Cathy Smallwood
Bassett,VA
Summary
Professional Early Childhood Specialist with over a decade of experience in program quality assurance, training and technical assistance (TTA), and regulatory compliance within educational and therapeutic settings. Expertise includes:
- Program & Compliance Oversight: Proficient in reviewing program documentation for adherence to federal and state guidelines (including Medicaid) and ensuring program effectiveness through data-driven assessment and reporting.
- Early Childhood/Head Start Frameworks: Direct knowledge of Early Head Start services, standards, and components, with specialized certification and experience in early childhood special education and intervention planning (IEPs).
- Training and Technical Assistance: Proven ability to develop and implement staff training protocols, evaluate program efficacy, and provide evidence-based recommendations for process improvement and organizational change.
- Assessment & Data Utilization: Skilled in administering formal and informal assessments and utilizing child and program data to inform curriculum planning, drive individualized goal setting, and promote school readiness goals.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
K-3 Teacher
Christian Heritage Academy
08.2021 - Current
- Plan and implement age-appropriate lessons in Bible, Math, Phonics, Science, and Language Arts using the assigned curriculum through a Biblical worldview.
- Cultivate an engaging and supportive environment conducive to developing positive social skills and communication.
- Utilize formal and informal quarterly assessments to track student skills and document progress toward developmental and learning goals.
- Partner with parents through face-to-face meetings, detailed email communication, weekly newsletters, and quarterly report cards to promote proactive student success.
Early Childhood Special Education Teacher
Franklin County Public Schools
08.2015 - 05.2021
- Plan and implement age-appropriate lessons relevant to the child’s IEP, including gross and fine motor skills, communication, social skills, and cognitive development.
- Conduct formal and informal assessments to determine eligibility for an IEP and record data showing progress towards IEP goals.
- Implement evidenced-based strategies to assist students towards achieving their goals.
- Collaborate with other team members, including physical, speech, and occupational therapists.
Early Head Start Teacher
Western Carolina Community Action
01.2010 - 05.2010
- Encourage and promote the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development of children through experimentation, exploration, problem solving, cooperation, socialization, and choice-making.
- Maintain accurate written/electronic records; including assessments, special education documentation, screening instruments, observations, and other required forms.
- Collaborate with other staff and parents regarding the program and student success.
- Conduct regular home visits for purposes of assessment and support, and to share information on parenting, educational strategies, and classroom progress.
- Assess individual and group needs, attending to special needs, specific interests, strengths and concerns.
- Establish daily and weekly goals, which will promote individual and group educational plans and include other EHS components.
- Create, develop, and adapt curriculum to address and meet individual goals for children as identified in their individualized education plans.
Online ESL Teacher
Remote
06.2020 - 03.2021
- Teach English to students online using the online platform, props, motions, and role plays.
- Provide feedback to parents and students by summarizing each lesson and providing recommendations for weekly studies.
- Communicate with parents and Zebra English staff members as needed.
- Participate in required and relevant professional development trainings.
Therapeutic Day Treatment Site Coordinator
Intercept Youth Services
03.2014 - 08.2015
- Provide TDT to students in the high school setting, including providing group and individual therapy and coordinating with teachers, school administrators, guidance counselors, and other team members.
- Provide training to new counselors.
- Assist Program Coordinator with maintaining referral list and making various methods of contact with families regarding TDT.
- Provide school administrators with clients’ progress and challenges reports on a weekly basis.
- Assist Program Coordinator with monitoring counselors’ progress notes and Daily Activity Logs to ensure accurate billing of TDT.
Therapeutic Day Treatment Counselor
Providence Corporation
10.2010 - 03.2014
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the program, and provide recommendations for change and improvement.
- Develop and implement training for new staff.
- Review daily notes of program staff for grammatical errors and compliance with program, state, federal, and Medicaid guidelines.
- Provide therapeutic counseling services and Case Management services to students and their families through communication and coordination with parents, family members, teachers, school staff, doctors, psychiatrists, dentists, and other service providers.
- Assess the child’s needs for comprehensive services and the outcomes of services and supports, while linking the child and/or family to needed services and supports.
- Coordinate with the child, family, and service providers to ensure appropriate development, modification, and implementation of the Individualized Service/Treatment Plan.
