Velma Kills Back
Porcupine,SD
Summary
Organized and dependable candidate successful at managing multiple priorities with a positive attitude. Willingness to take on added responsibilities to meet team goals. Detail-oriented team player with strong organizational skills. Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously with a high degree of accuracy. To seek and maintain full-time position that offers professional challenges utilizing interpersonal skills, excellent time management and problem-solving skills.
Overview
43
43
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Teacher
Oglala Lakota County School District
2023.08 - Current
- Planned and implemented integrated lessons to meet national standards.
- Worked cooperatively with other teachers, administrators, and parents to help students reach learning objectives.
- Supported student physical, mental, and social development using classroom games and activities.
- Graded and evaluated student assignments, papers, and course work.
- Incorporated multiple types of teaching strategies into classroom.
- Communicated frequently with parents, students, and faculty to provide feedback and discuss instructional strategies.
- Kept students on-task with proactive behavior modification and positive reinforcement strategies.
- Incorporated exciting and engaging activities to achieve student participation and hands-on learning.
- Participated in parent teacher conference to discuss developments of students and increase support.
- Registered student progress and attendance on database to enable tracking history and maintain accurate records.
- Conducted evaluations to measure performance and progress of students, providing guidance for areas requiring improvement.
- Developed and administered tests for students to measure academic proficiency and understanding.
- Supported student teachers by mentoring on classroom management, lesson planning, and activity organization.
- Worked with staff members and teachers to design comprehensive and individualized plans to optimize student education.
- Met with students, parents and administrators to address and resolve students' behavioral and academic issues.
- Created lessons and online testing materials to facilitate remote learning.
- Increased educational expertise and knowledge by participating in instructor-oriented workshops.
- Created and developed lesson plans to meet students' academic needs.
- Improved students' analytical skills by introducing state-of-the-art computer program technologies.
- Shifted between formal and informal methods of teaching to keep students engaged.
- Completed student progress reports mid-term to notify students and parents of strengths and areas of improvement.
- Designed detailed learning plans for struggling students based on test, homework and assignment records.
- Evaluated students' understanding of course material through examinations and in-depth essay writing.
- Modified lessons and curriculum to accommodate diverse learners by using strategies such as peer-assisted learning and group work.
- Boosted cultural awareness by incorporating children's literature from world cultures.
- Participated in department meetings to provide input to colleagues about student achievement and improvement.
Mentor Teacher
Oglala Lakota County School District
2018.08 - 2023.06
- Prepared instructional materials for group and one-on-one use to comply with established curriculum.
- Maintained inclusive learning environment to enable students to gain maximum benefit from lessons.
- Located materials and online resources by demonstrating use of equipment and software.
- Documented student behaviors, interventions, and outcomes to enable lead teacher to address pertinent issues.
- Proven ability to develop and implement creative solutions to complex problems.
- Skilled at working independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
- Participated in team projects, demonstrating an ability to work collaboratively and effectively.
- Acted as a team leader in group projects, delegating tasks and providing feedback.
Alternative Education Teacher/Ass't. Principal
Oglala Lakota County School District
2008.08 - 2018.06
- Mentored newly hired educators and provided encouragement and feedback.
- Defined and enforced student academic achievement standards in line with district goals and objectives.
- Monitored student behavior and enforced discipline policies.
- Performed classroom evaluations to assess teacher strategies and effectiveness.
- Trained teachers on effective teaching techniques, classroom management strategies, and behavior modification.
- Administered personnel policies and procedures for school faculty and staff.
- Cultivated positive relationships between community members, school students, and teachers.
Federal Programs Compliance Officer
Oglala Sioux Tribe
2006.06 - 2008.07
- Managed practical action plans to respond to audit discoveries and compliance violations.
- Implemented improvement initiatives and developed compliance testing program to monitor and identify gaps in new and existing practices.
- Collaborated with internal and external stakeholders, auditors and legal counsel to confirm compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
- Responded to employee inquiries regarding compliance regulations and procedures.
- Developed and maintained system for tracking and reporting compliance violations.
- Maintained up-to-date knowledge of current and emerging compliance regulations.
- Reviewed, revised and updated compliance policies and procedures to confirm continual compliance with applicable laws.
- Prepared and submitted regulatory filings in timely manner.
- Developed and maintained compliance database, tracking all compliance activities and documents.
- Assisted with internal and external audits to confirm compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
- Identified, investigated and documented compliance violations and recommended corrective measures.
- Warned violators of infractions or penalties.
- Assisted with development of compliance objectives and strategies.
