Upon my hiring as principal, I was tasked with changing what had been described as a disengaged and stagnant school culture. Early in my role, it became evident that students had previously felt profoundly disconnected from the post-secondary goals that give most schools their sense of inertia. Given this, I have worked hard to establish strong connections with staff, students, and families to infuse a sense of aspiration and to lay out clearer paths to individual student goals. My accomplishments at DHS include:• creating a school emergency team which meets routinely to plan drills and prepare for contingencies;• managing a multi-million-dollar budget;• taking on all the responsibilities typically assigned to an assistant principal in addition to my own during my first year, including all student discipline;• overhauling the high school guidance program, hiring a new director and putting post-secondary work at the forefront of our mission. Importantly, this means developing a 9-12 plan to assess students’ interests and strengths and to work with them at all levels to tailor their individual plans; • hiring a licensed clinical social worker to focus on the social and emotional barriers to learning, which are considerable in a small rural population struggling with poverty, homelessness, and substance abuse;• evaluating all faculty and staff;• creating school leadership and student assistance teams;• developing a structured and highly responsive RTI protocol;• organizing presentations on race, culture, and inclusion; • working with teachers to develop standards by course;• creating a school-wide common syllabus template

The Maine Girls’ Academy is an independent school currently serving girls grades 9-12 with plans to offer grades 7–8 for the 2018-19 school year. Given the school’s small size, I was charged with significant administrative responsibilities and led numerous leadership initiatives along with my teaching assignments. Department chair responsibilities: Served as a member of the instructional leadership team, developing, evaluating, refining, and executing school-wide initiatives Evaluated school’s compliance with New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation standardsOversaw curriculum and instruction for English, Spanish, and French programsIntroduced and administered school-wide benchmark assessments in reading and writingAnalyzed data and developed targeted interventions for reading and writingManaged interdisciplinary writing initiativeCoordinated alignment of Spanish and French scope and sequenceManaged English Language Learners program Observed faculty instructionManaged department budgetsCollaborated with Admissions and Marketing to increase enrollment and promote retentionEnglish teacher responsibilities: Taught junior and senior courses ranging from remedial to AP English Literature and CompositionCreated individual student profiles to assess strengths and interests and differentiate instruction, curriculum, and assessment accordinglyRevised English scope and sequence to eliminate gaps and redundancies, increase relevance, and promote diversityPrepared students for SAT and AP examsPartnered with college counselor to share college application workloadWorked with junior classes and individual seniors to complete college essays and applicationsWrote personalized college and scholarship recommendation lettersComplied with all student learning plans and made referrals as neededIntegrated technology into instruction, curriculum, and assessmentManaged annual Poetry Out Loud classroom and schoolwide competitions

Country Day School is an acclaimed United States-accredited college preparatory school serving an international community. As part of my building administrator certification plan vetted and approved through the Maine Department of Education, I completed a yearlong principal internship. In this role, I was given full access to school issues and significant influence in promoting the school’s vision while maintaining its day-to-day operations. Specifically, I performed duties and collaborated on initiatives including the following:Principal responsibilities:Reviewed compliance with Middle States Association of Colleges and SchoolsCollaborated on master schedule (moving from a six-block to a seven-block rotation)Evaluated student learning profiles to ensure adherence to special education policiesServed on K-12 scope and sequence curriculum committee Worked on individualized student post-secondary planning Helped to resolve highly sensitive issues related to personnel conflicts and student disciplineLed the implementation of benchmark assessments and professional development in the evaluation of student writingAnalyzed quantitative and qualitative data to assess the Profile of Our GraduatesEdited, proofread, and revised student handbookServed on instructional leadership teamEnglish teacher responsibilities:Taught AP English Literature and Composition and U.S. LiteratureUtilized Atlas tool to identify gaps and redundancies to streamline English scope and sequenceSignificantly increased student performance from previous years with an average score of 4.5 on the AP English Literature Exam Collaborated with school’s IT Director to create an IT curriculum development planServed as yearbook advisor, facilitating the student-led organization and encouraging the development of management and organization skills while offering editorial and proofreading supportMaintained communication with parents regarding student achievement/social issues

As Department Chair, I was responsible for managing 17 faculty and staff members and was a part of the school-wide instructional leadership team of lead teachers and administrators, serving as instructional coach for the high school. AP English Literature and AP English Language classes composed the majority of my course load. After three years at Scarborough High School, I was granted a one-year sabbatical to pursue an opportunity at BASIS DC (see below), after which I returned to Scarborough. In my leadership and teaching roles, I did the following:Instructional coach/department chair responsibilities:Developed curriculum transparency via Atlas programWorked with elementary and middle school curriculum coordinators to identify areas for improvement in K-12 curriculumLed professional development workshops to streamline English 9-12 scope and sequence and create thematic units aligned to the Common CoreDeveloped curriculum framework template Created standardized syllabus template for department-wide use Managed the adoption and implementation of a bi-annual school-wide literacy assessment Planned and oversaw department-wide writing assessment professional development Managed scoring, analysis, and interpretation of data from 981 student assessmentsWorked with college placement to develop post-secondary preparation plansServed on principal interview committee Served on teacher evaluation committeeObserved faculty instructionManaged teaching schedules, budget, and department text and supply inventoryEnglish teacher responsibilities:Wrote personalized college and scholarship recommendation lettersPrepared students for SAT and AP examsMaintained records for Response to Intervention (RTI) and student assistance teamParticipated in Community DialogueCollaborated with professional learning team (PLT) on research projectPresented English department awards during Underclassmen Awards NightParticipated on scholarship selection committee

