AMY L. DICKSON2062 Spruce Street Denver, CO 80238 303.520.8470

EDUCATIONUniversity of Colorado, Denver, 2007–2008 Graduate course work in Language, Literacy, and CultureUniversity of Maryland, College Park, 1992-1993 Graduate course work in Education and Liberal ArtsMemphis State University, 1989 M.A.T. Curriculum and Instruction; Early Childhood EducationUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1986 B.A. Psychology and English University of Mississippi, Oxford, 1982-1983 Undergraduate course work in Liberal Arts

Classroom and Educational Leadership Experience

Teacher, 3rd Grade (’09 – ’11) and 5th Grade Fall 2009 – presentDenver Public Schools, Westerly Creek Elementary School, Denver, CO

Literacy Teacher in a “platoon” in one of the top performing schools in DPS Develop curriculum and assessments using the Common Core State Standards Served on the school’s TLA (Teacher Leader) committee, 2013 - 2015 Served on the SLT (School Leadership Team) as the 3rd grade representative Served on the Writing Task Force as the 3rd grade representative Served on the Guided Reading Task Force Participated in Teaching Reading and Writing Grades 3-5 (LangArts7140-2), July 2009 Participated in Social Studies Institute, August 2010

Humanities Facilitator and Literacy Intervention Teacher Fall 2007 – Spring 2009Denver Public Schools, Polaris at Ebert Elementary School and Steele Elementary School, Denver, CO

Coached teachers and helped them with planning and ongoing assessment Provided professional development for teachers, paraprofessionals, interns, and student teachers Modeled small and whole group lessons for teachers Used a comprehensive, multi-modal approach to help small groups of Kindergarten through third grade students

strengthen their reading skills – phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension Worked with small groups of third and fourth graders on writing using direct teaching of the test taking genre,

study of models, conferring with peers, and rubrics Worked with fourth and fifth graders on fluency, comprehension, and word analysis (2007-2008) Organized and implemented a reading volunteer program at each school to help struggling readers in

Kindergarten through fourth grade; supervised and mentored reading volunteers using dialogue journals, email, and face-to-face conversations

Participated in the Denver Public Schools Interventionist Academy Participated in Cognitive Coaching Training Participated in Principal’s Institute, June 2008 and June 2009 Participated in Social Studies Institute, August 2008 Participated in 4th Grade Everyday Math Training, February 2009

Adjunct Instructor,The Metropolitan State College of Denver (MSCD) and The Community College of Denver (CCD)

Mathematics, Science, and Health for the Young Child (ECE 4330) Fall 2006Planning, Assessment, and Management (EDU 3640) Spring 2006Field Experience Supervisor (EDU 3650) Spring 2006Child Development (PSY 238) Fall 2005 to Fall 2006 Created and used PowerPoint Presentations Organized and compiled syllabi Facilitated, instructed, and evaluated classes of undergraduate students Modeled effective teaching strategies Critiqued Livetext on-line portfolio artifacts (EDU 3640 AND ECE 4330) Supervised and evaluated 23 students in field placements in elementary classrooms (EDU 3650) Organized field observations (PSY 238)

Substitute Teacher Preschool – 5th GradeThe Odyssey School, Denver, CO Fall 2003 – Fall 2007Montview Cooperative Preschool, Denver, CO Fall 2004 – Fall 2007

Toddler/Preschool Music Teacher and Preschool TeacherMusikgarten “Music and Motion”, Denver, CO Fall 2001 – Spring 2005Steele Cooperative Preschool, Denver, CO Fall 2002 – Spring 2005

Teacher (Long Term Substitute), Language Arts 1997-1998Fairfax County Public Schools, Annandale Terrace Elementary School, Annandale, VA

Used a multi-sensory approach to help small groups of first, second, third, and fourth grade SULA (Step Up Language Arts) students strengthen their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills

Attended Title 1 workshops on teaching language arts Coordinated lesson plans with the lesson plans created by classroom teachers

