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Kristina Kardos,
Excellence in Teaching Awardee
Philosophy of Teaching
Throughout my childhood I watched Ohio State football with my father. I loved hearing the stories of teamwork and the great coach Woody Hayes. I was ecstatic to attend The Ohio State University for my bachelor's degree and spend many a Saturday afternoon watching a great team play. When I was first offered a job in Plano ISD I was struck by the motto "Teamwork for Excellence". I wondered if it was just a catch-phrase or an actual Iiving-breathing motto. I soon found out that "teamwork" would become the cornerstone for my educational career.
As I continued on in my own "play book" of education, I found my home team as a teacher at Pearson Early Childhood School. I teach our centralized structured classroom. I use the term "our" classroom because I am merely the coach for my phenomenal staff and impressive students. Our room is designed to implement student success. It is our own "stadium" if you will. When you walk into our classroom you will see that it is designed with our students' needs in mind. Materials are organized for easy retrieval, furniture laid out to give a sense of visual barriers and safety, displays designed to highlight the joys of the students. The cornerstone of our classroom is the fact that it is so highly structured. It has to be. Our students thrive and are calm by consistency and clear expectations.
My students' disabilities require an intense staff to student ratio for their success. I believe that one of the greatest compliments one could give to our team is that all team members are equally and efficiently working with the students. My teaching assistants and I work collaboratively each minute to fully implement the best educational plan possible for the students. When something doesn't work, there is always the attitude of try and try again. My assistants inspire me everyday to always do my best. We constantly review our game plan to see what works and what needs revision.
We work collaboratively with parents to provide success in the classroom and in the home. I firmly believe that a students' family has to be part of their educational team. By working with parents we see their long-term goals for their child. Together we can begin the steps in early childhood to lay the foundation for overall success in Plano ISD and beyond. We provide materials and one-on-one parent training to enable parents to receive the tools they need to help their child be successful.
I am fortunate to work in a district that provides such dedicated trainings and curriculum for students with autism spectrum disorder. Each of my students receives individualized instruction to meet their needs. Besides their own personal goals, each of them has unique traits that allow us to tap into their potential. Some love music, so we sing their lessons to them. Some enjoy trains, so we will count, sort, graph and play with trains in a multitude of ways. We meet the students where they are, and an amazing thing occurs...they flourish!
The truth is every day my students work extremely hard to do things that come quite easily to many people around them. Our team strives for victories every day. And we do have them. We celebrate every new sound uttered, new toy played with, saying their name, giving visual regard, and especially a hug. Sometimes it may take months of working on one goal to make progress. It is those moments that make the victories even sweeter. We persevere through set backs and readjust our goal. We may not have a band, cheerleaders or a large side-line, but we honor our students' achievements like we are a winning national championship team!
I am honored to be my team's coach. Coach Woody Hayes once said, "You win with people." I believe that to be true on the football field and in life. Working as a team with my students, co-workers, parents, my school and the district as a whole makes my job an enjoyable adventure that allows me to feel like I am part of the "big game" every day.
Educational
/ Professional Background
University Degrees and Certifications
- Master's Degree, Specializing in Special Education
Walden University, In Progress
- Alternative Certification Program
Region 10 - 2005-2006
- Bachelor's Degree, Major: English, Minor: Political Science
The Ohio State University 12/1998
- Recipient of the Scarlet and Gray Academic Scholarship
- Recipient of Speech and Debate Scholarship
Certifications
- Special Education EC-12, State of Texas, Current
- General Education EC-4, State of Texas, Current
Highlights of Seminars Attended
- Thinking About You-Social Cognitive Defects Seminar
- Autism Academy & Advanced Academy
- NAEYC National Conference
- Wright Group Early Childhood Summer Institute
Specialized Training
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ABLLS
- Boardmaker
- CPI
- Picture Exchange Communication System
- Positive Behavior Supports
- SCERTS Model
- STARS Program
Teaching Experience
Centralized Structured Classroom Teacher - Plano lSD, Plano, Texas 2008-Current
- Utilize research based methods in autism instruction, such as STARS, to implement individualized instruction for students in a self-contained classroom
- Develop a wide variety of behavior supports
- Create numerous visual aides for non-verbal and limited language students
- Maintain accurate and detailed data to track student progress
- Daily communication with parents to facilitate the home and school connection
In-Home/Parent Trainer Plano lSD - Plano, Texas - 2008-Current
- Provide trainings to parents and families within their homes and communities based on each child's individual needs
- Provide one-on-one training to students to generalize IEP objectives from school into the home
Integrated Classroom Teacher - Plano lSD, Plano, Texas - 2007-2008
- Served as both general and special education teacher for a preschool classroom
- Differentiated instruction for students with varying disabilities
- Worked collaboratively with an ESL teacher to provide joint instructional ventures
Extended School Year Teacher - Plano lSD, Plano, Texas - Summer 2007
- Special Education teacher for secondary students
- Students within a Centralized Structured Classroom
Teaching Assistant - Plano lSD, Plano, Texas - 2006-2007
- Assisted teachers in the overall running of the classroom
- Behavior supports
- Data collection, observation, and assessment of student behaviors and academic progress
- Teaching of direct instruction in math, reading & writing
- Writing and implementing lesson plans for Daily Living Skills & Social Skills
- Centralized Structured Classroom
Job Coach & Teaching Assistant McKinney lSD, McKinney, Texas - 7/2004-6/2005
- Worked with mentally challenged students with their job and daily living skills
- Taught students independent living courses, example money management
- Arranged community-based instructional field trips
- Assisted within a reading resource room and led direct instruction
Teacher & Assistant Director La Petite Academy, Westerville, Ohio - 12/2000-7/2004
- Developed a summer camp program including lessons and community-based instruction
- Taught children ages Infant-school age
- Implementation of a phonics program
- All daily lesson planning
- Supervision of assistant teachers
- Administrative and customer service support for the Director
- Promoted to Assistant Director from Lead Teacher
Presentations Given
Assessment and Data Collection - Plano lSD, Plano, Texas - Fall 2009
- Provide school staff with information regarding maintaining accurate data and processing an ABLLS
assessment for students with autism
Introduction to the STARS Program - Plano ISD, Plano, Texas - Fall 2009
- Co-presented to ECS staff regarding implementation and classroom set-up of the STARS program
Play Skills - Plano lSD, Plano, Texas - Fall 2008 & 2009
- Presented an interactive training open to all early childhood parents of students with autism.
- Presented information on developmentally appropriate play sequences and how to facilitate in one's home environment.
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