James Loach

Experience

• 

  Livingstone Range School Division No 68

  Feb 2014 - Jun 2015

  Substitute Teacher

  Acted as a substitute teacher in K-12 classrooms.

• 

  Horizon School Division No. 205

  Feb 2014 - Jun 2015

  Substitute Teacher

  Acted as a substitute teacher in K-12 classrooms.

• 

  Palliser Regional Schools

  Sept 2014 - Apr 2015

  Teacher - Gr. 8 Math, Science, Foods

  RESPONSIBILITIES- Create and document short, medium, and long-term plans to deliver engaging lessons based on the Alberta Program of Studies.- Assess student progress through fair and varied formative and summative assessments, tracking student progress and data.- Report on student progress regularly by updating student management software and writing strength- based, growth-oriented report card comments.- Build effective, culturally aware relationships with students to support classroom management and positive student outcomes.- Ensured safe and accessible student programming in the Foods kitchen, providing students with scaffolded opportunities to develop hands-on skills.- Participated in a literacy initiative that included training in the Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention system, working one-on-one with students through reading assessments, tracking reading data, and designing literacy interventions for students.ACCOMPLISHMENTS- Implemented a supplementary skills unit in Science focusing on student understanding of the scientific process. A foundational understanding allowed students to move through the curriculum as scientists by generating hypotheses, designing and executing experiments, and providing justified explanations for scientific phenomenon. Show less

• 

  Foothills School Division

  Oct 2015 - Jul 2016

  RESPONSIBILITIES- Create and document short, medium, and long-term plans to deliver engaging lessons based on the Alberta Program of Studies.- Assess student progress through fair and varied formative and summative assessments, tracking student progress and data.- Report on student progress regularly by updating student management software and writing strength- based, growth-oriented report card comments.- Build effective, culturally aware relationships with students to support classroom management and positive student outcomes.- Modified an existing online shell for delivery in a blended format, prioritizing complex subjects and labs during classroom instruction and assigning more accessible content for asynchronous online learning.ACCOMPLISHMENTS- Built rapport with students in a matter of days to ensure that student learning issues could be identified and discussed with administration given the short duration of the course leading to successful interventions with several students who were able to earn credit in the course. Show less RESPONSIBILITIES- Create and document short, medium, and long-term plans to deliver engaging lessons based on the Alberta Program of Studies.- Assess student progress through fair and varied formative and summative assessments, tracking student progress and data.- Report on student progress regularly by updating student management software and writing strength- based, growth-oriented report card comments.- Build effective, culturally aware relationships with students to support classroom management and positive student outcomes.- With short notice, took over instruction to provide safe and accessible student programming in the Mechanics shop, providing students with scaffolded opportunities to develop hands-on skills.ACCOMPLISHMENTS- Flexibly integrated into multiple diverse teaching assignments in a short timeframe (including Mechanics, Science 14, online Science, and Math 10C), collaborating with administration and other school staff to maintain the integrity of educational programming and support school and student needs. Show less

  • Teacher - Biology (Summer School)

