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Arrival into the world! The Journey begins
The journey begins with my birth. First born. First of the "firsts!" -
Brother, Steve, born
Brother Steve, arrives. We are close in age. Lots of sibling rivalry. -
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Elementary, Middle, High School in Roseville, MN
Attend Lexington Elementary, Fairview Middle, and Alexander Ramsey High School in Roseville, MN. Always a grade ahead of my brother. Good student. Solid grades. Participate in school activities, many friendships along the way. -
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Earn Bachelor's Degree, University of MN
Earn B.S. degree from University of MN in Interior Design. Graduate with honors and in 3 yrs plus 1 quarter. Took extra classes and attended during summer sessions to finish. -
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Interior Designer
First career job working downtown Minneapolis, MN in high-end interior design firms. Worked up until birth of son. -
Marriage!
Married Dave, the love of my life! Settle down to married life in Fridley, MN. -
First home purchase
Purchase a 3-bedroom rambler in Blaine, MN. Was to be our starter home, but 35 years later we are still here! Additions and changes to the house and our lives along the way! -
First son born
Our first child is born, Eric! He is the new "first" in the family--first grandson on both sides. I settle in as a "stay-at-home" mom. My second career! -
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Second career "Stay-at-home" mom
Enjoying my time as a "stay-at-home" mom. -
Daughter born
Daughter, Carrie, is born. Second grandchild, both sides of the family, and first daughter/granddaughter -
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Refugee Resettlement Chair through church
Closely involved in refugee resettlement through church, primarily Ethiopian refugees. Become involved in state-wide refugee resettlement through the National Council for Churches. Travel state speaking on behalf of refugee resettlement. Learn about Victims of Torture, and refugee resettlement efforts within the state and country. -
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Parent volunteer children's elementary school
Parent volunteer at children's elementary school. Parent-Teacher-Organization, chair of school carnivals, school fundraisers. Parent volunteer in classrooms with reading, Appointed as parent representative on school district boundary committee. Work with educational leaders in district to determine shifts in attendance areas. Spend countless hours volunteering for school events. -
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Church Council Leadership
Nominated and elected as Church Council Vice-President in 1985, and President in 1986. Chair committee meetings, establish and present Budget to church membership, lead whole church membership meetings, lay leader during worship. Learn a great deal about systems, organizations, Roberts Rules of Order. -
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Girl Scout Co-Leader
Co-leader Girl Scout Troop. Plan many events, attend Girl Scout Leader trainings and camps directed towards leaders. Stay with the troop as long as daughter participates in Girl Scouts. -
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Served on Blaine Soccer Club Board of Directors
Served on Blaine Soccer Club Board of Directors as Volunteer Coordinator, Boys Commissioner, Concessions Manager -
Return to paying work force as Preschool Teacher
Find a job in a neighboring, small school district as a preschool teacher. Begin to have many students with special needs included in our classroom. Enjoying this job, but feeling like I want "more" -
Youth Leader Habitat for Humanity trip to Mississippi
Travel to Coahoma, Mississippi with church youth group as one of adult leaders on one week trip to build houses for Habitat for Humanity. In addition to building houses for the poorest of the poor in one of the poorest counties in the United States, I am responsible for the supervision and care of middle school aged youth on this trip. Are they hydrated enough? Are they taking enough breaks in the summer heat of Mississippi? Are they being safe and responsible? -
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Earn Masters Degree and ECSE License
Work on Masters in Education and Early Childhood Education License under mentorship and advisor, Dr. Mary McEvoy. Dr. McEvoy influenced my view of challenging behaviors in young children, and our response as adults and educators. -
2nd Youth group trip for Habitat for Humanity
Return to Coahoma, Mississippi to build houses in the same community as two years prior. Supervise youth group as before. -
Fourth "career" job as ECSE Teacher
Hired as an Early Intervention teacher in Anoka Hennepin District 11 to meet need for increasing student identification and enrollment in Birth to Three special needs -
Summer school teacher
Hired as Early Intervention teacher and Early Childhood Special Education Classroom teacher in Anoka Hennepin District 11. Will spend the next 5 summers doing both roles during summer school or Extended School Year (ESY) for students with special needs. -
Classroom Teacher, ECSE !
