PAULA BECHDIKIAN
Special Education Teacher, Mild/Moderate, K-12
Valencia, CA (current); Queen Creek, AZ (coming soon),CA
Summary
Accomplished education specialist with 30+ years of experience in designing, developing, and implementing various special education programs in accordance with local district policies by following state and federal laws and regulations. Worked with different age groups with learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, other health impairment, students with autism, behavior challenges, and emotional disturbances. Wrote initial, annual, triennial, and re-evaluation IEPs. Implemented academic, vocational, and/or behavior goals that are based on student's needs. Collaborated with general ed teachers, psychologists, and counselors to ensure student success. Conducted meetings with the IEP team in a timely manner.
Overview
3
3
Certifications
25
25
years of post-secondary education
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
Resource Specialist Teacher
Pacoima Middle School - Los Angeles Unified School
Pacoima, CA
08.2013 - Current
- Design standards-based curriculum aligned with school district's instructional outcomes that are geared towards helping students meet their IEP goals.
- Maintains accurate records pertaining to tracking student progress through assessments, completion of assignments and homework, and weekly tracker.
- Monitors and evaluates IEP goals every 10 and 20 weeks and provides feedback to students.
- Schedules annual, triennial, and re-evaluation of assigned students on caseload using school district's Welligent Management Systems.
- Facilitates IEP meetings when coordinator is unavailable.
- Administers District-appointed tests and teacher-made assessments to monitor student progress.
- Establishes systematic and effective English Language Development (ELD)program in Learning Center which helped reclassify 80% of long-term English Learners.
- Creates environment and atmosphere of respect and rapport between teacher, students, other adults/paraprofessionals in Learning Center.
- Promotes and facilitates effective teaching strategies (Kagan) in Learning Center using small groups and whole class to encourage active participation and minimize behavior issues.
•Organizes small, cooperative learning groups to facilitate more individualized instruction. - Enforces classroom rules, procedures, routines, and transitions in consistent manner to promote organization and facilitate learning to 15 students which resulted in better performance and submission of assignments.
- Encourages students to develop growth mindset attitude towards school and life in general despite their academic and behavior challenges.
- Acknowledges students' strengths and accomplishments by giving out certificates of appreciation and recognition.
- Advocates for parents and students with IEPs during teacher conferences and meetings with counselors or other general education teachers.
- Participates in faculty meetings and professional development training and engages actively in breakout rooms.
- Communicates with parents by providing updates and feedback on student's academic progress, work habits, and behavior.
Special Day Class Teacher
Sun Valley Middle School - Los Angeles Unified
Sun Valley, CA
08.2003 - 06.2013
- Modified lessons and curriculum to accommodate diverse learners by using strategies such as peer-assisted learning and group work.
- Scheduled 3 hours per week to provide academic support and tutoring to struggling students, resulting in more assignments turned in.
- Implemented Action Learning Systems (ALS) and various multi-modal strategies to engage students, increasing classroom collaboration in all subject areas.
- Instructed up to 20 students individually and in groups on English and History subjects.
- Met with students, parents and administrators to address and resolve students' behavioral and academic issues.
- Met with parents to resolve conflicting educational priorities and issues.
- Scheduled conferences with parents to discuss students' progress and classroom behavior.
- Maintained accurate and complete records for 20 students.
- Administered assessments to determine each student's specific educational and social needs.
- Created schedules and lesson plans for 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade English classes to increase student interest and participation.
- Assisted students of all ability levels develop life-long learning skills and good study habits.
- Developed and implemented classroom routines to address varying student needs.
Education
Authorization To Teach Students With Autism - Special Education
University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA 07.2005 - 12.2012
Level II Clear Credential Education Specialist - Special Education
National University
La Jolla, CA 04.2007 - 11.2008
Master of Education - Special Education
University of The Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 11.1988 - 11.2001
Bachelor of Arts - Psychology Teacher Education
De La Salle University
Taft Ave., Manila, Philippines 05.1984 - 09.1987
Skills
Child development
undefinedAccomplishments
- Trained fellow teachers on the procedures for completing Individual Education Plans.
- Collaborated with team of 4 in the development of Initial Assessments, Triennials, and Re-evaluations.
- Handled winter and summer ESY classes for 2 years using district-approved reading curricula.
- Taught 6 Long-term English Language Learners in the Learning Center which resulted in an 80% passing rate and reclassification.
- Taught Reading and Writing to an 8th-grade English Language Learner, which resulted in a 300-point increase in his Reading Inventory Test.
- Created Google spreadsheets for the entire special education department to keep track of the service minutes for students in the resource program.
Additional Information
I was able to help an 8th-grade behaviorally-challenging student to get all his grades up and eventually culminated, even though a lot of his teachers told him that he did not deserve to go up the stage.
I was also voted by my colleagues at Sun Valley Middle School to be the Teacher of the Month in April 2009.
Certification
ESEA Teacher Requirements: Certificate of Compliance - LAUSD Elementary Multiple Subjects (Special Education) - June 2015
Technical Skills
- Operates Learning management Systems (LMS) Platform - Schoology
- Trained and adept in the use of the Welligent Management System for IEP Writing
- Conducts Zoom meetings with students during remote learning
- Tools used: MS Office Suites, Google Suite
- Apps used in LMS: BrainPOP, IXL, Read Theory, Moby Max, newsELA, NearPod
- Utilizes other Google app extensions such as Kami, Grammarly (for students' writing), Google Jamboard
Timeline
Resource Specialist Teacher
Pacoima Middle School - Los Angeles Unified School
08.2013 - Current
Level II Clear Credential Education Specialist - Special Education
National University
04.2007 - 11.2008
Authorization To Teach Students With Autism - Special Education
University of California - Los Angeles
07.2005 - 12.2012
Special Day Class Teacher
Sun Valley Middle School - Los Angeles Unified
08.2003 - 06.2013
Master of Education - Special Education
University of The Philippines
11.1988 - 11.2001
Bachelor of Arts - Psychology Teacher Education
De La Salle University
05.1984 - 09.1987
Continuing Professional Development - Developing and Scoring High Quality Behavior Plans (LAUSD, Oct. 9, 2003)
ESEA Teacher Requirements: Certificate of Compliance - LAUSD Math (Special Education) - June 2015
ESEA Teacher Requirements: Certificate of Compliance - LAUSD Elementary Multiple Subjects (Special Education) - June 2015
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