- Maintain records of client’s goals and progress through daily documentation.
- Perform and develop annual Mental Health Assessments by obtaining information about client’s family, social, and medical history, previous placements, strengths, needs, behaviors, and diagnoses.
- Develop and implement training for new staff.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the program, and provide recommendations for change and improvement.
- Oversee the entrance and exits of students into the Day Treatment program, to ensure appropriate placement.
- Review authorization requests for accuracy, completion, and medical necessity for students.
- Review daily notes of program staff for grammatical errors and compliance with program, state, federal, and Medicaid guidelines.
- Participate in community events to assist with obtaining referrals, networking, and collaborating with school counselors, parents, and community resources.
Intake Coordinator
The Bair Foundation
05.2010 - 09.2010
- Direct the recruitment, support, and retention of foster families according to state regulations and agency policies.
- Accept referrals, make appropriate matches with families, and place children.
- Network with referral sources to increase placements.
- Make determinations regarding the approval or rejection of foster home applicants.
- Schedule and conduct preliminary home studies of prospective foster parents.
- Ensure that foster home records are in compliance with state regulations.
- Train and certify incoming foster parents in order to meet office growth goals.
- Monitor progress of foster children in home, school, and community settings.
- Develop Individualized Service Plans to establish the appropriate services to be provided for each child in placement.
- Apply assessment skills to individually evaluate foster homes and certify eligibility to provide foster care.
Mental Health Case Manager & Healthy Family Resource Specialist
Piedmont Community Services
04.2009 - 12.2009
- Provide case management services to children, ages 0-7, and their families by maintaining a trusting relationship through regular home and face-to-face visitations.
- Link families to needed medical, psychiatric, social, educational, and other resources and supports.
- Provide assistance with goal-planning with quarterly and annual evaluations of families’ goals.
- Document visits and services, while maintaining client records based on agency and state licensing regulations.
- Implement the strength-based program geared towards child abuse and neglect prevention.
- Promote and encourage positive parenting, parent-child interactions, and healthy child development.
- Recruit new clients through collaboration and communication with community agencies.
- Assess families using a standardized tool, evaluating family stressors and support systems.
- Provide community referrals when needed.
Child Specialist
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
09.2007 - 02.2009
- Provide therapeutic, educational, and residential care for abused, abandoned, and neglected children, ages 0-17.
- Implement curriculum based on Developmentally Appropriate Practices.
- Teach life skills and behavior modification, using the Model of Care System.
- Maintain individual records based on agency and state licensing regulations.
Education
Early Childhood Special Education Certification -
Radford University
05.2019
M.S. in Psychology - Child and Adolescent Development
Capella University
12.2010
B.A. in Psychology - undefined
University of Texas at San Antonio
12.2007
B.A. in Theatre Arts and Dance - undefined
California State University at Los Angeles
12.2005
Skills
- Database Management
- Federal/State/Medicaid Guidelines Compliance and Reporting
- Office Productivity Suites
- Assessments
- Program Evaluation and Improvement
- Early Child Development Expertise
- Case Management
- Parent-teacher collaboration
- Verbal and written communication
- Special education
- Relationship building
- Excellent classroom and behavior management
- Lesson planning and Differentiated instruction
Timeline
K-3 Teacher
Christian Heritage Academy
08.2021 - Current
Online ESL Teacher
Remote
06.2020 - 03.2021
Early Childhood Special Education Teacher
Franklin County Public Schools
08.2015 - 05.2021
Therapeutic Day Treatment Site Coordinator
Intercept Youth Services
03.2014 - 08.2015
Therapeutic Day Treatment Counselor
Providence Corporation
10.2010 - 03.2014
Intake Coordinator
The Bair Foundation
05.2010 - 09.2010
Early Head Start Teacher
Western Carolina Community Action
01.2010 - 05.2010
Mental Health Case Manager & Healthy Family Resource Specialist
Piedmont Community Services
04.2009 - 12.2009
Child Specialist
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
09.2007 - 02.2009
M.S. in Psychology - Child and Adolescent Development
Capella University
B.A. in Psychology - undefined
University of Texas at San Antonio
B.A. in Theatre Arts and Dance - undefined
California State University at Los Angeles
Early Childhood Special Education Certification -
Radford University