At BASIS DC, I designed curriculum and provided instructional leadership for a public charter school in downtown Washington during its second year in operation. BASIS serves a socioeconomically diverse population that has risen to the challenge at a school mandating that every student complete ten Advanced Placement courses as a condition of graduation. BASIS DC is part of the BASIS education network, which has been recognized by Newsweek and The Washington Post as a national—and international—leader in education. Notably, BASIS students have scored among the top 5% of schools worldwide on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s PISA exam, and in the past four years, BASIS has dominated U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of top high schools nationwide. This position demanded superior knowledge of curriculum development and instructional strategies, outstanding communication skills, and an ability to meaningfully connect with youth and collaborate with colleagues. Key takeaways from this experience include the importance of maintaining high and consistent expectations; devoting significant time to curriculum research and development; nurturing a collaborative and engaged team of professionals; and, perhaps most importantly, not allowing the academic excellence of the majority to justify the unanswered needs of the minority.

While teaching all grade and course levels ranging from remedial to Advanced Placement, I also took on numerous leadership positions that would help to define my teaching philosophy over the next decade. In 2008, the Re-inventing Schools Coalition (RISC) piloted a competency-based education program at Gray-New Gloucester (GNG), and I was appointed the RISC district-wide standards-based education coordinator for my remaining time at GNG. This partnership put the school at the forefront of the proficiency-based learning trend that has, over the past decade, been heralded as educational best practice; indeed, that trend has now been formalized in key education legislation nationwide, and Robert Marzano has since partnered with RISC as part of the Marzano Research organization’s efforts to “transition from teacher-driven, time-based education systems to learner-centered, competency-based systems.” In this role, I attended numerous trainings to develop expertise in all aspects of proficiency-based learning: creating stakeholder buy-in; developing comprehensive transition and implementation plans; standards-based assessment; and grading and reporting protocols. During the 2009-10 school year, the school began the application process to become an International Baccalaureate (IB) school, and, eager to develop my understanding of academic rigor, I served as an implementation team member. In addition to these key roles, I served as a NEASC accreditation committee member, which led to a focus on accountability; civil rights team advisor, affirming my commitment to diversity and inclusivity; and newspaper club advisor, helping to promote student voice within the school community.

After spending four years at home with my young daughter, I was accepted into the nationally accredited Extended Teacher Education Program (ETEP) as a full-time teacher where I received professional preparation as part of a cohort managing full teaching loads during the day and full academic schedules at night. In this dual role of teacher/learner, I taught 9th-grade English, designing and delivering curriculum, creating formative and summative assessments, and putting the most current pedagogical approaches into practice. Completion of this intensive practicum qualified me for 7-12 teacher certification.

After returning home from New York and eager to take on more meaningful work, I joined SARS as an educator and advocate, which required intensive, months-long training to prepare me for the organization’s deeply sensitive work. As an on-call advocate, I took hotline calls and offered direct support to victims of sexual violence. In addition to direct advocacy, I wrote curriculum and delivered anti-violence programs to middle and high school students and faculty throughout southern Maine. These presentations explored the foundations of violence, gender stereotyping, diversity, drug and alcohol abuse, crisis intervention, and support services. The position demanded superior communication skills, professionalism, confidentiality, extreme sensitivity, and commitment to youth advocacy.

As licensing manager, I drafted and delivered recruitment presentations for corporate partners, sponsors, licensees, retailers, and stadium concessionaires. Working as a liaison between the legal and consumer products divisions, I ensured that all MLS merchandise met trademark standards, and I managed the selection process of new licensees based on product type, manufacturing capabilities, distribution channels, and sales history. This role demanded strong writing and accounting skills as I was asked to draft contracts and track revenue generated through minimum guarantees and royalties. Additionally, the position called for sales and marketing acumen as I was involved in the development of product plans for special events, including MLS Cup, MLS All-Star Game, and Women’s World Cup, as well as television, radio, and print advertising campaigns.

As executive assistant for the fourth-ranked radio talk show in the nation at the time, I coordinated interviews with national media including Larry King Live, 20/20, and The Today Show while also handling publicity for The Dr. Joy Browne Show, a CBS television pilot; Dr. Joy, The New York Times syndicated column; and book deals with Simon & Schuster and IDG. Initially, I served as marketing director for Dr. Browne’s national newsletter, More Joy!, for which I developed sales and marketing plans to maintain 20,000 paid subscribers by assessing the previous marketing approach; identifying and resolving customer service issues; and streamlining production and distribution to cut costs and increase circulation.