- Evaluated and monitored supplier and partner relationships to support compliance.
- Advised clients on compliance fraud and investigations, as well as potential remedies and required actions.
- Conducted periodic compliance audits and reviews to identify areas of improvement.
Early Childhood Special Education Director
Oglala Sioux Tribe
1986.05 - 2006.06
- Oversaw operations and provided corrective feedback to achieve daily and long-term goals.
- Monitored office workflow and administrative processes to keep operations running smoothly.
- Managed daily operations while overseeing multiple locations to foster increased productivity.
- Worked closely with organizational leadership and board of directors to guide operational strategy.
- Drafted and distributed reports to assist board members with critical business decisions.
- Assisted in recruiting, hiring and training of team members.
- Trained and guided team members to maintain high productivity and performance metrics.
Special Education Teacher JH
Little Wound School
1981.08 - 1986.06
- Modified general education curriculum for special-needs students using various instructional techniques and technologies.
- Delivered effective and differentiated classroom instruction to range of neurodiverse students.
- Taught multiple subjects to students with intellectual or emotional disabilities.
- Cultivated connections and strong student rapport to foster classroom engagement, in addition to recording student progress to inform parents and school administration.
- Led activities that developed students' physical, emotional, and social growth.
- Created and managed IEPs to define student learning objectives and educational strategies, in addition to applying instructional knowledge and methods to support goals.
- Partnered with standard education teachers from across academic departments.
- Assisted struggling students to maintain progress levels by designing individualized lesson plans focused on areas for improvement.
- Instructed students with physical and cognitive disabilities.
- Taught students across multiple classifications and degrees of special needs.
- Worked with students with moderate to severe autism to increase life skills.
- Coordinated special education students and teacher assistant schedules with master schedule.
- Designed individual education plans to encourage student growth according to different learning abilities and needs.
- Conducted assessments of students to determine individual needs.
- Collaborated with other educators to develop instructional strategies.
Education
Master of Arts - Education Administration
Sinte Gleska University
Mission, SD08.2013
Master of Science - Early Childhood Special Education
Oglala Lakota College / University of South Dakota
Kyle, SD06.2004
Bachelor of Science - Elementary Education
Oglala Lakota College
Kyle, SD06.1984
Skills
- Group Instruction
- Curriculum Implementation
- Small Group Instruction
- Student Engagement
- Differentiated Instruction
- Positive Role Model and Mentor
- Curriculum Compliance With South Dakota
- Inquiry-Based Learning
- Lesson Planning
- Special Needs Students
- Curriculum Development
- Cultural Sensitivity
- Technology Integration
- ESL- English As Second Language
- Behavior Management
- Classroom Management
- Standardized Testing
- Social-Emotional Learning TrainingLa
- Fluent in Lakota Language, understand it and can write it. Have greater knowledge in history, culture, religion and a speaker on Lakota traditions, etc. Understand and identifying certain herbal Lakota medicine.
Accomplishments
Developed a Lakota Curriculum for grades 3-5
Developed a walk-through check-list for Principals
Created a Lakota studies program for Wolf Creek School
Helped in creating a syllabus for Lakota Language for South Dakota State University"s American Indian Studies
Helped in the development of a grant for the Humanities Dept for SDSU
Wrote the abstract for the AIS in the development of a grant to supplement their program in the area of Lakota Language and history
Was a part of a team that wrote a $300,000. grant for the SD Tourism historical maps
Did translations from English to Lakota for SDSU
(to name a few)
Certification
South Dakota State certified in Education Adminisration/Teacher
Civic Organizations
Board member for the Porcupine Clinic health board since it was developed till it was dissolved
School Board member for Porcupine School for 4 years
Northwest Area Coalition for 7 years which is a national organization for Head Start
Timeline
Teacher
Oglala Lakota County School District
2023.08 - Current
Mentor Teacher
Oglala Lakota County School District
2018.08 - 2023.06
Alternative Education Teacher/Ass't. Principal
Oglala Lakota County School District
2008.08 - 2018.06
Federal Programs Compliance Officer
Oglala Sioux Tribe
2006.06 - 2008.07
Early Childhood Special Education Director
Oglala Sioux Tribe
1986.05 - 2006.06
Special Education Teacher JH
Little Wound School
1981.08 - 1986.06
Master of Arts - Education Administration
Sinte Gleska University
Master of Science - Early Childhood Special Education
Oglala Lakota College / University of South Dakota
Bachelor of Science - Elementary Education
Oglala Lakota College
South Dakota State certified in Education Adminisration/Teacher
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