    Jul 2016 - Jul 2016

  • Teacher - Mechanics, Math 10C

    Dec 2015 - Jun 2016

  • Substitute Teacher

    Oct 2015 - Dec 2015
• 

  Calgary Board of Education

  Sept 2016 - now

  Working closely with school administration, teachers, families, students, and colleagues, Guidance Counselors track student progress toward high school completion. We strive to promote holistic health, well-being, and improved life outcomes individually with students and within the school community.RESPONSIBILITIES- Provide supervision, guidance, and instruction for students in their social, academic, and personal lives., developing student competencies in executive functioning, social-emotional regulation, and life planning.- Devise unique completion pathways for students encountering barriers to high school success through collaboration and in-depth knowledge of legislative and local frameworks.- Assist students living with disabilities to meet their academic and life goals.- Support meaningful and insightful conversations with students, faculty, and families; mediating communication between these groups.- Refer students to scholarship, fellowship, internship, research, and other academic and employment opportunities.- Advise administration on school timetabling strategy.- Conversion of out-of-country and out-of-province transcripts.- Provide career or vocational guidance, such as conducting tests and inventories to help students identify their interests, aptitudes, and abilities.- Track and provide support for at-risk students.- Coordinate referrals to outside agencies when needed.- Assess the impact of work on students, the school community, teachers, and other professionals.- Develop, implement, and revise annual processes such as course registration.ACCOMPLISHMENTS- Initiated implementation of an updated model for Student Learning Teams, which incorporated guiding documents from the school board. The model provided concrete deliverables for teachers who referred students to the SLT and improved tracking of student progress through detailed note-taking and a key contact assigned to each student. Show less Learning Leaders guide teaching and learning in an assigned school department in addition to their teaching duties.RESPONSIBILITIES- Taught Mechanics 10, 20, and 30, improving accessibility and engagement of course materials by prioritizing hands-on learning for students.- Related student outcomes to employability skills to support students in developing job-readiness skills while prioritizing student safety in the shop space.- Develop and lead monthly Professional Learning Community meetings incorporating student learning data, school board guiding documents, and teacher needs and wants for development.- Disseminate school goals and planning, gathering feedback from the department to relay to administration to guide school decisions.- Mentor and support department teachers in their goals by developing interpersonal relationships.ACCOMPLISHMENTS- Lead a team of nine teachers through Professional Learning Community meetings, managing productive discussion and professional learning by establishing clear norms, agendas, and protocols for meeting times. Building a common vision allowed the department to generate a development goal of diversifying instructional practice and improving skills in inclusive education. Built capacity through activities to interpret centralized guiding documents and incorporate their suggestions into individual practice. As a result, the department was able to significantly reduce the failure rate of attending students.- Grew teacher capacity in principles of inclusive education by guiding teachers through the Individualized Programming Plan writing process, using structured activities to gain teacher input, providing scripts and writing cues, and clarifying expectations for IPP input within the department. Show less ACCOMPLISHMENTS- Oversaw a revitalization of health instruction by shifting the class back to a scheduled block with a homeroom teacher to take advantage of staff-student relationships in promoting healthy outcomes. The revitalization included researching and purchasing resources, and training staff to use and interpret health related resources such as teachingsexualhealth.ca and mentalhealthliteracy.org.- Increased student success and accountability by collaborating with the administration team to gather input from stakeholders and develop a local procedure for the Attendance Improvement Plan, which included outlining timelines, roles, and clarifying responsibilities. The improved plan augmented student success by providing clear directives for staff roles and communication to families.- Initiated and developed a customized Circle of Courage model of youth empowerment with the Grade 7 teacher team to support school wide model of well being student and staff wellness, delivered through staff training sessions. The Circle of Courage targeted student wellness from a holistic lens resulting in better recognition and service of individual needs.- Collaborated with colleagues to develop and implement a Math Attitudes Survey to learn about student's mindset and resiliency regarding math learning and instruction, using data to inform math learning initiatives. As a result of data from a Math Attitudes Survey, developed and led a whole-school professional learning session to build staff capacity in numeracy instruction, emphasizing growth-mindset and positive attitudes in a school-wide workplace approach to supporting math education. Show less RESPONSIBILITIES- Create and document short, medium, and long-term plans to deliver engaging lessons based on the Alberta Program of Studies.- Assess student progress through fair and varied formative and summative assessments, tracking student progress and data.- Report on student progress regularly by updating student management software and writing strength- based, growth-oriented report card comments.- Build effective, culturally aware relationships with students to support classroom management and positive student outcomes.- Ensured safe and accessible student programming in the woodshop, providing students with scaffolded opportunities to develop hands-on skills.ACCOMPLISHMENTS- Engaged with a division Math Coach to implement a radical transformation of teaching practice over a year of instruction, incorporating “The Thinking Classroom” into professional practice. The 14 action items were grouped by ease of implementation, studied thoroughly, a plan of action was developed, and they were delivered several at a time. Success was monitored by classroom observation for engagement, critical thinking, and progress with curriculum, indicating student receptiveness to the action items. Preparation for the next group of items was continuous. Once implemented items became routine in the classroom the next sequence of action items was delivered. Show less

  • Guidance Counselor

    Jun 2022 - now

  • Learning Leader - CTS Heavy Shops

    Sept 2021 - now

  • Learning Leader - Jr. High Math, Science, Health, Physical Education

    Sept 2018 - Sept 2021

  • Teacher - Jr. High Math, Science, PE, Woodshop

    Sept 2016 - Sept 2021