and resources will be emphasized. All attendees are welcome. Led Special Interest Group discussion of secondary writing centers.

  • Presenter | Bridging the Literacy Gap by Building Community Engagement

    Nov 2022 - Nov 2022

  • Presenter | Connecting the Social-Emotional Needs of Learners Through a Vibrant Community of SSWCs

    Nov 2022 - Nov 2022

  • Presenter | Special Interest Group

    Nov 2022 - Nov 2022
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  The college board

  Jul 2023 - now

  Invited to serve as a Table Leader for AP Readers.From the ETS Job Description: Monitor assigned Readers’ progress in training and calibration;Mentor assigned Readers during training and calibration to ensure Reader alignment with scoring guidelines and training samples;Monitor Reader accuracy in applying scoring guidelines by backreading;Provide response-specific feedback to Readers;Communicate with Readers via various technology platforms & toolsComplete daily End-of-Shift Reports documenting Reader performance Show less Invited by College Board to participate each year as a reader that assess student essays on the AP Language test.Job Description from ETS: Advanced Placement® (AP) Readers evaluate and score AP students' free responses, ensuring that high school students receive AP grades that accurately reflect college-level achievement in a specified discipline.Each year in June, high school teachers and college faculty from around the world gather across the United States to participate in locations onsite, as well as to score online from home. During the AP Reading, Readers will:exchange ideas and experiences, as well as build friendships with a network of high school teachers and college faculty.score exam responses from AP high school students, with opportunities to score exams online from home (some subjects).learn to apply a rubric consistently, which provides valuable knowledge for scoring their own students' essays back in the classroom.get compensated for training and scoring. Expenses, meals, and lodging are also covered for Readers who travel to a Reading site.earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Professional Development Hours (PDHs). Show less Like many ELA teachers, we battle the tension between building an authentic writer’s workshop within our classrooms while meeting the demands of a feedback-rich culture. We will share how we created a writing-centric culture that engaged learners, increased the rigor of writing instruction, and prepared students for writing required as a part of English assessments. The strategies will encompass all parts of the classroom writer’s workshop. Attendees will participate throughout the session as we demonstrate the methods we use to support students as they begin the formation of a response by demonstrating our feedback-rich classroom practices. During the session, teachers will experience our techniques in a hands-on environment. Each attendee will walk away with example lesson plans / assignments, handouts, graphic organizers, and an abundance of renewed enthusiasm in the building of a writer’s workshop focused classroom. Show less

  • Table Leader - AP English Langauge

    Jun 2023 - now

  • AP Reader - AP English Language

    Jun 2017 - now

  • Presenter | Building Skills & Engagement: Becoming a Writing Coach in the AP English Classroom

    Jul 2023 - Jul 2023
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  Kennesaw state university norman j. radow college of humanities and social sciences

  Aug 2023 - now

  Assistant professor

  Current Courses: English 1101; English 1102Utilize a variety of teaching methods and strategies through differentiated opportunities to provide learners a space to grow in the study of ELA. Prepare students across various majors for the rigor and expectations of collegiate writing, research, rhetoric, and argument.

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  National council of teachers of english (ncte)

  Nov 2023 - Nov 2023

  Presenter | finding connections through our shared secondary writing center journey

  From the program description: Secondary school writing center directors will discuss how to leverage connections that build the skill of writing while amplifying student voice within schools and communities by sharing strategies to develop more equitable tutor recruitment and training methods, increasingly actionable social justice pedagogies, and exceptionally meaningful practices that celebrate and raise student voices.