Who are the STRETCh Instructors?

Heidi Williams

I am a retired K-12 educator and have dedciated my career and now volunteer time to maximzing the potential in each and every child! Differentiating and allowing students to discover and nurture their gifts and talents has always been my passion.

STRETCh was created from a gifted and talented position I held from 2008 - 2012. In a district of extremely high performing students, I quickly found out that all students should be afforded the opportunity to engage in learning that is 'just beyond' their reach.

Ashley Kitzerow

Ever since I was a child I have loved to read. Throughout my entire life I was lucky enough to be surrounded by literature and a mom who inspired me. My mom, Heidi Williams, not only gave me a love of reading, but also of inspiring the next generation by teaching. I went to UW-Whitewater to get my Undergraduate in Elementary education with a minor in English education. For four years I had the amazing opportunity to teach first grade and this is where I developed my love of phonics and talking about books with kids.

Often times in traditional classrooms children are not given an opportunity to lead discussions and simply just talk. My goal as a STRETCh Instructor is to use technology to create a forum where readers can be allowed to lead the discussions without being worried about giving the teacher the "most right answer". I have shifted by focus to being a silent observer of these conversations and looking for patterns of language being used. This helps me make intentional connections with the soft skills of collaboration, creativity, and social emotional learning. It also helps me identify patterns of thinking and allows me to clear up misconceptions.