Context
Part 1:
I graduated from Montana State University in 2004 with a Bachelor’s in Science in Elementary Education with a K-8th certification and a Bachelor’s in Art in Modern Languages and Literature in Spanish with a teaching option and K-12 certification. I then continued my education and received a Master’s Degree from Montana State University- Billings in School Counseling with a K-12 Certification, and then obtained my LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor) as a therapist.
My first position in education was as a dean of students at Canyon Creek School. I was a part time dean of students and part time teacher teaching 6-8 courses. This was an incredibly challenging job as a 23 years old new to the education profession. I wore many hats at Canyon Creek which also included basketball coach, volleyball coach, athletic director, and class sponsor.
Then I went to the country of Bolivia in South America and team taught 5th-6th grade for 3 year in an international school. Again I had the opportunity to teach several junior high and high school courses, coach basketball, track, and volleyball. I also served as the athletic director for one year. I worked with a population of students from all over the world, all of whom spoke multiple languages and came from a myriad of cultural backgrounds.
Upon returning to Montana, I taught English at Castle Rock Middle School for two years. I taught enriched English, 7th and 8th grade English, and a remedial English. I also coached boys and girls basketball, volleyball, and track.
Currently I work at Ponderosa Elementary as the school counselor in a K-5th grade school. This is my 9th year here at the school, and I am currently the longest tenured certified staff member at the school. We are currently a Title I that has a student population 100% below the poverty line. We have a lot of ethnic and cultural diversity among the student body. We also have incredible academic, behavioral, and social challenges with our students. There is a very high population of minority students at the school including Native American, African, and Hispanic students. There is also a very high transient population of students. Our population is a population of students that have a lot of trauma in their backgrounds, which significantly contributes to the behavioral challenges that the school faces.
In response to the unique challenges that the school faces, I have essentially developed and created my own curriculum, philosophy, and implementation of a school counseling program to meet the needs of the school. This includes but is not limited to unique curriculum delivered in weekly lessons to each class, creating and conducting a lunch recess intervention, Red Ribbon Week activities, Behavioral Tiered intervention, small groups, individual counseling, and Ron Clark house activities. I have developed lessons for every week of the school year which included Kelso’s Choices, The Zones of Regulation, Brooks Gibbs Bullying Program, grown mindset lessons, and education and career readiness.
During my time as the school counselor at Ponderosa Elementary I have had the opportunity to have multiple professional development experiences. In 2015-2016 I was a member of the Elementary Suicidal Protocol Committee. On this committee we researched, wrote, and implemented an entirely new protocol for suicide procedures for the district. This then also served for the template which was adapted for middle school and high school suicidal protocol as well. Since that time I have also served as a member of the Crisis Response Team for the district. I am a member of my local union and a member of ASCA (Association of School Counselors of America). I also was an adjunct professor teaching grad classes at MSU-Billings from 2015-2018 and a member of the Human Rights Task Force with the City of Billings in 2018, and a member of the Board of Ministry at Faith E Church from 2015- present. I am a therapist seeing clients after school hours. I am certified in several trauma related therapy approaches including EMDR and TF-CBT and specialize in working with males teenage and young adults dealing with a variety of mental health disorders and struggles. After several years of work I achieved National Board Certification in School Counseling in 2017. Finally, I have joined the TLI Cohort for the 2019-2020 school year.
Part 2:
How does awareness of your own biases, experiences of privilege, and personal values inform your chosen instructional project? There are numerous ways that my own biases, experiences of privilege, and personal values inform my chosen instructional project. Through the modules, discussions, and assignments in TLI I have developed a far greater awareness of many biases that I have had. I realized that I have simply accepted things that I never should accept. I have realized through this process that I have always believed that because I am Caucasian that I will not be able to connect with some of our minority students, or understand their families and cultures. This program has helped me become aware of that bias, challenge it, and find the resources and mentors to help me to move past it. There may be limitations, and there will definitely be and have been barriers and obstacles, but these do not define my effectiveness. One of the biggest ways that I have realized my own privilege is because I was raised in a two parent home with highly educated parents. In my home it was an expectation that we would do our best in school and eventually go to college. I was raised with a respect and understanding that I could achieve success in academics, which would lead to opportunities. Many of our students are not raised with the belief that they can be successful. This awareness has led me to intentionally work to cultivate this belief in students.
