Meet the Reading Specialist
Dear Parents,
Hello! My name is Jaime Russell, and I am excited to serve as the new Reading Specialist for Kestrel Heights Elementary School for the 2014- 2015 school year! I am thrilled to work in a professional capacity with such an amazing team of educators and an outstanding school community. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you and to briefly explain how I will be serving you and your children as the school’s new Reading Specialist.
While I have always enjoyed school and learning, literacy is my passion! I graduated from Elon University with my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Psychology, as well as my NC Elementary Education licensure. Following graduation, I spent several years teaching in the classroom. My love of literacy motivated me to earn and add the K-12 Reading endorsement to my teaching license! At the same time, I also enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Scranton. While I completed my coursework, I continued teaching and I also spent a school year serving as a Principal intern. After earning my Master’s degree in Educational Administration and my NC Principal licensure, I began working as the Instructional Facilitator for a local public school. As an Instructional Facilitator, I served as an instructional leader in the school with a primary focus on improving instruction, student learning, and student achievement through curriculum facilitation and staff development. In August, I transitioned out of my Instructional Facilitator role and joined the team at Kestrel Heights Elementary School.
The Reading Specialist position is new to KHES. My ultimate goal as the Reading Specialist is to promote and facilitate an effective school-wide reading program to ensure each student develops the skills and habits needed to become a proficient reader. The majority of my work will focus around four major areas: instruction, assessment, staff development, and reading resource development. I will work closely with each classroom teacher to monitor your child’s growth in reading, and I will provide instruction to select students as needed for reading support or enrichment. I am available as a reading consultant to answer and address questions or concerns from teachers or parents regarding an individual student’s reading development, the school’s reading program, or mandated North Carolina reading initiatives, such as Read to Achieve (RTA) and mClass assessment. I will offer on-going professional development and support to staff regarding best practices in reading instruction. Resource development, such as the creation of a book room containing high-quality literacy materials for teachers to use in instruction, is another facet of the role I will fulfill.
As parents, you play a vital role in your child’s education and reading development, so it is very important to me that you are well-informed and are provided with ample resources to support your child at home. In order to maximize school-to-home communication, a monthly reading newsletter will be sent home. Additionally, literacy information and program updates will be posted on http://khesreads.weebly.com. If at any time I can be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or at (919) 484-1300 x 327.
I look forward to getting to know you and your children this year! It will be a wonderful year, filled with a lot of reading and learning!
Sincerely,
Jaime E. Russell, Reading Specialist
Hello! My name is Jaime Russell, and I am excited to serve as the new Reading Specialist for Kestrel Heights Elementary School for the 2014- 2015 school year! I am thrilled to work in a professional capacity with such an amazing team of educators and an outstanding school community. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you and to briefly explain how I will be serving you and your children as the school’s new Reading Specialist.
While I have always enjoyed school and learning, literacy is my passion! I graduated from Elon University with my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Psychology, as well as my NC Elementary Education licensure. Following graduation, I spent several years teaching in the classroom. My love of literacy motivated me to earn and add the K-12 Reading endorsement to my teaching license! At the same time, I also enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Scranton. While I completed my coursework, I continued teaching and I also spent a school year serving as a Principal intern. After earning my Master’s degree in Educational Administration and my NC Principal licensure, I began working as the Instructional Facilitator for a local public school. As an Instructional Facilitator, I served as an instructional leader in the school with a primary focus on improving instruction, student learning, and student achievement through curriculum facilitation and staff development. In August, I transitioned out of my Instructional Facilitator role and joined the team at Kestrel Heights Elementary School.
The Reading Specialist position is new to KHES. My ultimate goal as the Reading Specialist is to promote and facilitate an effective school-wide reading program to ensure each student develops the skills and habits needed to become a proficient reader. The majority of my work will focus around four major areas: instruction, assessment, staff development, and reading resource development. I will work closely with each classroom teacher to monitor your child’s growth in reading, and I will provide instruction to select students as needed for reading support or enrichment. I am available as a reading consultant to answer and address questions or concerns from teachers or parents regarding an individual student’s reading development, the school’s reading program, or mandated North Carolina reading initiatives, such as Read to Achieve (RTA) and mClass assessment. I will offer on-going professional development and support to staff regarding best practices in reading instruction. Resource development, such as the creation of a book room containing high-quality literacy materials for teachers to use in instruction, is another facet of the role I will fulfill.
As parents, you play a vital role in your child’s education and reading development, so it is very important to me that you are well-informed and are provided with ample resources to support your child at home. In order to maximize school-to-home communication, a monthly reading newsletter will be sent home. Additionally, literacy information and program updates will be posted on http://khesreads.weebly.com. If at any time I can be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or at (919) 484-1300 x 327.
I look forward to getting to know you and your children this year! It will be a wonderful year, filled with a lot of reading and learning!
Sincerely,
Jaime E. Russell, Reading Specialist