Tia R. Thomas

I support teachers and administrators in using student performance data to inform and improve standards-based instruction; use performance data to facilitate small group interventions addressing learning gaps among 6th-grade ELA students; write and facilitate weekly professional development trainings for teachers to assist with classroom effectiveness, efficiency, and innovation; facilitate the onboarding process; support substitute teachers in ELA & Reading vacancies; initiate faculty coaching cycles according to the Jim Knight model of Instructional Coaching.

I support middle/high school administrators with federal compliance according to the Title 1, Part A grant project for the 22-23 fiscal year. I work with principals to ensure that narratives (SIP & PFEP) and budgets are also compliant and updated or amended throughout the year as necessary. I conduct virtual and in-person visits to verify that funds are expended in a timely manner and according to the approved schoolwide and parent engagement plans. Additionally, I am consistently improving upon my understanding of relevant federal law through continuous professional development and study of contemporary research.

Working directly under the Executive Director of Federal Programs, I wrote and enforced contracts with third-party institutions using funding from the Title 1, Part A grant project to provide specialized services to targeted students enrolled in Duval County Public Schools. I liaised with district Support Services supervisors to ensure that all contract services were performed and deliverables were submitted prior to payment.

I worked on an administrative leadership team to develop the teaching skills of ELA faculty and the comprehension skills of ELA students at every grade level. I worked with the Reading Coach to facilitate weekly professional development sessions to explicitly train the ELA faculty in the areas of standards-based instruction, progress monitoring, and test prep, and modeled data-based small group instruction. I supported ELA vacancies by creating lesson plans for substitute teachers, grading, or facilitating instruction as required. I also organized and facilitated ACT & SAT boot camps for 11th &12th-grade students and conducted pull-out sessions with 9th & 10th-grade ELA students preparing to take the Florida Scholastic Assessment (FSA) for the first time.

I prepared non-concordant 11th & 12th-grade students to pass the FSA Reading Retakes to satisfy the graduation requirement. Simultaneously, I prepared them to pass the ACT English and Writing & Language tests as well as the SAT Evidence-Based Reading & Writing tests which serve as concordant scores for graduation in the state of Florida. Since Florida’s reading curriculum stopped at 10th grade until 2021, I created one piecemeal to include intense, explicit instruction and practice in grammar, language conventions, the structure and function of argumentative writing, punctuation, test strategies, and how to efficiently understand and answer test questions during a timed test. I’m proud to say that every cohort I taught since 2017 boasted a 90% pass rate or higher and those students went on to be transferred to other classes having satisfied the requirement or became eligible for graduation.

I managed a $1.2M advertising budget and liaised with local news affiliates, cable networks, and print media companies to coordinate televised ad rotations and billboards. I cast and coordinated commercial shoots on the property using actual satisfied customers whom I followed up with personally after every sale. Conversely, I also acted as the customer relations manager when customers were dissatisfied with sales or service and facilitated the customer satisfaction process from start to finish. I acted as a personal assistant to the owner, handling many of his private sales and purchases. I compiled expense reports for Mr. Pierson and sales staff on a monthly basis and a $5K petty cash fund.

After passing a series of rigorous editing and proofreading exams to be considered for the county’s Curriculum & Assessment Writing Team, I led a team of reading specialists to create an original 10th-grade Intensive Reading curriculum transitioning teachers and students from the New Generation Sunshine State Standards to Common Core Standards. I communicated project expectations to team members and stakeholders to set tone for high productivity level to ensure that we were able to provide reading instructors with learning schedules, curriculum guides, and corresponding resources for effective instruction in fluency remediation. I worked to identify potential risks and devised contingency plans, preparing team members to avoid and respond promptly to possible obstacles.

I encouraged the synthesis of abstract literary and language concepts for low-level readers through the use of contemporary project-based learning. I supplemented the standard curriculum with more familiar media (i.e., music, film) to appreciate the humor and creativity of children and revised lesson plans and course content to achieve student-centered learning. I facilitated direct instruction in the areas of comprehension, vocabulary, analysis, and composition, and used learning assessments to regularly monitor student understanding of class concepts and materials.