Houston T. Ford
Austin,TX
Summary
Experienced, resilient, knowledgeable Certified Special Education Teacher (Collaborative) for Eanes ISD. Specialized skills and classroom experience necessary for opportunities associated with special and culturally diverse populations in GenEd classroom and SPED settings. Dedicated partnerships with GenEd co-teachers.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
1
1
Certificate
Work History
Middle School 8th Grade Math Teacher
Austin Independent School District
07.2023 - Current
- Foster an inclusive classroom culture by addressing diverse needs through differentiated instruction methods.
- Utlize various technology platforms to enhance virtual learning experiences during remote instruction periods, ensuring continued academic progress despite challenging circumstances.
- Implement creative assessment tools to measure student understanding and growth throughout the academic year accurately.
- Boosted student engagement during math lessons by integrating hands-on activities that emphasized real-world applications of concepts.
- Improved student reading comprehension by incorporating diverse literature into lesson plans.
- Promoted critical thinking skills in science classes through inquiry-based learning approaches that encouraged experimentation and discovery.
- Strengthened relationships between students, parents, and faculty by organizing regular conferences and progress meetings.
- Supported students in developing social skills through structured activities and positive reinforcement techniques.
- Provided one-on-one attention to students, while maintaining overall focus on entire group.
Elementary School 5th Grade Collaborative Teacher
Eanes Independent School District
08.2019 - 05.2023
- Provided all students opportunities for success by ensuring access to curriculum and instruction in LRE (collaborative GenEd classroom)
- Regularly applied research- and evidence-based instructional strategies; Supported and engaged in culturally relevant teaching
- Developed and implemented all components of IEPs through ARD Committee process in collaboration with students, parents, teachers, related service providers and LSSPs
- Prepared documentation, facilitated, and led Pre-ARDs as well as Annual ARDs for more than 20 students
- Created data-driven, measurable, impactful IEP goals, objectives, and benchmarks, based on unique student needs, relevant evaluations, various data sources, PLAAFPs, and input from teachers, parents, and related services providers
- Improved students' academic progress on MAP assessments (year-over-year and BOY-EOY) by approximately 10-18% in Reading/Math; Raised students' reading levels to instructional grade-level (based on F&P reading assessments)
- Employed varying instructional strategies (e.g., differentiation, direct and explicit teaching, etc.), technologies, accommodated, modified 5th grade GenEd curriculum aligned to students' diverse learning needs, state curriculum (TEKs) and IEPs.
- Collaborated with GenEd partner-teacher to provide instruction to all students in core academic areas. Provided specialized reading and math interventions.
- Recorded and analyzed student data to monitor progress and adjust instruction appropriately. Prepared data-driven progress reports for students, parents and teachers for each 9-week grading period. Approximately 70% of students demonstrated mastery of IEP goals as written.
- Fostered relationships with parents to bring welcoming, diverse, multi-cultural experiences to classrooms, and ensure engagement and participation in their child's education.
- Facilitated small group instruction to address individual learning needs.
- Planned regular meetings to share and analyze student performance data and success plans with colleagues and parents.
- Worked as permanent substitute and teaching assistant, prior to teaching certification.
Certified English Teacher/ESL/EFL/TESOL Instructor
James Cook Languages
07.2018 - 05.2019
- Educated primary students in basics of English grammar and conversational skills as well as business English to Exxon-Mobile, Verizon, DHL
- Developed and taught ESL curriculum to improve students' conversational abilities.
- Attended workshops to learn about student motivation and engaging learning activities.
- Gave one-on-one attention to each student while maintaining overall focus on entire group.
Principal, Marketing Communications
NextEra Energy Resources
01.2016 - 05.2018
- Developed and implemented successful strategic marketing plans targeting new customer acquisition and existing customer retention
- Increased new customer acquisition by 25%; customer retention by 70%
- Managed marketing team, analytics, outside agencies
- Created, developed and managed editorial creative and content for organization’s direct, retail and public relations content channels
Education
Bachelor of Science - Advertising
University of Texas At Austin
Austin, TXSkills
- Math 6-8
- ELA 6-8
- Special Education
- Formative Assessments
- Real-World Applications
- Feedback strategies
- ARD/IEP Process, Preparation & Facilitation; SuccessEd Proficient; FIE & Related Evals
- TEA Procedural Rights & Responsibilities; Federal Acts & Laws governing Special Education
- Differentiated Planning & Instruction; Technology Integration
- Accelerated Instruction/Summer School Teacher - GenEd & SPED
- Team Collaboration; Organizational Skills; Classroom Management
- Foster/Develop Relationships
- Diverse Cultures, Equitable & Inclusive Best Practices
- Instructional Strategies
- Teaching techniques
- Interactive Learning
- Mathematical reasoning
Affiliations
- Eanes ISD Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee
- Team Lead Elementary Special Education
- American Marketing Association; Direct Marketing Association
- Eanes ISD Educator of the Year Nominee
- Eanes ISD Inspiration Award
Certification
- EC-12 Special Education Teacher Certification
- 6-12 CTE- Marketing Certification (pending exam)
- TESOL/TOFEL/ESL/EFL Certification
- Solid Roots PBIS Certified
- SAMA Certified
- StemScopes Proficient (Science/Math)
- F&P Proficient
- Learning A-Z Proficient
- ReadLive Naturally Proficient
- Prodigy Math Proficient
- IXL-Math/Reading Proficient
- Eanes ISD Special Education Academy; Ongoing Quarterly Professional Development
Timeline
Middle School 8th Grade Math Teacher
Austin Independent School District
07.2023 - Current
Elementary School 5th Grade Collaborative Teacher
Eanes Independent School District
08.2019 - 05.2023
Certified English Teacher/ESL/EFL/TESOL Instructor
James Cook Languages
07.2018 - 05.2019
Principal, Marketing Communications
NextEra Energy Resources
01.2016 - 05.2018
Bachelor of Science - Advertising
University of Texas At Austin
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