Beth Sommers
Hampton,NH
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Digital Learning Specialist
Sandown North Elementary School
01.2024 - Current
- Integrate technology into the elementary school curriculum to enhance student engagement. This role involves collaborating with teachers to implement effective technology programs, providing training and ongoing support to staff on best practices for technology use in the classroom, and assisting with curriculum development that incorporates digital tools.
STEM Teacher
Ellis School
01.2023 - 01.2024
- Advance Grades K-8 students’ STEM literacy, teamwork skills, and perseverance by providing whole-class engineering design challenges.
STEM Teacher
Newfields Elementary School
01.2021 - 01.2023
- Advance Grades K-5 students’ STEM literacy, teamwork skills, and perseverance by providing whole-class engineering design challenges.
STEM Teacher
Guilmette Middle School
01.2020 - 01.2021
- Advance Grades 5-8 students’ STEM literacy, teamwork skills, and perseverance by synchronously delivering design challenges and coding projects aligned to MA STE Frameworks and CASEL competencies.
STEAM/MakerSpace Teacher
Hampstead Academy
01.2019 - 01.2020
- Advance Grades Pre-K-8 students’ STEM literacy, teamwork skills, and perseverance by providing engineering design challenges and inquiry-based units of instruction.
STEM Teacher
Windham Academy
01.2019 - 01.2020
- Advance Grades K-4 students’ STEM literacy, teamwork skills, and perseverance by providing whole-class engineering design challenges.
STEM/Academic Enrichment Teacher
Chester Academy
01.2018 - 01.2019
- Advance Grades 5-8 students’ STEM literacy, teamwork skills, and perseverance by providing whole-class engineering design challenges and inquiry- and research-based units of instruction.
- Provide weekly instruction to Grades 1 - 4 high-ability Math & Reading students.
Curriculum Integration & Extended Learning Coordinator
K-enland Central School
01.2007 - 01.2018
- Collaborate with and support classroom teachers by developing, modeling, and co-teaching engaging, inter-disciplinary units including STEM, Egg Drop at Fenway Park, integrating Science with Lego Robotics, etc.
- Empower classroom teachers to provide students with more voice and choice by modeling the use of technology tools such as Google Classroom, Book Creator, Storyboard That, Explain Everything, Nearpod, Wizer, Canva, etc.
- Coach teachers on the integration of technology and curriculum.
- Advance K-8 students’ STEM literacy, teamwork skills, and perseverance by providing whole-class engineering design challenges, inquiry- and research- based units of instruction, and developmentally appropriate Computer Science experiences with tools such as KIBO (K-2), Lego WeDo 2.0 (3-4), and Scratch.
- Increase student interest in STEM by providing innovative, after-school programming via Lego League Robotics, Engineering Adventures, etc.
- Engage families in STEM by designing and implementing school-wide events such as the Build It! Festival, STEM Wars, CSI Greenland, Probability Fair, etc.
5th Grade Teacher
Greenland Central School
01.2006 - 01.2007
Title I Tutor
Greenland Central School
01.2005 - 01.2006
- Communicated with grades 2 and 5 classroom teachers about instruction and needs of students requiring support.
- Developed lesson plans and worked with at-risk students to help them master reading, language, and math skills, including pre-teaching or reteaching concepts.
- Taught students in small groups and co-taught with the classroom teacher.
- Adapted and modified instruction to suit learning styles of students.
- Reviewed and analyzed student test data from previous years and kept records of interventions and progress.
Education
Engineering Education Program - Elementary Engineering
Tufts University
Master of Public Health - Public Health
Southern CT State University
Bachelor of Science - Food Science/Nutrition
Drexel University
PASkills
- Passion for Teaching & Learning
- Collaboration & Communication
- Creativity & Innovation
- Design & Systems Thinking
- Organizational Skills
- Curriculum Development
- Technology Integration
Certification
- Engineering is Elementary Certified as a Teacher Trainer Boston Museum of Science
- Project Lead the Way Certified as a Teacher Trainer
Hobbies and Interests
Kayaking, Travelling, Hiking
Awards
NH Robotics Grant Recipient 2021 - 2023, NHSTE Grant Recipient - STEM Innovation & Technology 2017, NH Charitable Foundation Award - STEM Education 2017, NH Society of Professional Engineers – STEM Excellence in Teaching Award 2016, Clipper Foundation Award for Excellence in Education –STEM Education 2014-2018
Affiliations
- ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER NH Young Inventors Program 2012 – Present
- MEMBER NH and National Science Teachers Associations 2013 - Present
- FIRST LEGO LEAGUE ROBOTICS COACH Greenland Central School 2007 - 2015
- MEMBER NH Society for Technology Education 2016 - Present
Publications
- Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference - Concord, NH Digital Engineering Design Notebooks November 2018
- RYE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL – Engineering Practices in NGSS Rye, NH January & February 2018
- SAU52Professional Development – Technology for Teaching & Learning Portsmouth, NH January 2018
- NH COMPUTER SCIENCE SUMMIT - K-2 Robotics with KIBO Sept. 2017 Berlin, NH
- SAU50 DISTRICT EDCAMP – The “E” in STEM Education March 2017 Greenland, NH
- STEMEDUCATORS’ SUMMIT - Engineering is Elementary May 2016 Manchester, NH
CAREER RELATED EXPERIENCE
- KEEPERS CAMP CO-DIRECTOR University of New Hampshire – Leitzel Center for STEM Education Durham, NH / 2015 - 2017
- Developed curriculum for and provided engaging engineering design challenges integrated with literacy and science to grades 2 – 5 campers at this Engineering Day Camp. KEEPERS (Kids Eager for Engineering Programs with Elementary Research-based Science) is a week-long program providing half-day content that’s offered for three weeks every July.
- KEEPERS for TEACHERS Designed curriculum for and provided professional development to K-8 teachers desiring to integrate engineering practices into their classrooms.
Timeline
Digital Learning Specialist
Sandown North Elementary School
01.2024 - Current
STEM Teacher
Ellis School
01.2023 - 01.2024
STEM Teacher
Newfields Elementary School
01.2021 - 01.2023
STEM Teacher
Guilmette Middle School
01.2020 - 01.2021
STEAM/MakerSpace Teacher
Hampstead Academy
01.2019 - 01.2020
STEM Teacher
Windham Academy
01.2019 - 01.2020
STEM/Academic Enrichment Teacher
Chester Academy
01.2018 - 01.2019
Curriculum Integration & Extended Learning Coordinator
K-enland Central School
01.2007 - 01.2018
5th Grade Teacher
Greenland Central School
01.2006 - 01.2007
Title I Tutor
Greenland Central School
01.2005 - 01.2006
Engineering Education Program - Elementary Engineering
Tufts University
Master of Public Health - Public Health
Southern CT State University
Bachelor of Science - Food Science/Nutrition
Drexel University