Begin teaching as an Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) teacher. Variety of self-contained classroom settings. Supervise paraeducators in classroom, take lead role in activities in the building. Serve on a variety of committees from Staff Development, Building Leadership, Standard Operating Procedures, Inclusion. -
Awarded Grant
Wrote, applied for, and awarded Anoka Hennepin District 11 Exemplary Grant, Second Step Violence Prevention in Young Children, 1999, $2000
Purchased Second Step Curriculum kits, trained staff -
TEACCH Training
Selected to attend training at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in the TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication Handicapped Children) program. One of 5 selected in Anoka Hennepin District 11 to learn about structured teaching and visual supports for children with Autism; return to district and train staff Pre-K-Transitions. -
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ECSE Staff Trainings
Planned and presented trainings for certified and classified staff. Topics: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Strategies in working with students with ASD, Understanding by Design, Methamphetamine Abuse and Education, Paraeducator roles and responsibilities, Students with Challenging Behaviors, Cultural Diversity in ECSE -
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Parent education series ECSE
Planned for and led information sessions for ECSE parents regarding: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Visual Supports in the Home, Strategies in the Home, Applied Behavioral Analysis, Addressing Challenging Behaviors, individual work sessions with parent and child -
Co-author publication
Swanson, J. K., Rutherford, L., Rademacher, C., & Westlund, J. (2001). Behavior management in the classroom. Early Report Center for Early Education and Development, 28(1), 1-6. -
Second TEACCH Training
Selected as one of 4 teachers in Anoka Hennepin District 11 for second phase of TEACCH Training. Travel to Chapel Hill for one week training. First night of training, held up at gun point in our hotel room! Scared! But the 4 of us bond together and stay for the rest of the training. Lots of discussion about training in the district. -
MN Autism Symposium Facilitator
Facilitate small group break out sessions at the MN Autism Symposium, College of St Benedict, St. Joseph, MN -
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co-Teach Core ASD Certificate Courses AH11 Cohort
Co-teach core courses for Anoka Hennepin District 11 Cohort. Design courses and provide instruction in the core course work areas for other teachers in our district -
Exemplary Grant
Wrote, applied for, and awarded Anoka Hennepin District 11 Exemplary Grant, TEACCH trainer consultation with staff, 2003, $2000. Developed budget and plan to bring a trainer from TEACCH, University of NC, to AH 11 for consultation -
State Conference Presentation
Structured teaching and related strategies in the ECSE classroom. Breakout session presented at the Minnesota State Conference Division Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children, Bloomington, Minnesota -
Earn Autism Certificate Hamline University
Complete coursework for Autism Certificate at Hamline University. -
Awarded Special Projects Grant
Wrote, applied for and awarded Anoka Hennepin District 11 Special Projects Grant, First Steps, 2003, .5 F.T.E. position
Impliment positive behavior program with our ECSE students in Inclusive settings. -
MN Autism Syposium Facilitator
Facilitate small group break out sessions at the MN Autism Symposium, College of St Benedict, St. Joseph, MN -
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District Staff Development Committee
District Staff Development Committee. Met quarterly to discuss district budget, staff development programs, Summer Institute training -
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Adjunct Instructor ASD Certificate Hamline
Adjunct Instructor in the Autism Certificate Program at Hamline. Teach courses in Behavior, and Strategies to Assist the Learner. -
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ECSE Lead Teacher
ECSE Lead Teacher. Site leader, first point of contact for staff, resource for certified and classified staff, district representative at Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings, mentor, liaison to HeadStart, School Readiness, and other Community Based Programs, coordinate student placement, monitor Due Process paperwork, participate in building Crisis Team, collaborate with Administrative Leadership Team, train staff in key components of Professional Learning Communities and Understanding by D -
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ECSE ESY Coordinator
Coordinate Extended School Year (ESY) program for ECSE program. Responsible for hiring staff, setting class lists, securing materials, supervision of bus loading and unloading system, supervision of summer evaluations and Individual Education Plan (IEP) writers. -
Third TEACCH Training as Coach
Invited to attend week long "coach" session at TEACCH. Learn from the TEACCH trainers, and train other teachers who come for the week long training. Feel empowered, and really passionate about this method for students. -
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Autism Resource Specialist
Autism Resource Specialist in ECSE program. Provide direction, consult for students with ASD. Design and lead parent education series for parents of children with ASD. -
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Educational Doctorate Program (EdD3) at Hamline
Coursework in the Educational Doctorate program at Hamline University, Educational Leadership. Cohort 3. -
MN Autism Symposium Facilitator
Facilitate small group break out sessions at the MN Autism Symposium, College of St Benedict, St. Joseph, MN -
Fourth TEACCH Training
Accepted by TEACCH to come as a week long trainer. Honored by this selection. Only person in our district who has been invited. District does not contribute any funds towards this staff development. I am committed to this program and want to see how this can be incorporated in our district, so I pay all expenses. -
