Experienced Expert Secondary English Teacher for Reading, Writing, Grammar and Test Prep

Karen's resume

Experience
Perspectives Rodney D. Joslin Campus, Chicago, IL
Instructional Leader, August, 2016 – Present
Coach and develop a pair of teachers using a Leverage Leadership model; led team to get the most growth in the network in the areas of classroom culture, building relationships, student engagement, and lesson structure and routines

Dean of School Culture, August, 2014 – Present
Coach and develop a team of 5-7 teachers and facilitate bi-weekly professional development around classroom management, intellectual climate, and school-wide culture
Develop and implement monthly school-wide incentives and quarterly student celebrations
Utilize restorative practices to facilitate student accountability and decrease detention and suspension rate
As a member of the leadership team, successfully implemented initiatives that increased attendance, on-time to school and class rates, and GPA

Teacher/Master Teacher, August, 2007 – Present
Courses taught: English III, English IV, AP Language & Composition, Reading, Humanities, Composition, Communication
Analyzed student data on daily assessments, major assessments, and the ACT to target student growth and mastery of standards, which resulted in an average English ACT growth of 3.2 points and reading ACT growth of 1.9 points
As an English teacher and member of the leadership team in 2015, led the school to the second highest one-year ACT growth of charter schools in Chicago and the 11th highest one-year growth of all 168 Chicago public school
Consistently achieved highest growth in the Perspectives network on English quarterly assessments
Served as the 11th/12th grade team leader from 2009-2014; duties included overseeing team meetings about curriculum, the discipline intervention process, up-coming assemblies, and field studies

Debate Team Founder & Coach, September, 2011 – June 2014
During our final season, competed in finals rounds and won top team and individual speaker awards at every tournament, including the dual-conference Mid-Season Classic and all-conference City Championship
Invited to compete and participate in prestigious tournaments and events, including the Allstate Varsity Debate Invitational, the Citibank Financial Literacy Debates, and the CDL Annual Luncheon
Winner of the 2014 Chicago Debate League Richard M. Daley Leadership Award
Runner-up in the National Association of Urban Debate League’s 2014 Debater of the Year competition

TestWatch TestPrep, Chicago, IL
Instructor, Trainer, Associate Program & Curriculum Developer, January, 2001 – March, 2009
Taught ACT, PSAT, and SAT courses and trained other instructors to teach the courses
Revised and developed new curriculum for the English and reading sections of the ACT course
Developed connections with area schools and initiated a new partnership with Maine East High School

Activities
Peace & Leadership Team Founder & Adviser, Perspectives Rodney D. Joslin Campus
2014 – 2016
Debate Team Founder & Coach, Perspectives Rodney D. Joslin Campus 2011 – 2014
Newspaper Club Co-Founder & Co-Adviser, Perspectives Rodney D. Joslin Campus
2009 – 2011

Education
University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Instructional Leadership, December, 2006
Concentration in Secondary English Education with a Middle School Language Arts Endorsement
GPA: 4.0

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Spanish, May, 2000
Minors in English and cinema studies
GPA: 3.4

Service
Center on Halsted, Chicago, IL
Volunteer, February 2017 – Present

Facing History and Ourselves, Chicago, IL
Teacher Liaison, September, 2015 – Present

WE Schools, Chicago, IL
Teacher Liaison, September 2014 – Present

Honors & Publications
Pi Lambda Theta National Honor Society
University of Illinois – Chicago School of Education Dean’s List (2004 – 2006)
Contributed blog post to Argument-Centered Education (ACE) “The Debatifier” (2015)
Perspectives Charter Schools “A Disciplined Life” Award Recipient (2016)