Michelle Barreras
San Francisco,CA
Summary
- Innovative pedagogical leader in education dedicated to cultivating a diverse social learning community that nurtures and promotes mindsets of curiosity, compassion, collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving.
- Pre-K to 8, Higher Education - Private - Public - Nonprofit
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
Work History
Assistant Director of K-12 Partnerships
Great Books Foundation
02.2023 - Current
- Managing and increasing accounts across 9 states; making and receiving calls or emails, scheduling professional learning events; responding to customers' questions, and providing support.
- Leading special projects across 4 teams with initiatives to drive operational excellence.
- Responding to change productively and handling other essential tasks as assigned.
- Overseeing sales pipeline for accuracy and forecasting.
- Expertly operating internal systems and tools.
- Tracking key business metrics and making recommendations for proactive adjustments.
- Maintaining positive customer relations by addressing problems head-on and implementing successful corrective actions.
- Cultivating positive rapport with fellow employees to boost company morale and promote employee retention.
Adjunct Lecturer
University Of Colorado Denver
01.2021 - Current
- Courses: Contextual Curriculum 1 and Contextual Curriculum II
- Organizing, preparing, and revising course material for online courses.
- Utilizing distance learning technology to instruct students remotely.
- Engaging diverse population of students located worldwide with insightful and compelling online discussions of related topics.
- Utilizing provoking multi-media resources and assignments to cultivate theoretical learning, analysis, and innovative practice.
- Assessing students' learning and providing contributions to their assignments to enhance learning.
- Collaborating with other instructors to best respond to student needs and designing thought-provoking and quality courses.
HEAD OF SCHOOL
THE DISCOVERY SCHOOL
07.2017 - 02.2023
- Supervised day-to-day operations while ensuring compliance with California Childcare Licensing requirements.
- Established and maintained procedures for arrival, dismissal, field trips, and emergency drills.
- Developed and managed substitute lists.
- Maintained continuous educator supervision and guidance, including regular meetings and informal and formal evaluations and reviews.
- Facilitated admissions processes including interviews, observations, and open house events.
- Prepared and managed budget, including educators in decision-making and overseeing spending.
- Served as pedagogical leader.
- Cultivated family partnerships and organized family engagement events.
- Developed response system, including educators, families, and when necessary specialists, for individual student needs.
- Led professional development opportunities and arranged learning opportunities.
- Coached and mentored educators in curriculum development, classroom culture, and student development analysis.
- Designed assessments collaboratively to guide narrative writing that shared student growth and development.
- Planned collaboratively with teachers and museum administration for preschool program's progress and growth.
- Conducted regular formal meetings with families to discuss social learning environment, inquiry experiences, and child growth and development.
- Organized family coffees to discuss child development and other parenting topics.
- Read and reviewed regular communication and yearly narratives before distribution to families.
- Represented preschool program at larger organization meetings and served as child development liaison.
EDUCATOR
THE NUEVA SCHOOL
08.2014 - 06.2017
- Lead and Mentor Educator
- Executed admissions activity sessions and analyzed individual participants.
- Served as co-leader for parent information sessions.
- Regularly wrote and displayed documentation as communication for making learning visible.
- Performed ongoing assessments and completed written narratives communicating individual growth and development.
- Co-negotiated, integrated curriculum with children and specialist teachers.
LECTURER
Columbia College Chicago
09.2009 - 06.2014
- Courses: Foundations II: Philosophy and Curriculum; Materials and Art Making Explorations: Languages of Early Childhood; Lifespan Development; Children's Literature, Foundations I: History and Introduction to Early Childhood Education Language Development; Brain Basics; Construction of Ideas in Early Childhood Education; Primary Math, Science, and Technology Methods; History and Philosophy of Early Childhood Education; Introduction to Early Childhood Education
- Served as student teacher supervisor and conducted student teacher placements in area elementary schools.
- Mentored and advised students on careers in early childhood education.
- Presented and participated in conferences and professional development opportunities to stay up-to-date with latest trends in field.
- Created positive and safe learning environment by building strong rapport with students through class discussions and academic advisement.
- Collaborated with colleagues to create meaningful and provocative learning experiences.
- Created and designed quizzes, tests, and projects to assess student learning and growing knowledge.
- Developed and implemented innovative teaching strategies, including variety of learning modalities and technology, to engage students in discussions and coursework and facilitate learning.
- Assessed students' progress and provided feedback to enhance learning.
- Taught diverse student population by employing various learning styles and abilities.
