Dear Hiring Manager, My name is Kirsten Valade and I am writing to express my interest in applying for the Special Education Teacher position in the West Hartford Public Schools District. I became interested in your district through my experience as a Special Education Teacher’s Aide at Sedgwick Middle School in the 2021-2022 school year. Your schools’ emphasis on caring for the whole person and feedback driven culture makes me excited to have the opportunity to become a part of your school community. In my four years of experience as a general education teacher, I have taught many students with IEPs and 504s and I have seen the power of effective specialized programming. Unfortunately, I have also seen what can happen to children when they …show more content…
I saw tremendous growth in my students, and they were all able to read and decode unfamiliar words by the end of the …show more content…
In this role, I had the opportunity to solely work with students who received special education services due to physical, developmental, emotional, cognitive, or learning differences. In collaboration with the special education teachers, related service providers, and students, I was able to observe how effective specialized programming can support the whole child. I had the privilege of working with students on their goals and objectives, and saw students achieve skill mastery and greater independence. As aforementioned, I have also served as a general education teacher in Brooklyn and in the Bronx. I have taught many students with IEPs and 504s in this learning environment and therefore, been apart of their IEP teams and meetings. I am well versed in accommodating and modifying materials and learning environments to make them accessible to my students. In addition, I have assisted special education teachers and related service providers in data collection to be presented in meetings and written on student’s progress