Beachwood City Schools saw dozens of new hires this school year — more than two dozen. Beachwood Patch asked some of the new teachers to tell us a few things about themselves. Look for a new teacher every Friday.
Katie Spence is the new elementary science resource specialist for both Bryden and Hilltop schools, a position that was created just this school year. This is her sixth year as a teacher. She began her career at Nordonia Hills Middle School and is also finishing up her master's degree in curriculum instruction at Kent State. We asked her a few questions about the brand new position.
1. What is your favorite kind of science?
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“I really like living things and life science, I’ve taught ecology for a number of years. I like seeing things in nature and connecting them together.”
2. What is it like being the science resource specialist?
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“I work mostly at Bryden. The students and teachers come to my classroom twice a week and I develop hands-on inquiry types of lessons. I help the teachers to incorporating what they’re already doing, like reading books and math, and applying those to science. It’s a cross-curricular position where I’m planning with teachers.”
3. What are some of the lessons you’re creating?
“My kindergarteners are working with weather, observing weather and measuring it every day. We’re taking temperatures and comparing the outside and inside and comparing them. My first graders are talking about changes that they see in the world. We just did a thing with ice melting, going from solids to liquids and gases. My second graders are working with Holden Arboretum where we’re working with environment and focusing on trees. We went to Holden and examined trees, leaves and looked at the interactions in the habitat.”
4. What do you like to do outside the classroom?
“I love being outside. I have a garden and I grow tomatoes, zucchini and peppers. I can my own tomatoes so over the winter I have fresh tomatoes all year long. I make zucchini pickles and jelly. I have a couple of flower gardens too. Anytime I can go outside it’s a good day for me.”
5. What is your favorite travel destination, so far?
“We went down to Phoenix for the Indians' spring training and got to see the Grand Canyon. It was such an amazing sight; it is so much better in person. My husband and I have a goal to visit somewhere in each of the 50 states.”