Development

Six years ago I began the CTI journey with the Moreno Valley Unified School District. I was lucky enough to be paired with two wonderful coaches that were very patient and guided me through the process with their extensive knowledge of the special education program and community.

In the Fullerton School District I've had the opportunity to continue to develop my skills as an Education Specialist to continue learning and growing to better serve students in my community.

Looking back at my initial goals, I can say with certainty I achieved every single one. As I began my journey my goals began to be shaped by the experiences I was living and wanted to live with my student population, my professional community, and the community my school was in. As I reflect upon these years, I have gained so much confidence in my abilities to serve students in the best way possible.

Potential Goals to achieve during Induction.

Mission Statement

It is my mission to use my skills and knowledge to help shape the lives of children in ways that help them become 21st Century scholars and contributing members of society. Shaping them through the use of data driven strategies techniques, culturally responsive techniques, and addressing their every single need through academic and emotional supports.

This Induction Journey has helped me make this mission a reality. Through my goals I have learned to use Purpose as a guiding tool. Every goal was set with purpose and understanding of why it was important and how it would be achieva

Throughout the Years

The first year of induction was filled with questions and uncertainty. I had so many questions about behavior management. I wanted to ensure I was using the right strategies for my students. Doing them a disservice is always a concern. Through my ILP I chose to create and improve upon management techniques using a wide variety of tools, some created by me and others in some form of technological tools.

I created a system of student engagement for behavior management. Students became active participants and seeing themselves "moving forward" was something they looked forward to every day. Being a sports fanatic and understanding that many of the students who really needed this system were also sports fans. The system was a success the first year and continues to matter today.

I was one of the first teachers at my site to engage in the continuous Class Dojo usage to ensure that I was keeping track of behavior and that parents were staying connected and informed on their child's behavior progress throughout the school year. Class Dojo became a regular tool of communication. Another tool I also use regularly today.

Working Community

As an educator I understand the importance of collaboration and professional community involvement. Through my first year of induction I made it my point to collaborate with colleagues. I worked to improve my collaborative opportunities with other professionals outside the ones I already engaged with on a regular basis. There was an opportunity for me to volunteer to join a Collaborating Cohort of Teachers for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. We were to test specific reading strategies for lower ability students. In this Cohort we wanted to ensure that we were collecting appropriate data to assess the reliability of this teaching strategy. We would reconvene bi-weekly to discuss progress or lack thereof. In the discussions we would include our successes and challenges and we would begin talking about how we would shape our strategy as needed per our selected student population. This community of professionals was doing all of this by using our own time and resources. I am incredibly thankful I volunteered because not only did I learn how to create and assess data driven strategies but also built long lasting professional relationships with the people involved.

Continued...

The 2020 year was a surprise for us all. We've were met with a challenge that none of us had ever imagined. That year would be more purposeful for me. I wanted to take every goal and really make it mean much more. I was focusing on preparing myself for the students in my classroom. One of the biggest challenges to date had been being prepared for students who were under the Autism umbrella. Currently I serve 5 students under that umbrella, so preparing myself for them in every way I could was a priority.

Reaching out to the district I was invited to an exclusive training for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) with the Autism Partnership Foundation in conjunction with the Moreno Valley Unified School District for an intensive hands-on look at working with students with Autism. The training consisted of 2 lecture days and 4 hands-on activity days. The training was so incredibly fulfilling. I walked in and out every day from it feeling like I had gained much more knowledge and felt empowered to give my students the tools they needed. It also involved an incredible amount of self-reflection.

In my classroom, understanding and supporting students emotionally is a top priority.

Before the year began I planned to do something different for my students. Based on their diversity of needs and how much emotional support they would need I decided to roll out a Flexible Seating Plan for my students. I knew that it would come with its many challenges but I believed that if I was deliberate with the plan and made routines and procedures clear that the students could benefit greatly from it. Lo and behold it worked fabulously well.

By introducing flexible seating we increased engagement and improved disruptive behavior. We also reduced distractions by removing desks and backpacks from student's arm's reach. The flexible seating met students physiological, emotional, and academic needs in a better way than I had anticipated.

Distance Learning

Lastly, we have been through literally a world of change the past few months. Never did we imagine that we would be living a situation like the Pandemic lock down. That experience was so unexpected and frightening. I began to experience so much anxiety. But I didn't just worry about me and mine. I also worried about my students and their families. Especially those with essential workers and those whose families lost some form of income. It is absolutely devastating to even imagine.

Certainly, I was more than willing to begin connecting with my students through platforms like Zoom. I was actually so excited that I needed to be reminded to slow down because the district had to work on some information for us first. We then received the green light to begin professional development training through zoom and other digital resources. I eagerly joined as many trainings as I could. I then began to vet which programs I would use and which I would rather not.

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