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Work experience

Founder and CEO

January 2014Present
The Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM and The Vision Board, LLC

As Chief Executive Officer of The Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM and The Vision Board, it is my responsibility to curate, develop and implement innovative professional resources for educators in the areas of Arts Integration and STEAM.  I coordinate a team of 6 full-time staff, as well as subcontracted teachers and consultants who specialize in supporting K-12 teachers in the implementation of arts integration and STEAM initiatives. 

Throughout my tenure, the organization has grown from a simple blog to being recognized as one of the leading resources for Arts Integration and STEAM practices in the world.  I have helped the company to support over 500 schools and 20,000 educators who have taken our courses or participated in our paid programs.

An accomplished educator, speaker and author, I have presented sessions on arts integration and STEAM at the United States Department of Education, Education Week, National Art Educators Association, ASCD and for the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education.

Curriculum Innovation and Resource Development Specialist

Jun 2012Jan 2014
Anne Arundel County Public Schools

In this role, I was dedicated to innovating curriculum development and implementation through integration at all levels and in all areas.  I helped to design the Integrated Curriculum Writing Academy, and consulted on developing an Online Curriculum Management System for teachers to use to inform and guide instruction.  I was also charged with helping to lead professional development for all staff on SLOs, Common Core State Standards and working with Coordinators to provide them with the resources they need to understand and connect these initiatives to their current curriculum.   Additionally, I actively sought and obtained partnerships with community organizations and funding to support various projects for AACPS.  In this capacity, I worked to personalize opportunities to best match the school system with community organizations looking to partner in authentic capacities to create a relevant and engaging learning experience.

Arts Integration Specialist

Jul 2011Jun 2012
Anne Arundel County Public Schools

As the first 12-month dedicated Arts Integration Specialist in Maryland Public Schools, I was excited to carve a new niche into curriculum design and implementation support within Anne Arundel County Public Schools.  I provided direct coaching, mentoring and professional development for teachers across the county in Arts Integration strategies and frameworks.  Additionally, I helped to pioneer integrated lesson development in all areas K-5 and hosted two online courses for connecting Arts Integration to the Common Core Standards for county teachers and administrators.

I also worked closely with administrators within the county in creating authentic Arts Integrated schools and helped to coordinate data collection and analysis to monitor the positive effects of Arts Integration on student achievement.  I helped to design schedules that allowed for collaborative planning and professional development days to correlate to county initiatives.  

Music Teacher and Administrative Intern

Jul 2005Jul 2011
Howard County Public Schools/Thunder Hill Elementary

As the administration intern for Thunder Hill Elementary, I was charged with schedule creation, MSA testing co-coordinator, providing teacher professional development as well as acting as acting administrator with all of the daily duties when the current administrator was absent.  Additionally, I coordinated the Arts Integration program that garnered the Maryland State School of Excellence in the Arts (through the Kennedy Center) award in 2010. 

In this capacity, Susan researched and presented arts integration as a viable school improvement option in 2007.  From there, she designed, coordinated and implemented the program with great success.  It is now a school-wide program with wide county and community support.  As the coordinator, the  main responsibilities included:

* Teacher professional development of the program and strategies.  I obtained a grant to support teachers with sub time, designed a professional book club, took teachers on field trips to other successful schools, and worked with finding them any other resources they requested.

* Developed a peer review system for program accountability.

* Designed curriculum maps that aligned the objectives in grade K-5 in math, reading, social studies and science with arts objectives that made natural connections.

* Analyzed the data each year to monitor student progress and program effectiveness.

* Developed a culture of respect and appreciation across content areas.

As a music teacher, I acted as the Related Arts Team Leader.  In this role, I was able to advocate for the needs of my team, act as a conduit of information from the administrators and school teams by to my team members, and provide unique insights into students throughout the school. I was conscious to create a positive team experience using team building strategies to build a support unit for the related arts teachers. 

Education

Masters of Education

Sep 2006May 2009
McDaniel College

Certified as an Administrator I in Maryland and as a K-12 Principal in Pennsylvania.

Bachelor of Science

Aug 1999May 2003
Westminster Choir College

Certified in Music Education Grades N-12.

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