Sarah Ward, Keynote

MS, CCC-SLP

Anne joined The John Crosland School from The Epiphany School of Charlotte where she taught math and social communications skills to middle-grade students with Asperger’s syndrome, autism spectrum, and social communication needs.   Anne holds both her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Education degrees in Special Education, and her teaching career began in 1994. Anne has taught nearly all subjects to students in kindergarten through high school in Lexington County, SC; Forsyth and Stokes County, NC and in Cabarrus County, NC.  Anne lives in Concord and has two sons and she is passionate about working with parents and families. Anne also loves teaching sensory processing, social thinking, and executive functioning skills, and loves working at John Crosland!

 

Kathleen has served as School Counselor at the John Crosland School since February 2015. Before coming to Crosland Ms. Gavin graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Millersville University and a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Villanova University. She has experience working with children and adults with physical, psychological, and developmental disabilities as well as adolescents struggling with truancy and delinquency. In previous years Kathleen worked as a college and career counselor for high school students in low-income schools, an experience she later used to present at the TEDx Villanova Conference. She serves as a co-facilitator of the MS/US Girls Group, as well as creator and co-facilitator of the Big Buddy Project. She enjoys hosting both the College Fair and Career Day.

 

Shannon Nichols earned a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Iowa and a Master of Arts in Teaching with Specialization in National Board Certified Teacher Leadership Distinction from National University.  Shannon has twenty years of teaching experience and has enjoyed teaching literacy for the past 4 years at The Fletcher School in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shannon’s responsibilities include teaching all literacy components. She engages students in innovative ways using Apple technology in the classroom.  She is a member of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators [AOGPE] with a Classroom Educator designation. Shannon is an Apple Certified Teacher.  

 

 

After receiving her Bachelor's degree from Elon University, Jackie Tarleton worked as a media specialist, first grade teacher, upper school Spanish teacher and yearbook advisor. Jackie is currently serving as the Educational Technology Specialist at The Fletcher School, assisting with the integration of educational and assistive technologies. She was a contributor to the school's Apple Distinguished School iBook. As an Apple Teacher and Google Certified Educator, Jackie serves as an educational technology support for students, faculty, and staff. Her professional development presentations and workshops include engaging and equipping students through digital lesson design, as well as digital citizenship, literacy, and ethics. She completed her Master of Education degree in Education Technology with a focus on Digital Learning and Teaching from American College of Education in 2018. 

 

Patti directs The Fletcher School’s educational technology team, creating innovative student and teacher training and program development. After co-leading the school’s initial 1:1 roll out and Digital Learning Academies for families grades K-12, Patti co-presented a session on 1:1 Deployment: Digital Boot Camps, Digital Citizenship and Devices at ISTE 2015. She launched the school’s inaugural digital citizenship program, resulting in Fletcher being named a Common Sense Digital Citizenship School. Patti is a Common Sense Education Certified Digital Citizenship Educator, an Apple Teacher and was co-author and lead editor for The Fletcher School’s Apple Distinguished School iBooks in 2015 and 2017. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Guilford College.  Patti has a Master of Education from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University, and is a Nationally Certified Counselor.