Work History

Education Work History

Certification:

Illinois Professional Educator License #2026655, IEIN #684564

Approved Program/Endorsements: English Language Arts, Reading Specialist, Secondary Education

Education:

Aurora University, Master of the Arts in Reading Instruction, December 2011

Bradley University, Bachelor of the Arts in English-Teaching, May 2005

Joliet Catholic Academy, High School Diploma, with Honors, May 2000

2012-present Guilford High School, Rockford

Classes Taught:

  • English 12 - AP Literature & Composition (2016-present)

    • Students develop critical language, analysis, and interpretive skills in extremely complex text

    • Students also develop the skills to communicate their analysis clearly and thoroughly

  • English 12 - British Literature (2015-present)

    • Helped students develop...

    • ... reading strategies and methods to successfully encounter college level text

    • ... college-level writing skills for essays, personal statements, and other assorted writing tasks

    • ... speaking and presentation skills using multimedia technology

    • ... collaboration skills through self-guided projects and ongoing peer assessment

  • English 11 - American Literature (2017-present)

    • Helped students develop...

    • ... reading strategies and methods to successfully encounter difficult text

    • ... analytical writing skills for essays, persuasion, and other assorted writing tasks

    • ... speaking and presentation skills using multimedia technology

    • ... collaboration skills through self-guided projects and ongoing peer assessment

  • English 12 - Capstone (2016/17, + curriculum development)

    • Students developed independent learning projects connected with the community through which they learned how to interact professionally, research information, compile reports, and deliver professional presentations on their efforts

  • ACT Prep (2015/16, + extra tutoring)

    • Helped students increase ACT Reading and English scores by an average of 6+ points in a semester

  • Literacy - Janet Allen's Plugged In to Non-Fiction (2012-2016)

    • Helped students develop reading strategies to comprehend complex text.

    • Increased student Lexile scores by an average of 100-200 points in a single year

  • Literacy - Read 180, System 44 (2012-2014)

    • Helped students learn phonics through basic comprehension skills

    • Many students grew 2-3 years of reading skill in one year

    • One student grew from illiteracy to 5th grade reading in a single year

Extra-Curricular Activities

  • Chess Team Coach (2012-present)

    • Developed a chess team structure that fosters independent skill growth and student-led leadership

    • Created a strong team environment that encourages collaboration while maintaining individual motivation and competition

    • See my chess background here

  • Scholastic Bowl Co-Coach (2012-2014)

Committees:

  • Building Committee (2012-present)

    • Worked with the teacher representatives and administrative representatives to resolve building level issues through clear communication and collaboration

  • Grading Committee (2019-present)

    • Worked with a team of teachers to develop common practices and expectations for grading and using the online gradebook in order to help communicate about grades with students, parents, and support staff

  • Capstone Curriculum Committee (2015-2017)

    • Worked with a team of teachers to develop a curriculum open enough to include a wide range of student-selected Capstone projects while maintaining the assessment needs and skill development required of high school curriculum

    • Through a constant reassessment process, we updated and changed the curriculum as needed to meet the needs of students, community support team, and teachers

2012-2016 DeKalb High School

Class Taught - Summer School Speech

    • 20 4-hour days

    • Class size 25-32

2007-2012 Marengo Community High School, Marengo

Class Taught:

  • Summer School Reading Workshop

  • English 10

  • English 10 Honors

  • English 12 - Senior Literature

  • English 12 - College Writing

  • Advanced Speech

Extra-Curricular Activities

  • Class of 2011 Class Sponsor (4 years)

  • Chess Club Sponsor (2007-08)

  • Chess Team Coach (2008-12)

Committees

  • English 12 Curriculum Team

  • Career Committee

2006-2007 Woodruff High School, Peoria

Classes Taught

  • English 9 - Speech

  • English 10

Extra-Curricular Activities

  • Chess Club co-sponsor

2005-2006 Washington Gifted School, Peoria

Classes Taught

  • 6th Grade Reading

  • 7th Grade Speech

  • 8th Grade Debate

  • 7th Grade English

Extra-Curricular Activities

  • Boys Softball Coach (Fall)

  • Boys Basketball Coach (Winter)

  • Chess Club Sponsor (Spring)

Other Work

2007-2009 Huntington Learning Center, Rockford

  • Tutored K-12 students in mathematics and reading

  • ACT tutoring of all 5 ACT tests

2005-2007 Blockbuster Video, Peoria & Rockford

  • Customer Service in film recommendation and accommodation

  • Sales of video selections, extra purchases, and various customer programs

  • Placement, stocking, and warehousing of videos and other merchandise

2001-2005 Domino's Pizza, Peoria

  • Customer Service Representative, take orders from customers in person and via phone, respond to customer comments

  • Pizza Cook, make orders of all items

2000-2005 Meijer, Bolingbrook

  • Front-End Supervisor, charged with managing cashiers, baggers, and customer service desk representatives throughout a shift

  • Customer Service Representative, charged with operating the service desk and accommodating customer returns and exchanges

  • Cashier

1999-2004 Bolingbrook Park District

  • Day Camp Counselor, 3 summers

  • Remington Lakes Sports Complex Field Supervisor

1998-1999 Target, Bolingbrook

  • Customer Service Representative

  • Electronics Department Lead

1997-1998 Jewel-Osco, Bolingbrook

  • Front-End Service Representative, Bagger

  • Produce Department.