Deanna Slattery Email & Phone Number

My career in education has taken me from the elementary classroom to teaching adult English language learners to coaching teachers and coordinating testing in a K-8 setting. While I found success as a classroom teacher, I fell in love with my role as an Instructional Coach. My success as a coach can be attributed to my ability to build relationships and effectively communicate, dedication and strong work ethic, my content knowledge and the role I play as a learner. The educational philosophy that drives my coaching with teachers includes three components, without which learning cannot take place: creating a safe space for learning, valuing student voices, and differentiating instruction to meet the needs of all learners. I believe that before we can reach any students, children or adults, we have to ensure a safe space for risk-taking in their learning. We must validate everyone's contributions to conversations to reinforce the idea of safety and value. Finally, we must honor that every learner has different needs and if the goal is to ensure understanding, as educators we are responsible for finding a way to reach them. As an Instructional Coach, I am a member of the school’s leadership team. I provide a voice in site-based decisions about staff, students, and community relations. As a department lead for language arts, social studies, and science, I facilitate meetings and support the planning of lessons and coaching teachers through content and instructional strategies. I also support teachers in the creation and curation of resources within units of study and monitor data to ensure the outcomes match our intentions.

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  Instructional Coach

  Orange County Public Schools