Summary
Overview
Work History
Skills
Timeline
Education, Certifications, & Endorsements
Professional References
Generic

Elissa Kruse

Plainfield,IL

Summary

Highly organized, resourceful, analytical, and innovative Curriculum Coordinator effective in designing engaging curriculum and professional learning opportunities across a variety of grade levels, departments and levels.

Instructional Leader focused on supporting a wide variety of student cultural and academic backgrounds.

Strong Communicator with interpersonal skills to build relationships with stakeholders and team.

Team-oriented, passionate, reflective, and dependable candidate successful at managing multiple priorities with a positive attitude.

Overview

19
19
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

5th Grade Curriculum Coordinator

West Aurora School District 129
06.2020 - Current
  • Developed Language Arts Curriculum, embedding Science of Reading research and grade level science and social science content.
  • Designed curricular content to engage and support diverse learners, providing formative and summative opportunities for teachers to evaluate student proficiency.
  • Continuously sought out diverse professional learning opportunities, recently earning an ESL Teacher Endorsement and completing Lexia's LETRS training.
  • Promoted inclusive educational curriculum by incorporating culturally responsive pedagogy, Universal Design for Learning framework, and best practices for English Language Learners.
  • Collaborated with educators and administrators to review, modify, and enhance K-5 scopes and sequences and curricular objectives.
  • Supported implementation of curriculum by modeling instructional practices, observing, and providing feedback through reflective conversations.
  • Regularly modeled instructional strategies to support students developing English as another language, resulting in improved student engagement and academic success.
  • Established strong relationships with students, teachers, administrators, office professionals, and external organizations to support student success.
  • Developed and facilitated professional learning opportunities for staff serving in a variety of roles and across multiple levels, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
  • Led cross-grade level teams in the understanding and implementation of Literacy and Math Curriculum, enhancing overall teaching quality.
  • Organized an onsite field experience for a group of teachers to learn, collaborate, and participate in designing an improved field experience for students.
  • Mentored new curriculum coordinators and coached teachers, nurturing their growth as professionals.
  • Conducted classroom observations and teacher evaluations to assess teaching effectiveness, providing constructive feedback for improvement.

Online Graduate Level Course Instructor

Midwest Teachers Institute
09.2014 - 07.2021
  • Designed/taught teacher graduate courses: Vocabulary for the Modern Day Classroom- K-12 Strategies for ELL, Content Areas, and Beyond, Active Reading Strategies for Middle School and High School, Literature Circles in the K-12 Classroom, and Powerful Teacher Language- Using Words to Help Children Succeed.
  • Designed syllabi's cadence for assignments and collaborative structure for students.
  • Designed courses and curricula to ensure adherence to university requirements.
  • Used Blackboard and Canvas platforms for syllabi, course content, assignments and student discussions.
  • Incorporated discussions into lessons, actively soliciting input, and student-student interactions.
  • Assessed assignments, and discussions to provide students with timely academic information and feedback.
  • Maintained detailed records of student participation and academic performance for accurate reporting and evaluation purposes.

5th Grade Teacher

West Aurora School District 129
08.2004 - 06.2020
  • Engaged in the teaching role as a facilitator of learning, where students understood that all students and the teacher are both learners and teachers.
  • Incorporated diverse and differentiated teaching methods, including academic and language accessibility considerations, technology, student choice,and a variety of instructional groupings.
  • Promoted literacy skills for all strands of word recognition and language comprehension through whole class lessons, small group literacy sessions, student conferences, and individualized instruction.
  • Intentionally designed lessons to promote English language development and proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening domains for students whose native language was or was not English.
  • Approached math instruction using a variety of learning methods for students to develop concrete, representational, and abstract understandings as appropriate for the progression of skills along a continuum.
  • Cultivated critical thinking and dialogue skills among students by challenging them with complex problem-solving tasks and thought-provoking discussions.
  • Integrated technology and multimedia tools into lessons to enhance student learning.
  • Continuously used informal and formal qualitative and quantitative data to make academic and non-academic decisions about students' needs.
  • Maintained student-created portfolios for self-monitoring of learning progress and academic and non-academic goal setting.
  • Managed a successful classroom environment by implementing positive reinforcement strategies, learning about and highlighting diverse student cultures, and setting clear expectations for behavior.
  • Created a safe, inclusive, and nurturing classroom community that promoted emotional well-being and academic growth for all students.
  • Collaborated with grade-level and mixed-role teams to reflect, set goals, and develop plans to target a range of academic and non-academic initiatives.
  • Served as a New Teacher Mentor providing instructional and classroom management support.
  • Developed strong rapport with families through regular communication, offering opportunities for participation in class, and student-led conferences.
  • Attended current and former students' concerts, sporting events, ceremonies, and graduations to support and encourage extracurricular activities.
  • Organized extracurricular activities and clubs to enhance the overall student experience.
  • Worked collaboratively with student teachers and universities to provide successful learning opportunities for pre-service teachers.

Skills

  • Educational and Instructional Leadership
  • Committed to Student, Staff, and Community Growth
  • Curriculum Development, Design and Implementation
  • Professional Learning Development, Delivery, and Participant
  • Collaborative Learning with Modeling
  • Professional Relationships with Colleagues and Community Partners
  • Content Knowledge and Standards Alignment
  • Effective Teaching Strategies for Literacy and Content Areas
  • Document Management
  • Academic and Behavioral Cultural Awareness
  • Building staff and student capacities in Social Emotional awareness and Development
  • Student Engagement that Embraces Challenging and Joyful Learning Experiences

Timeline

5th Grade Curriculum Coordinator

West Aurora School District 129
06.2020 - Current

Online Graduate Level Course Instructor

Midwest Teachers Institute
09.2014 - 07.2021

5th Grade Teacher

West Aurora School District 129
08.2004 - 06.2020

Master of Arts - Education

Aurora University

Bachelor of Science - Education

Western Illinois University

Education, Certifications, & Endorsements

09/2023 Aurora University, Aurora, IL: English as a Second Language Teacher Program, Endorsement: English as a Second Language Teacher

05/2022 Lexia LETRS Training: LETRS Training Completed, 100% Posttest Score, Completion of Mastery Certificate in all Units 1-8

07/2011 Aurora University, Aurora, IL: Reading Teacher Education Program, Endorsement: Reading Teacher K-8

05/2007 Aurora University, Aurora, IL : Master of Arts in Education

12/2003 Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL : Bachelor of Science in Education, Endorsements: Elementary Education Teacher, Middle School Teacher, Language Arts Teacher

Professional References

Sarah Waddell, Executive Director of Elementary Education, West Aurora School District

331.320.4878 swaddell@sd129.org

Brian Wiesbrook, 4th Grade Curriculum Coordinator- West Aurora School District

630.696.8672 brianweisbrook@sd129.org

Carrie Bailey, 5th Grade Teacher- Schneider Elementary School, West Aurora School District

630.809.9956 cbailey@sd129.org

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