Sarah Ortloff Email & Phone Number

Illinois, United States

Algonquin, Illinois, United States

As an instructional coach, I've been fortunate to partner with teachers and teams to help their students meet growth goals. This is done through modeling new instructional strategies, co-planning and co-teaching lessons, as well as by supporting teams through the PLC (Professional Learning Community) process. It's really at this intersection where student data meets evidence-based instructional strategies that strong growth can take place.One passion of mine is developing staff members practice through targeted, continuing education classes. These courses are in-person as well as blended. Helping teachers see the WHY behind change contributes to a better understanding of the process and a willingness to work through the challenges of trying something new.I'm looking forward to seeing what the next chapter holds for all of us!

Gary D. Wright Elementary School

I was thrilled to be working together with the dedicated staff at Gary D. Wright Elementary School, teaching first grade & all subject areas. I enjoyed "returning to my roots"​ as a classroom teacher, partnering with families and students, helping them achieve their goals and celebrating every success along the way. I frequently partnered with the instructional coaches at my building in implementing new technology initiatives and supporting students through small-group instruction. Upon the strong persuasion of a member of the math instructional coaching team and the blessing of my building principal, I decided to once again multiply my impact through becoming an instructional coach. In 2019, I took the plunge as a Math Instructional Coach in D300.

Dirksen School

In this position, I focused on helping K-6 gifted and high-achieving students meet their math and reading growth targets. I did this through facilitating small-group acceleration groups as well as by providing their teachers with extra resources, support and coaching to help them meet the demands of this unique population. To prepare for this position, I actively participated in 45 hours of gifted education training and earned my gifted endorsement. I also attended Judson University's Literacy in Motion 2013 conference (4th-8th grade track) to get new ideas geared towards accelerating my gifted students in reading, writing, listening & speaking.

As a 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade teacher, I inspire students to be their very best by:*igniting a passion for reading & writing*modeling compassion and respect for others*making math comprehensible for struggling learners*challenging my high achievers with hands-on, inquiry-based projects*and by weaving literacy throughout the content areas of math, science and social studies.I nurture these same passions in our school's newest staff members as our building mentor. I've mentored over 17 staff members in the past two years.I also support other teachers by coaching staff district-wide in professional development symposiums and after-school classes. Teachers know they can come to me with their questions and concerns; I'll work to help them find answers.I was on the Common Core State Standards Literacy Task Force, a group of dedicated professionals who are analyzing the new standards and our current curriculum, rewriting the scope & sequence, creating lesson plans based on the new standards and will be training staff on the changes this May.

As a Remedial Reading teacher I pushed into K-2 classrooms for the first half of the day, pulling struggling students out for additional literacy services during the second half of the day. I helped purchase appropriate books and resources for guided reading (K-6) that tied into grade level content, organizing this extensive library in an easy-to-use, teacher-friendly format. I hosted professional development classes on teaching writing, performing running records and using technology to meet student needs. I often coached teachers through the process of setting up classroom centers that were meaningful and moved students towards their goals. As a first grade teacher, I assisted the literacy team in implementing the newest curricular and assessment changes by providing suggestions and feedback on how to make it meaningful but manageable for classroom teachers.

Masters Degree, Masters Of Education In Literacy

Bsed, Early Childhood Education