Special Education Teacher | Iowa City Community School District, Iowa City, IA | 2019 - present
  • Liberty High School Special Education Teacher
    • Provide special education case management for a combined Strat I and Strat II roster of students with a range of disabilities. 
    • Teach a variety of special education, co-taught, and general education courses including Fundamentals of English Language Arts, Fundamentals of Math, Fundamentals of Science, Fundamentals of Social Studies, Learning Support, Co-taught Earth-Space Science, and Peer-to-Peer.
    • Provided case management and instruction fully remote in the 2020-2021 school year.
  • Instructional Design Strategist/Special Education Coach
    • Partner with the district Special Education Leadership team and the district Teacher Leadership team to provide instructional coaching, consultation, and collaboration to all special education teachers at Liberty High School and the district's Online Learning Program.
    • Provide a second layer of support to all general education teachers with a focus on supporting students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment.
    • Provide coaching aligned with initiatives on equity, culturally responsive teaching, and grading for equity
    •  Lead professional learning communities, and provide ongoing professional development.
Research Scientist | Iowa Reading Research Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA | 2016 - 2019
  • Key projects include: Intensive Summer Reading Program Study, Online Dyslexia Training, Phonics Curriculum Review, Summer School Evaluation, Early Literacy Blueprint Initiative.
  • My primary role was to support the Iowa Reading Research Center by managing data and conducting classroom observations and a secondary role was to support the professional development initiatives. Most were observational, though one was a cluster RCT study. Responsibilities and accomplishments include:
    • Develop and implement coding systems and surveys to evaluate classroom practices and fidelity of instruction including supervision of a team of coders
    • Design and maintain databases of incoming student and teacher data
    • Develop and provided professional development on effective literacy instruction for K-5 teachers including Iowa’s High-Priority Milestones for K-3 Reading Development
    • Conduct curriculum reviews to advise districts on purchasing options
    • Produce final reports for stakeholders and peer-reviewed publications
 
Associate in Research | Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL | 2012 - 2016
  • Key projects include: Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast -  Mississippi Literacy Coaches and Professional Development, Evaluation of Florida's Lowest-Performing Elementary Schools in Reading, Characteristics of Effective School Leaders in Florida, North Carolina Educational Leaders, Review of Studies on Adolescent Literacy Interventions; Florida Learning Disabilities Research Center; Reading for Understanding -  Florida Assessments in Instruction for Reading Psychometric and Norming Study.
  • My primary role was to be a methodologist for the Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast, the Florida Learning Disabilities Research Center, and the Reading for Understanding grants. Most of the studies were observational or QED studies. Responsibilities and accomplishments included:
    • Conducted needs sensing with state and district personnel to develop research studies around their high priority educational needs
    • Write proposals to secure funding and produce timely reports to maintain funding
    • Project management to ensure timelines were met within the allocated budget
    • Provide capacity building professional development to state-level administrators on conducted structured interviews and classroom observations to collect data for informed decision making
    • Develop an IRT based teacher knowledge measure of early literacy instruction
    • Develop and analyze a classroom observation tool for literacy coaches
    • Supervise research staff including undergraduate and graduate students, and oversee a field team of 100+ data collectors across Florida
    • Analyze data: state-wide, longitudinal administrative data; K-12 test development data; classroom observation data; teacher knowledge data; and student data
    • Produce interim and final reports for stakeholders including peer-reviewed publications
 
Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training Fellow | Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL | 2007 - 2011
  • Key projects include: Florida Learning Disability Research Center “School-based classification and prevention,” Reading for Understanding grant “Teaching Expository Text Structure.”
  • My primary role was to support the lead investigators on their studies in an increasing capacity during my doctoral training. All studies were RCTs or QEDs. Responsibilities and accomplishments include:
    • Assist in developing intervention materials such as teachers guides and student consumables and providing professional development to teachers participating in the research
    • Project management to ensure timelines were met within the allocated budget including supervising and training research staff including 20+ data collectors each semester
    • Direct intervention to struggling readers in early elementary school and administering a variety of psychoeducational assessments to students
    • Data entry, management, and analysis including code classroom observations and conducting literature reviews
    • Producing final reports for peer-reviewed publications
 
Adjunct Professor | Special Education Program, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL | 2008-2012      
  • I taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate level courses on an as needed basis. Depending on the course and semester, I was either a teaching assistant (Positive Behavioral Supports [Online course], Direct Instruction reading), practicum supervisor (Low Incidence Practicum), or adjunct professor (Low incidence teaching methods [graduate course], Educational assessment of disabilities, Low incidence disabilities, Direct Instruction reading). Responsibilities include:
    • Text book selection, content development, and lecture and assignment preparation
    • Maintaining online content to support learning
    • Grading tests and assignments
    • Direct supervision of classroom teaching
 
Special Education Teacher | Leon County School District, Tallahassee, FL | 2005 - 2007
  • Gretchen Everhart School
    • I was the lead teacher in the post-secondary program for students with a variety of intellectual, emotional, and/or behavioral disabilities.  I taught academic, life, social, and vocational skills.  
    • I taught in both the before and after school program.  I taught students in elementary through post-secondary through a computer skills class and a reading/writing enrichment class.
    • I spent one summer teaching the middle school class during the Extended School Year Program. 
  • Lincoln High School
    • At the end of my internship I was hired as a temporary teacher for the remainder of the year.  I taught 60 students over 4 classes in one of two courses - Career Preparation or Basic Math. 
 
Research and Teaching Assistant | Special Education Program, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL | 2003 - 2005
  • I was a research and teaching assistant to the special education program in a variety of capacities including assistant to the program coordinator of the Childhood Education, Reading and Disability Services, assistant developer of the first online Autism course at FSU, data collector for a doctoral student, and teaching assistant for two courses (Educational assessment of students with disabilities, and Curriculum for middle and high school students with disabilities [graduate course])