Lessen Planning

I've been in education for 12 years, with the majority of my experience being from Title I public schools as well as two private schools. During this time, I've been a teacher, school counselor, director of learning support, curriculum writer, academic interventionist, and coach. I've been really fortunate to have had amazing experiences, learn from excellent educators, and help transform SEL and restorative justice programming. I've worked in North Carolina, the Cayman Islands, Texas, and Washington. I think these experiences really have helped shape my philosophy and style. With having had so many varied experiences, I'm able to take pieces of the best from each system to create something truly unique and useful. Over the last few years, I've discovered and nurtured my passion for health and wellness for educators and families. During this time, I've become a national board-certified health and wellness coach and am excited to see these resources being used by educators. Some of my job titles and credentials throughout the years: ☀ School Counselor ☀ Health and Wellness Coach ☀ Academic Interventionist ☀ Current Curriculum Writer ☀ District Restorative Practices Facilitator ☀ Elementary Reading/Writing Teacher ☀ Curriculum and Instruction Researcher ☀ Instructor for Teacher Prep

Warm, authentic, high expectations, and always with some humor. Teaching is such a messy and beautiful profession, so being able to find my own way of doing things where I am real, empathetic, and making connections with every single student has always been very important to me.

★ Microsoft World-Wide Innovative Educator Award ★ Graduated summa cum laude

I grew up in public schools in the Midwest. During high school, I moved to Texas and this was my first experience with seeing how different schooling can be based on location and policy. As a student, I loved learning but never felt connected to school. In college, I had some amazing experiences working for Communities in Schools, and that's when I knew I needed to be in education. Since then, I became a teacher, earned my master's in education, went through another post-graduate program to obtain my school counseling credentials and became a health and wellness coach to help educators live their best lives in and out of the classroom. Certifications: ★ Master's Degree in Education ▶School Counselor, EC-12 ▶ESL Generalist, Early Childhood-6th Grade ▶Reading/Writing/Social Studies, Grades 4-8 ▶Certified in Washington, Texas, North Carolina, and Arizona ▶ASCA Specializations, IIRP (restorative practices) certified, SAMA and CPI certified, ICF (coaching) certified ▶National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach

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