At the beginning of the TLI program, at which level (emerging, developing, performing, or transforming) in the progressions did you place yourself for each of your four chosen Competencies? Provide rational for each claim.
Overarching Competency #1 Personal Effectiveness: Developing approaching Performing
I believe that I have been operating at a Developing level and have perhaps achieved some of the description of Performing. This list gives me specific areas to target to intentionally improve. I need to focus on evidence like prioritize duties of teacher leader with other professional responsibilities. I also want to intentionally work to help others to respond to adversity, and take strategic risks in achieving some of my goals for this year.
Overarching Competency #2 Reflective Practice: Developing
I think that I have demonstrated many of the descriptive evidence for Developing, but not all the evidence for Performing. I have begun to learn to utilize data to develop plan, but have not done it in a very strategic and intentional way that also engages diverse stakeholders.
Diversity-Equity-Cultural Competency- Collaborate Purposefully: Developing
I have done a good job, specifically in my lessons and small groups of recognizing and respecting the difference between students regarding diversity, equity, and culture. I am very comfortable discussing these topics, and when I develop strong relationships with students, they have demonstrated the willingness to discuss these topics with me. I also recognize that even with as many years of experience at Ponderosa that was raised very differently than most of our students. It is a continual learning process, and there is so much room for growth for me.
Instructional Competency- Coaching and Mentoring: Emerging
As I have examined and reflected on the descriptions in this competency, I have recognized that I am at the beginning stages of developing this. In fact I have shied away from it. Several years ago I had a teacher that went to the principal and complained about me repeatedly throughout the year. There could be many reasons for this, but the bottom line is that her complaints always centered around me over stepping my authority. I had an incredibly strong reaction to this, and can now recognize that it has caused me to actively avoid assuming any role as a mentor or coach. I am currently the longest tenured certified staff member at our school and the school counselor. I am uniquely positioned to assume leadership, support other staff, and provide direction, vision and insight to our school. Unfortunately, I have squandered that opportunity.
Describe your work with diverse stakeholders, shared learning experiences, and how you anticipate your instructional mindset might evolve during the TLI process. This year I have been working toward RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) certification while simultaneously participating in TLI. Part of this program is to develop a school counseling advisory committee. I have been carefully discussing with my principal who important stakeholders may be that represent different facets of our school, culture, needs, and groups. I believe that putting the right people in these roles, will really enhance my school counseling program and development as a leader through TLI. I think that gathering different opinions, ideas, and perspectives will help me to more accurately identify needs, interventions, and strategies. I also believe that tapping into the expertise and skills of the right professionals will help the school counseling interventions to be much more effective.
Describe how your awareness of those from different cultures, experiences, and backgrounds inform your chosen project. As I am working toward my TLI Capstone, I have realized the diversity that is represented in our student body. Our students are coming into kindergarten from incredibly different ethnic, socio-economic, political, and familial structures. These students are coming in with all kinds of different perceptions of the world, school, and themselves. One example is a first grade boy that I was working with this year was telling me about his dad getting arrested and taken away the night before. His uncle and stepmom were also arrested. He seemed more concerned that he couldn't sleep and was up late than in the arrest. Then it occurred to me and I asked him if it was normal for adults to get arrested. He matter of factly told me that all adults get arrested, except his 80 year old grandma. This poignantly demonstrates how "normal" can be very different for our diverse students. We can't assume that our incoming kindergarteners have the social skills, self-regulations skills, or even the background information about content or social expectations to enable them to achieve success.