Katie

Certified Tutor

As an advocate of the democratic classroom and a reciprocal lifelong learner, I am passionate and innovative about education; I strive to personally progress with new technologies and methods to encourage academic risk taking, set high expectations, and ensure all students achieve at their highest potentials. Years of experience with adolescents, in both urban and suburban environments, has allowed me to adapt an instructional perspective that caters to a diverse scope of learners. My educational background and diverse teaching experiences, present me as an exemplar of perseverance and passion, and confirm my ability to become a valuable member of your community.

Presently, I am working as an English teacher at a high school where I teach ninth, eleventh, and twelfth graders. Therefore, I have had experience transitioning students into high school, preparing students for the college application process, and supporting students transitioning to higher education and beyond. Before accepting the full-time teaching position in New Canaan, I fulfilled three long-term substitute positions; one at Sedgwick Middle School in West Hartford, one at Conard High School in West Hartford, and one at RHAM High School in Hebron. All of these positions have given me opportunities to teach students including those with learning disabilities and behavioral challenges as well as struggling readers and writers. Regardless of students' attitudes towards reading and writing when they enter my classroom, I am determined that they will leave my classroom more skilled and more committed to their own literacy. I differentiate instruction to ensure each student emerges as an individual. My aptitude for considering each student's abilities while I plan enables me to cultivate a positive learning environment in which every student is provided with the necessary resources he or she needs to succeed.

As a recent graduate from Central Connecticut State University's Master of Arts in Teaching program, my diverse experiences in the classroom, and my aptitude to connect to teenagers, I am confident in my ability to promote the best learning and social strategies to help students strive both inside and outside of the classroom.

My mentoring and tutoring experiences began while I was still in high school; my experience as a mentor in the Nutmeg Big Brother Big Sister program catalyzed my interest in becoming an educator. I graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in English. As a student at UCONN, I continued to participate in the Big Brother Big Sister program while also tutoring local high school students for the CAPT. After graduating from UCONN, I pursued a Master of Arts in Teaching at Central Connecticut State University where I worked with students in grades six through twelve during both the regular school year and summer school. Currently, as a high school English teacher at one of the most reputable high schools in Connecticut, I work directly with present and former students on classroom work and the college application process. My passion for teaching and reading and writing has allowed me to connect with even the most disengaged students as I strive to meet the needs of all students within my classroom.

Please contact me to learn more about my teaching style and schedule a lesson! I look forward to hearing from you.