Resume

MEGAN E. SAXELBY
megansaxelby@gmail.com

Objective

Guide the development of programming that prioritizes emotional intelligence and creates cultures of dignity.

 

Education

Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT
Bread Loaf School of English
Masters of Arts in English
July 2013

DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois
Master of Education
November 2008

DePaul University
Bachelors of Arts in English
June 2005

 

Expertise

  • Creating and leading meaningful programming to enhance school culture and increase emotional acumen
  • Informed regarding current research surrounding adolescent behavioral neuroscience, affective neuroscience, student motivation, creativity, project based learning, experiential learning, and progressive educational theories
  • Leading dynamic professional development
  • Creating visual imagery to enhance community understanding of the link between current research, emotional literacy, and community culture
  • Leading faculty, grade level teams, and parent partnerships around student life and school culture
  • Leading experiential and Project Based Learning  initiatives
  • Presenting at both national and international conferences

 

Experience

Cultures of Dignity- Boulder, CO Programming Consultant   Spring 2019- Present  https://culturesofdignity.com/

  • Develop curriculum that promotes social emotional intelligence and pro-social critical thinking
  • Create visual imagery to accompany lessons that increases student engagement and enhances retention
  • Facilitate programming to support teacher professional development in application of the Owning Up curriculum

Hawken School- Cleveland, OH

Learning Specialist and Humanities Teacher Fall 2018-Present

  • Worked with 9th grade team to incorporate competencies around diversity, inclusion, and metacognition into existing humanities curriculum to increase student wellbeing, social awareness, and critical thinking.
  • Developed programming to increase teacher competency around supporting students with learning differences.
  • Recognized as community thought leader in the fields of social emotional learning and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Berkeley Carroll School- Brooklyn, NY

6th Grade Humanities & 6th Grade Dean Fall 2014-Present

  • Collaborated with Harvard Professor Dr. Donna Hicks, author Robert Fuller, and my co-teacher to create and implement a Humanities curriculum using dignity as an analytic lens to examine history and literature, foster empathy, nurture social intelligence, and promote critical thinking.
  • Created a project-based unit around critical thinking, anti-bias, emotional intelligence, and social activism to culminate the 6th grade humanities experience.
  • Originated a unit in emotional intelligence and metacognition to launch students’ 6th grade experience and equip them with tools to process emotions, academic challenges, interpersonal challenges, and allow them to thrive throughout their year and future life.
  • Created a dynamic 6th grade advisory program using research in metacognition, emotional intelligence, social emotional research, affective neuroscience, and relational aggression to foster reflective growth in individual students and promote a healthy school community.
  • Led the incorporation of developmental best practices by encouraging the use of social emotional research to guide curricular design, advisory programming, and parent partnerships for the entire student life team.
  • Encouraged the development of meaningful parent partnership opportunities to strengthen the connection between parents and the school community
  • Led the development of the 6th grade team to increase professional collaboration, enrich structures of student support, and promote the prioritization of a healthy 6th grade community in both adults and students.
  • Led a conference session titled “The Importance Meme Literacy in Anti-Bias Education” at the 2018 NYSAIS Education and Information Technology Conference.

Hawken School
Lyndhurst, OH
8th Grade Humanities and Student Life Grade Level Coordinator, Fall 2010-2014

  • Collaborated to develop engaging, innovative, student-centered humanities curriculum that is regarded as a cornerstone of the middle school humanities program and a school model for integrated curricular work.
  • Recognition as a leader in the community which has resulted in increased responsibility and leadership opportunities such as
    • Curricular and programmatic presentations to Board of Trustees
    • Requests to present/lead sessions during professional development days within our community
    • Identified as a valuable addition to presentations, both nationally and internationally
  • Incorporation of innovation into all curriculum development. Specific examples include a unit entirely led by student choice that culminates in an experiential final project, a week-long unit revolving around sustainable foods and our local community, a visual essay to engage analytic skills outside of the traditional essay format, and a project-based unit around revolution in Latin America.
  • Presented a co-authored paper about using school culture as a teaching tool for meaningful character education at the 2014 conference led by the Jubilee Centre for Character and Values, the foremost research center around character in the United Kingdom. The conference is titled, “Can Virtue be Measured?”
  • Held key leadership position as Student Life Grade Level coordinator: focus on cultivating school culture, guiding students around mistake making, partnering with parents, deciding appropriate consequences, developing programming for entire middle school around meaningful character development, and collaborating with other GLCs to support a healthy school culture.
  • Highly effective at developing meaningful relationships with students that create a healthy school culture and enable students to engage in curriculum and self-exploration.
  • Presented with Student Life team at 2012 ISACS conference on a student centered intervention model our school incorporates to support and scaffold adolescent development.
  • Generated meaningful partnerships to support our service-oriented advisory programming: partnership led to authentic student engagement around our focus of hunger and homelessness, multiple philanthropic endeavors lead by students that generated over $6000 of support for 2100 Lakeside Men’s Shelter, and students who left 8th grade with a more empathic understanding of homelessness.
  • An effective and frequently requested advisor who manages all aspects of healthy student development, parent communication, implementation of student support plans, and partnership between home and school.
  • Led students through annual non-academic programming including a week-long expeditionary learning trip to New York City and an overnight camping trip with a focus on advisory bonding and grade level cohesion.

Perspectives Charter Schools Calumet High School of Technology
Chicago, Illinois
Sophomore English Fall 2009-June 2010

  • Advanced students to a higher level of literacy competency and writing ability through differentiation, encouraging use of higher order thinking skills, supporting the advancement of critical thinking, and implementing specific reading strategies
  • Developed creative and rigorous lessons that foster an environment of high academic expectation by creating challenging objectives and scaffolding student achievement
  • Created influential, dynamic, and powerful relationships with students through high expectations and support

Parker Junior High School
Flossmoor, IL
8th Grade Language Arts Fall 2007- June 2009

  • Organized and lead charity event for children in Zambia orphaned by HIV/AIDS that raised over $6,000
  • Developed meaningful connections to support and engage a healthy school culture
  • Received constant positive reviews from administration, fellow faculty members and students
  • Regarded as a strong, pragmatic leader while maintaining excellent communication skills

 

References

Provided upon request.