Professional Development Workshop Instructor,Trinity College, Washington, DC 1993-1997

Language Arts in the Early Childhood Classroom (Summers 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997), Teaching Reading for Early Childhood Education Pre-K through 3rd Grade (Summer 1997), Curriculum Planning in Early Childhood Education (Summer 1997), Child Growth and Development (Summer 1994 and Fall 1994) Organized and compiled syllabi and reading lists Facilitated, instructed, and evaluated classes of graduate students Modeled effective teaching strategies Organized field observations for the Child Growth and Development Summer ’94 class

Teacher, First Grade (’94 – ’97) and Kindergarten (’93 –’94) Beauvoir, The National Cathedral Elementary School, Washington, DC 1993-1997

Developed and implemented a developmentally appropriate, interdisciplinary, child centered curriculum with a team of teachers and interns

Involved parents in their child’s education through narrative reports, parent/teacher conferences, field trips, classroom visits, and a parent reading program

Developed and wrote first grade language arts curriculum for new teachers Mentored and evaluated 3 interns Served as a kindergarten representative on the Language Arts Curriculum Committee (’93 -’94) Served as the first grade representative on the Language Arts Curriculum Committee (’94 -’96) and the

Mathematics Curriculum Committee (’96 -’97) Participated in writing language arts document for AIMS Accreditation Appointed to the Technology Committee

Weekend College Instructor, Children’s Literature,Trinity College, Washington, DC Fall 1992

Developed a syllabus Created tests which included analytical level questions Facilitated, instructed, and evaluated a class of both undergraduate and graduate students

Assistant Director University of Maryland Center for Young Children, College Park, MD 1991-1992

Supervised day-to-day operations of the Center Worked with University faculty, researchers, teachers, student teachers, and other staff members Supported and contributed to the supervision and training of all student teachers and interns Responsible for processing enrollment, budget and billing procedures, and general office administration Revised and updated the Parent Handbook Collaborated with a team of University faculty, teachers, architects, and the Center director to design a “state

of the art” educational facility for young children

Teacher, Kindergarten, University of Maryland Center for Young Children, College Park, MD 1992-1993

Developed and implemented a developmentally appropriate, interdisciplinary, child centered curriculum with a team of teachers, student teachers, and assistant teachers

Involved parents in their child’s education through narrative reports, parent/teacher conferences, field trips, and classroom visits

Supervised and evaluated 4 student teachers Worked with University faculty and researchers

Orange County Public Schools, Orlando, FL 1989-1991 Developed and implemented a developmentally appropriate, interdisciplinary, child centered curriculum Involved parents in their child’s education through home visits, parent/teacher conferences, field trips, and

classroom visits Worked with a diverse group of children. Participated in Diversity Training.

Additional Experience

Graduate Faculty Intern – University of Colorado at Denver Fall 2010 – Summer 2011 Language, Literacy, and Culturally Responsive Teaching

Volunteer Tutor – Literacy K – 3rd Grade 2003 - 2008

Volunteer Musikgarten Teacher – Kindergarten 2003 – 2004; 2005 - 2006The Odyssey School, Denver, CO.

Private Tutor – Literacy and Mathematics Summer 2007, 1995, 1994 Washington, DC and Denver, CO areas

Destination Imagination Team Manager – Rising Stars (K/1) and Round About Courage (3rd Grade) 2005 - 2007The Odyssey School, Denver, CO

Workshop Presenter, National Association of Episcopal Schools Triennial Conference, Memphis, TN Fall 1996

Presented research and practical materials on “Weaving Language Arts into Your Kindergarten through Second Grade Mathematics Program” to workshop participants

Demonstration Teacher (Winter 1996) and Freelance Writer (Summer 1995), Children’s Resources International, Washington, DC

Mentored 2 Russian “teacher trainers” in my classroom (at Beauvoir) during a week long observational and educational visit

Wrote “Classroom Management” chapter for first grade curriculum manual used to train eastern European teachers to create democratic classrooms