Clarissa Cope

Clare is just back to work after the death of her mother. She was quite emotional. We had an immediate connection. On the literacy front, she described the curriculum – SPIRE – that she is required to use as being very prescriptive.  She has 16 on her caseload, including 4th and 5th graders who cannot decode.  Clare said that 25% of whole school was below benchmark in reading based on FastBridge scores. In the district where she previously worked, she felt empowered to make instructional and curriculum decisions based on student need.  She used a lot of resources from FCRR and EdMark.  The course she is taking is a refresher of what she has learned and used.  Everything feels overwhelming right now.