Rebecca Merz

*** *. ****** **

Long Beach NY, ***61

516-***-****

acgimy@r.postjobfree.com

CERTIFICATION

NYS Initial Certification, Adolescence Education, English

(7-12)

EDUCATION

Adelphi University Garden City, NY

Master of Arts, Adolescence Education May

2011

Bachelor of Arts, English, May 2010

PROFESSIONAL

EXPERIENCE Cambria Heights Academy for New Literacies Hollis NY

Classroom Teacher, English Grades 11-12, Senior Activities

Coordinator, and Conflict Mediation Specialist September

2013- Present

. Revamped 11th grade ELA curriculum to include both

high-interest and canonized literature

. Co-taught and collaborated with ICT teacher on the

implementation of activities best suited to

differentiated learning styles

. Created and implemented a creative writing elective

curriculum

. Prepared students for the English Regents Exam

through Saturday school classes, resulting in a

passing rate 16% higher than the city-wide average

. Advised groups of 12-15 students twice per week on

how to handle social-emotional stresses associated

with adolescence

. Organized several community service based activities

for students to participate in including Pennies for

Patients and breast cancer awareness fundraisers

. Served as the facilitator/presenter of the 11th grade

team of teachers, responsible for passing along

information to the rest of the school during

professional development

. Coordinated numerous senior activities including the

senior class trip, prom, graduation, senior

sweatshirts, and the distribution of yearbooks at the

senior picnic

. Mediated conflicts between students

. Represented other general education teachers on the

Student Implementation Team by helping to create

behavioral intervention plans for students with

emotional disturbances or other behavioral problems

. Recruited students entering high school by

participating in monthly high school fairs and open

houses

. Documented academic and behavioral progress online

via Skedula

The Green School: An Academy for Environmental Careers

Williamsburg NY

Classroom Teacher, English Grade 9 September 2012-

June 2013

. Addressed the social and emotional needs of 12

students through weekly advisory meetings

. Communicated with advisee parents regarding the

social, emotional and academic progress of students

on a bi-weekly basis

. Participated in weekly ELA teacher team meetings

. Analyzed data and worked collaboratively with the

school's other ELA teachers to create a school-wide

ELA diagnostic

. Worked with four other freshman teachers on student

development, field trips, monthly assemblies, and

behavior development plans twice weekly

. Developed unit plans to prepare students of diverse

learning abilities to take the NYS ELA Regents exam

two years early

. Utilized Castle Learning to create tests and midterms

for students online

. Documented academic and behavioral progress online

via Jupiter Grades

East Bushwick Congregations High School for Public Service

Bushwick NY

Classroom Teacher, English Grades 9&11 September 2011-

Present

. Created interdisciplinary curriculum for an ELA-

based elective meant to help serve students in danger

of failing both the ELA and U.S. History Regents

Exams using reading and writing strategies

. Modified lessons by implementing SMARTBoard

technology to provide multiple points of entry to

lessons for students with both emotional and learning

disabilities

. Co-planned 11th grade ELA curriculum utilizing

technology, fiction and non-fiction texts, the arts

and media literacy; ends in Regents Exam

. Created curriculum for a Creative Writing class

encouraging critical and creative thoughts through a

year-long thematic focus on identity

. Collaborated with other 11th grade teachers during

inquiry, case conferencing and lesson tuning weekly

meetings

. Structured a grade-level-wide, teacher facilitated,

inquiry project, studying the effectiveness of

closure activities on student retention

. Implemented Common Core State Standards in all daily

lesson plans

. Attended weekly professional development and grade-

level-wide advisory meetings

. Participated in an "open-door" policy with teacher-

mentor regarding inter-visitation and classroom

visits

. Tutored struggling students in grades 9-12 in an

afterschool program to develop skills in

English/Language-Arts

PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

. 2011- New York City Writing Project: Teacher-to-

Teacher Conference-Lehman College

. 2012-Concious Classroom Management-Webinar

. 2012- New York City Writing Project: 20-hour workshop

series on writing across the curriculum with Susannah

Thompson-Bushwick Leaders High School

. 2012- Differentiation Strategies for ELLs and SWDs-

Bronx, NY

. 2012- New York City Writing Project: Teacher-to-

Teacher Conference-Lehman College, Bronx NY

. 2012- Network CFN103 Planning Palooza July Session-

Manhattan NY

. 2013- Motivating Your Underachieving Students-Days

Inn, Copiague NY

. 2013- New York City Writing Project: Teacher-to-

Teacher Conference-Lehman College, Bronx NY

. 2014- NCTE Annual Convention-Hynes Convention Center,

Boston MA

. 2014- New York City Writing Project: Teacher-to-

Teacher Conference-Lehman College, Bronx NY

. 2014- Conflict Mediation Workshop-Manhattan, NY

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