[ ELLM Newsletter - Coach Info - Office Information - Teacher-Get-Togethers - SEEDS - WOW] SW Florida EducationWorks! ELLM Coaches EducationWorks! Beverly Rees Beverly Rees has been with the ELLM program since 2004 first as a classroom teacher and for the past 5 years as a literacy coach. Bev was the lead teacher in the Mixed-Age Classroom in The Family Resource Center at Florida Gulf Coast University before coming to her coaching position in 2005. Bev adapted and implemented the ELLM program in the lab setting classroom and also supervised a team of student assistants from the College of Education. She worked with FGCU professors to assist students through observation, development of lesson plans and served as a resource for their coursework. Beverly has a B.S. in Elementary Education from Illinois State University and graduate work in reading; she has taught third and fourth grades in both rural and inner-city schools. She has served as a student teacher supervisor, district representative, presenter and volunteer for various projects. Beverly has a diverse background as a buyer in the specialty retail industry and as a talent manager for her own children’s careers in the entertainment business. Her experience in both education and business afford her the leadership, creative and organizational skills to make a life-long impact on our children and their teachers. Beverly has found a home with ELLM where all her talents, love of children, and enthusiasm are used on a daily basis. Bev has taken great pride in leading the ELLM staff in developing the English Language Learner program called WOW, Words on Wings. Carol Clabaugh One of our newest coaches is Carol Clabaugh joining our ELLM coaching team as an experienced ELLM teacher. Prior to accepting the ELLM coaching position, Carol was a Lead Pre K teacher at the YMCA of the Palms in Naples. But Carol’s story begins in Baltimore, Maryland. Carol graduated from York College of Pennsylvania in 1991 with a B.S. in Elementary Education. After graduation finding a teaching position in Maryland or Pennsylvania was difficult for the new graduate. After the birth of her son, Jadon, Carol separated from her first husband moved back home and was hired as a third grade teacher in Baltimore City Schools. Carol worked hard as a single parent to support her child in the job teaching in the inner city. During the next 8 years she taught third and fourth grade. Then in 2003 she met her second husband, Chris, and moved to Florida. Starting a new life in Naples, she applied for a for a Human Relations position, but instead, when they saw her credentials was hired to teach Pre-K. What a wonderful change! Carol quickly adapted to the “Y” and learned to love the ELLM curriculum and embraced working with young children. In 2009 she was honored as the recipient of the Apple Blossom Award. Carol taught at the YMCA for 5 years before becoming an ELLM Literacy Coach. We are pleased to have her skills and experience working with our teachers as part of the ELLM Coaching team. Megan Turner Megan Turner joins the ELLM coaching team coming to us as a former ELLM teacher. Megan is originally from Edina, Minnesota. She arrived in the Naples area after beginning her education at the University of Alabama, where she met her future husband. Eventually her path led her to the Naples area where she finished her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Florida Gulf Coast University. Megan has lived in Naples, Florida for 13 years, has been married for 10 year and is the proud mother of 2 sons, Alex and Ryan. Megan spent the last 10 years working as a Pre-K 4 teacher. She worked in Collier County Public Schools as a Head Start teacher before she left for the birth of her second child. Upon returning to teaching she resumed her career as a Pre-K teacher at the YMCA of the Palms in Naples. She was honored as the 2009-10 Apple Blossom Award winner in the county. Megan brings a love and excitement for the teaching profession to her positions and is eager to share this love as an ELLM coach. She works hard to help teachers enhance their educational skills. Megan agrees,”I am lucky to go to a job that I love everyday.”