EDUCATOR
Hubbard Woods Elementary School
08.1999 - 06.2007
- Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten
- Mixed age classroom
EDUCATOR
Bateman Elementary School
10.1998 - 06.1999
- State Pre-Kindergarten
TEACHING ASSOCIATE
Hubbard Woods Elementary School
08.1996 - 06.1999
- Junior & Senior Kindergarten and First Grade
Education
Master of Education M.Ed. Early Childhood Leadership and Advocacy -
National-Louis University
Bachelor of Science B.S., Elementary Education: Leadership & Advocacy Scholarship; Dean's List -
University of Iowa
Skills
- Administrative Systems / Processes
- Coaching / Mentoring
- Program Development / Budgets
- Strategic Partnerships
- Justice & Equity Advocate
- Learning Environment Design
- Pedagogical Documentation
- Inquiry-Based Curriculum Development
Professional Consulting And Presentations
- World Forum Foundation, Macao China, April 2019, Synthesizing Perspectives on Children's Rights
- ECSTEM Fall Symposium, October 2018, Think, Make, Try: Design Thinking and Integrated STEM Learning Through Child-Created Spaces
- World Forum Foundation, Auckland New Zealand, May 2017, Children as Peace builders: Laying a Foundation through Mindfulness, Social Emotional Learning, and Connection to Family and Community
- National Association for the Education of Young Children Conference (NAEYC), Orlando, FL, 2015, Constructivist use of Technology in Early Childhood
- North Park Village Nature Center, Hawkins Exhibit Gathering, Chicago, 2014, Messing About; Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math in Nature
- Christopher House, Chicago, IL, 2013 - 2014, Early Mathematics Learning Communities, Birth - School Ages
Professional Development And Committees
- Boulder Journey School, Boulder, CO (Preschool) and University of Colorado, Denver, 2019, Contextual Curriculum at Google, Mountain View, CA with Alison Maher and Andrea Sisbarro of Boulder Journey School
- Boulder Journey School Summer Conference, 2018
- Reggio Inspired Teacher Educators Summit with Dr. Carlina Rinaldi, 2018
- Science and Citizenship: A Day of Learning, 2017
- Hawkins Inspired Think Tank, 2017
- Reggio Educators Symposium with Dr. Carlina Rinaldi and Dr. Mary Catherine Bateson, 2014
- Cultivate the Scientist in Every Child: The Philosophy of Frances and David Hawkins, 2013
Education Initiative
CULTIVATING the EARLY YEARS (CEY), www.cultivatingey.com, 2013 - 2015, CO-FOUNDER Established nonprofit professional network and consulting organization that connects teachers and collaborates with other early years organizations to create change through dissemination of information, resources, and professional development through collaboration. Developed and hosted workshop and seminar series, a summer institute, consulting and in-house workshops. Incorporated extensive experience with the Reggio Emilia approach. Supported social constructivist learning, and embraced theories including Dewey, Freire, Hawkins, and Malaguzzi, and contemporary thought leaders.
Professional Development Experiences And Curriculum
- Mentor Student Teachers: Mentor New Teachers: Language Arts Curriculum Committee; Kindergarten
- Grade Level Chair: One-One Reading Intervention: Reading Tutoring
- Additional Professional Development: Experiences & Curriculum: Great Books; Shared Inquiry, School District #36; Roland Barth, Darrell Morris, Paul Trafton, Orton Gillingham, Foundations - Wilson-Language Basics for K-3, Cognitive Guided Instruction with University of Wisconsin, Madison
Leadership Experience
THE DISCOVERY SCHOOL, Sausalito, CA, HEAD OF SCHOOL, Preschool, 2017 - 2023
Timeline
Assistant Director of K-12 Partnerships
Great Books Foundation
02.2023 - Current
Adjunct Lecturer
University Of Colorado Denver
01.2021 - Current
HEAD OF SCHOOL
THE DISCOVERY SCHOOL
07.2017 - 02.2023
EDUCATOR
THE NUEVA SCHOOL
08.2014 - 06.2017
LECTURER
Columbia College Chicago
09.2009 - 06.2014
EDUCATOR
Hubbard Woods Elementary School
08.1999 - 06.2007
EDUCATOR
Bateman Elementary School
10.1998 - 06.1999
TEACHING ASSOCIATE
Hubbard Woods Elementary School
08.1996 - 06.1999
Master of Education M.Ed. Early Childhood Leadership and Advocacy -
National-Louis University
Bachelor of Science B.S., Elementary Education: Leadership & Advocacy Scholarship; Dean's List -
University of Iowa
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