Taunya McGee, NBCT
Geneseo Middle School Reading/Literacy
I attended your 3 part Common Core Workshop at the ROE in Atkinson. I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your presentations. I received so many useful ideas and I have been encouraged to try some new teaching ideas. Most recently I have been teaching my students about the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Today we read and annotated FDR’s speech to Congress asking them to declare war on Japan. WOW…it went so well. Not only did my students receive experience with primary documents, but they really grasped the idea of annotating the speech and this close reading helped them to understand the impact of the president’s words. Since today is the day (70 years ago) that this speech was delivered, it was even more impacting. I hope to eventually compare this speech to the one by Winston Churchill as he spoke to Parliament for war. Thank you so much for inspiring my teaching.
Jeff Fairweather, Principal, Glenview Middle School East Moline District #37
“I have worked with several presenters during my years in administration. Dea Conrad-Curry is by far one of the best presenters we have had in our school. From pre-workshop planning through post workshop implementation, Dea made herself available to staff and administration. She truly has a passion for differentiation and improving the quality of education in schools.”
Georgia Kouris, Assistant Principal of Curriculum, Rock Island High School
“Dea Conrad-Curry knows her content and respects the knowledge base of her audience. Dea is an engaging presenter who consummately blends levity with current, complex educational topics. Dea practices the best instructional strategies, involving every teacher in the learning process. We brought Dea back to our school because our teachers asked for her!”
Kathryn Bennett, Principal, Immaculate Conception School, Monmouth, Illinois
“If you are looking for a way to help your staff wrap their arms around Response to Intervention, you’ll want to consider Dea Conrad-Curry’s compact, but ever so informative presentation on how to plan for RTI. The three-hour in-service definitively explains what RIT is and is not! Educators will quickly learn the vocabulary of RTI and be able to distinguish between universal screening and progress monitoring. You’ll be in and out of your seats during the presentation and take away numerous classroom ideas for differentiated instruction. Before Dea leaves your educational institution, you will have made important decisions that normally take months for you to collaborate on as a faculty.”
Dr. Kris Ross, Principal Gombert Elementary IPSD 204 (Retired), Former Curriculum Director Kankakee Schools
“I have worked with Dea in a K-12 district setting as well as in individual elementary and junior high schools. She is extremely knowledgeable, but more importantly, she knows that relationships are essential for adult learning, just as they are for student learning. I have seen teachers flourish and student achievement improve with her support in the area of professional development. I would highly recommend Dea to any school or district that is committed to achieving their learning goals– both staff and student learning. “
Mike Rolinitis, Former Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum Kankakee Schools
“In the two years Dea has worked with our teachers, our state reading scores have gone up almost fourteen percentage points. I have to point to Dea’s training as one of the main reasons for our improvement.”
Respondent Comments from Post Workshop Evaluations
“Dea offers a clear correlation of the presentation materials to course materials… The best feature of her presentation is clear demonstrations of methods… she allows participants time to practice and work together in small and large groups… Dea models and then allows us to implement the strategies she teaches… All of her presentations are great.”
