Kimberly Konieczny

Schaumburg,IL

Summary

Dedicated Early Childhood and Mental Health Specialist with strong skills in parent-teacher collaboration, active listening, and team-based support. Experienced in fostering trust and open communication with families while addressing both concerns and developmental strengths. Proficient at supporting classroom organization, adapting to diverse needs, and working cooperatively with staff to create inclusive, emotionally supportive learning environments that promote positive outcomes for all children.

Overview

years of professional experience

Work History

Lead Toddler Room Teacher

KinderCare Learning Experience

09.2018 - Current

Company Overview: KinderCare is a nationally accredited daycare, learning center, preschool, and after school program for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years old. Each classroom has their own unique curriculum that must be followed to ensure the best possible outcome for the children’s future.
Create a safe and nurturing environment for the children to play and learn while also following health and safety protocol
Work closely with parents and children to provide the best quality and individualized care while also building trusting relationships
Plan and implement an age-appropriate curriculum to improve growth in every way (I.e., fine motor skills, gross motor skills, cognitive development, self-help skills, etc.)
Administer The Brigance Early Childhood Screening test to the correlating ages to test where they stand in their developmental stages: physical development, language development, cognitive development, social-emotional development, self-help, and adaptive behavior
Train new teachers that would be placed in the classroom and inform them of the toddler’s needs, our daily schedule, DCFS regulations, NAEYC accreditation standards, and health and safety

Residential Counselor

Northern Illinois Academy

07.2017 - 09.2018

Company Overview: Northern Illinois Academy was a 75-bed psychiatric residential treatment facility for kids, teenagers and young adults ages 6-21. NIA had four core group living programs: Autism Spectrum Disorder Program, Multi-Needs Program (co-occurring psychiatric & developmental illnesses), Social Emotional Disabilities Program and Independent Living Skills Program.
Shift-led regularly to maintain a safe and therapeutic milieu for the residents and trained new staff monthly
Ran groups to educate residents about their current states and life skills needed for the future, in addition to leading healthy exercise groups to release energy
Mediated negative interactions using TCI (Therapeutic Crisis Intervention) techniques to de-escalate potential crises, restrain residents when necessary, and process with them afterward using LSI (Life Space Interview) techniques.
Wrote Incident reports and communicated with residents’ therapists and guardians regarding aggressive interactions, restraints, and any injuries that happened throughout the day
Maintained food logs for residents with potentially self-harmful eating habits

Education

Bachelor of Arts - Psychology

University of Illinois Springfield

Springfield, IL

05.2017

Master of Clinical Mental Health Counseling -

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

05-2025

Skills

Responds to others in an active listening standpoint, building trust and openness towards others
Experience in communicating concerns, as well as positive aspects of children’s development to parents and guardians when needed to build rapport and follow parent’s needs
Parent-teacher collaboration
Teamwork and cooperation

Classroom organization
Adaptability
Ability to pinpoint problems and come up with creative solutions
Experience in training others on curriculum and daily tasks to keep the environment safe

Timeline