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Planning Committee Member MN State Autism Symposium
Planning committee for events, speakers, breakout sessions, activities at the MN State Autism Symposium for Educators, held in June at College of St Benedict, St. Joseph, MN. Committee meetings quarterly. -
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ECSE Social Justice Committee
Organized ECSE Social Justice Committee. Resource for staff regarding issues of cultural differences, ELL, poverty. -
State Conference Presentation
Structured teaching and related strategies in the ECSE classroom. Breakout session presented at the Minnesota State Conference Children with Challenging Behaviors, Council for Exceptional Children, Duluth, Minnesota. -
Autism Training Chaska
Autism spectrum disorders and structured teaching. Presented at Chaska School District Staff Development Training -
Conference Presentation
Structured teaching and related strategies in the ECSE classroom. Breakout session presented at the Minnesota State Conference Division Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children, Bloomington, Minnesota -
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AH 11 Aspiring Principals Academy
Applied to and selected for the Anoka Hennepin District 11 Aspiring Principals Academy, 2006 - 2009. Discussion of school district leaders regarding issues of leadership in schools. -
Fifth TEACCH Training
Travel to TEACCH with one other ECSE teacher to learn about TEACCH Preschool Curriculum. TEACCH staff take us on home visits with families, invite us to TEACCH training center where we have opportunity to observe methods in action -
MN Autism Syposium Facilitator
Facilitate small group break out sessions at the MN Autism Symposium, College of St Benedict, St. Joseph, MN -
HeadStart Staff Training
Methamphetamine abuse and its effect on young children. Presented at HeadStart teacher training, Anoka/Washington HeadStart -
Final Meeting Dissertation EdD
Final meeting with my Dissertation Committee, Vivian Johnson chair. Dissertation topic: Early Childhood Special Education Teachers Descriptions of Students with Emotional Behavioral Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Cognitive Delays, and Pre-natal Chemical Exposure. Qualitative study using Grounded Theory method to analyze interviews. -
EdD Graduation
Graduation day! -
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District Committee
Anoka Hennepin District 11 District Over-representation of Minorities in Special Education Task Force. Representatives from various stakeholders in district regarding the over-representation of students of color in SPED -
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Adjunct Professor MA-DI Concordia University
Adjunct professor Masters in Differentiated Instruction program Concordia University. Teach a variety of cohorts, face-to-face, online using WebCT, Blackboard, and live video WebEx. Courses taught: Research Methods, Teaching Students with Mental Health Needs, Differentiated Instruction, Family Systems, Inclusion of Students with Special Needs, Capstone Instructor -
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District Summer Programs Committee
District Summer Programs Committee, 2008 – 2010
Review previous summer programs, plan for next summer programs, district-wide. Sit on locations sub-committee, timelines. -
Autism Training
Presentation at HeadStart teacher training, Anoka/Washington HeadStart. Asperger syndrome and young children. -
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AH 11 District committee
Anoka Hennepin District 11 District Continuous Improvement Monitoring Process. Review Due Process as it relates to over-identification of students of color with special needs, also Strategic Plans for select Special Education Departments -
Presentation State DEC Conference
Presentation at MN Division Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children State Conference, Bloomington, MN. Autism resource specialists and the pyramid model. -
First course in Director of SPED License at Hamline
Accepted to the Licensure program for DIrector of Special Education. Due to scheduling conflicts with teaching at Concordia, unable to start the courses as outlined. Take School Budget course during the summer. -
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Dissertation Committee, Carol Price
Asked to be on Carol Price's dissertation committee as she works on her EdD through Hamline. Her topic is Portrayal of Persons with Disabilities in Award Winning Children's Picture Books -
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Cultural Competence Cohort AH 11
Anoka Hennepin District 11 District Cultural Competence and Courageous Practice Cohort under the direction of Gary Howard. Three cohort meetings during the school year -
Presentation State Leadership Conference
Presentation MN Early Childhood Special Education Leadership Conference, Brainerd, MN. Understanding by design and early childhood special education curriculum. -
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Serve on Dissertation Committee for Kelly Duffy
Asked to be on Kelly Duffy's dissertation committee at Hamline! Kelly was a cohort member in my EdD 3 program. Her topic was Elementary School Teachers Descriptions of Students with Reactive Attachment Disorders -
Awarded AHEF Grant
Wrote, applied for, and awarded an Anoka Hennepin Education Foundation Grant, Child Care Trainings, 2011, $1500 -
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Co-author redesign Research Methods course Concordia
Asked to co-author re-design of Research Methods core course for Concorcia University Masters programs. This core course is for all Masters programs in the school of Education. Selection of text, design of syllabus, course assignments, due dates, activities, and instructor power points and notes. -
Presentation at DEC Conference
Presentation at MN Division Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children State Conference, Bloomington, MN. Understanding by design and early childhood special education curriculum. -
Continue with Director of SPED Licensure program
Continue coursework for the DIrector of Special Education License at Hamline.