Courtney O'Rourke

• Create engaging learning activities and experiences tailored to meet individual student needs and that develop students' physical, cognitive, and social emotional growth.
• Consistently utilize innovative teaching strategies and include technology to create rich, meaningful and engaging lessons
• Integrate Growth Mindset and SEL lessons and activities into the day to encourage and build student problem-solving skills, Zones of Regulation, RULER
• Explicitly teach and reinforce Executive Function skills on a daily basis, and throughout the day, i.e. binders, tabs, color coding, schedules, materials, timers, highlighting, note-taking.
• In addition to long range core subject plans, develop and create assignments and tasks to help reinforce skills on a daily basis and that spiral throughout the day, including reviewing daily life skills, i.e. calendar skills and telling time at various parts of the day
• Facilitate small group instruction to address individual learning needs as well as 1:1 student conferencing
• Work closely with families as well as in-house and outside specialists to address student concerns as they arise
• Provide emotional support to students and families as needed, as well as in a structured setting during Social Thinking and Council lessons/times
• Conduct both formative and summative assessments of each student at various times throughout the year to determine individual needs, groupings, remediation, extensions, and measure effectiveness of interventions.
• Design individual education plans to monitor student growth according to different learning abilities and needs.
• Collaborate with in-house colleagues across academic departments and or outside teams to discuss and determine student learning goals.
• Review and discuss student Individual Education Plans with the team to help prepare learning plan and strategies for the classroom
• Meet and update AT to discuss any new and relevant student learning plan changes, behavior modification plan, or notes from home
• Monitor and track student progress daily to inform parents and school administration, ie student tracker, team meetings, staffings
• In addition to planned team meetings and parent conferences, if needed, coordinate meetings to discuss student progress with colleagues and parents.
• Implement and or modify as needed, any and all effective strategies as discussed in team meetings or ongoing observations

3rd grade co-teacher:

• Developed and implemented engaging lessons using innovative teaching strategies. Fostered student curiosity and interest through creative hands-on activities. Boosted cultural awareness by incorporating children's literature from world cultures.
• Differentiated instruction and assessments in reading, writing, spelling, grammar, math, social studies. Improved students' analytical skills by utilizing computer program technologies.
• Created comprehensive and individualized learning plans to optimize student success. Conducted formative assessments to measure student progress. Evaluated students' understanding of course material through examinations and in-depth essay writing.
• Benchmark Assessments System & Guided Reading: Fountas & Pinnell (F&P)
• Word Study: Words Their Way
• Handwriting Without Tears
• Investigations in Number, Data and Space; Dream Box Learning, FASTT Math.

1st grade lead teacher:

• Differentiated instruction and assessments in reading, writing, spelling, grammar, math, social studies
• Implemented reading and writing workshops and small group reading group to increase student literacy.
• Maintained regular and open communication with parents to provide feedback and discuss instructional strategies.
• Completed student progress reports three times a year to note areas of strengths and areas of improvement.
• Monitored student progress and adjusted instruction to meet individual needs.
• Modified lessons and curriculum to accommodate diverse learners.
• Collaborated with administrators to develop school-wide initiatives that promote academic excellence.
• Lucy Calkins Reading & Writing Program
• Benchmark Assessments System & Guided Reading: Fountas & Pinnell (F&P)
• Phonemic Awareness: LRI-Literacy Resources Inc. & Reading A-Z
• Word Study: Words Their Way
• Handwriting Without Tears
• Investigations in Number, Data and Space; Dream Box Learning, FASTT Math.
• Improved students' analytical skills by utilizing computer program technologies.

K-5 Science Specialist

• Adapted thematic units to create child-centered curriculum through hands-on discovery and inquiry
• Facilitated daily science experiments
• Explored less tangible topics through rich literature and media applications

K-5 Spanish Specialist

• Developed innovative and engaging curriculum for 300 K-5 students in the target language
• Collaborated with homeroom teachers, others specialists, and across three divisions to ensure K-12 vertical alignment in the World Languages program.
• Spearheaded cross-divisional activities between both campuses including scavenger hunts, buddy programs, and International Day.