Noah Tonk

tonkn@vail.k12.az.us

 

Education & Training:	Bachelor of Arts, English, Dec. 2000: Metropolitan State College of Denver Master of Education, Educational Leadership, May 2007: Northern Arizona University   Step Up to Writing Training, August 2001 Intel© Teach to the Future Master Teacher Training, June 2002 Microsoft© Teacher Leadership Training, July 2002 Six Traits of Effective Reading Training, August 2002 Helping Students Meet & Exceed Writing Standards Training, February 2004 Cognitive Coaching Training, May 2005 Seven Habits Seminar, July 2005 AP by the Sea, June 2006
Certifications:	Arizona Principal Certificate, expected May-June 2008 Arizona Professional Teaching Certificate Master Teacher in Instructional Technology - Intel Teach to the Future
Teaching Experience:	Please see the next pages to see contributions I have made to these institutions.   Alternative-to-Suspension Coordinator (part-time) Pantano Alternative School, 2/2007-Present Supervised the development of programs for students who have been suspended for 60 days or more and have chosen to work in a supervised academic setting for the duration of the suspension.   English Teacher; Teaching Technology Specialist (TAT) Cienega High School, 7/2004-Present Senior English, Honors Senior English Junior English, Senior Exit Project, Science Fiction Literature, Creative Writing Workshop, Advanced Placement English Literature & Composition.   English Teacher Kingman High School, North Campus, 8/2003-6/2004 Science Fiction Literature II, Grammar & Composition.   English Teacher Academy of Charter Schools, 1/2001-Present American Literature & Composition, World Literature & Composition, English 9, Speech, English Skills, Writing Lab.
Teaching-Related:	Paraprofessional Ranch View Middle School, Douglas County,  8/97-5/98 Worked with students with mild to severe physical and mental disabilities in an inclusive, mainstream setting.   Residential Trainer, Bridgeway, Inc., 4/96-6/97 Assisted adults with severe developmental disabilities with daily living and social skills in a residential setting.
Honors & Memberships	2003 Teacher of the Year, Academy of Charter Schools 2007 Vail Pride Day Teacher of the Year Nominee, Cienega High School   National Education Association, Vail Education Association, National Association of Secondary School Principals

 

Accomplishments and Contributions

 

Pantano Alternative School, 2007-Present

 

• Assisted in revising the requirements for the Vail School District’s Alternative to Suspension Program

 

• Acted as administrator-on-campus when needed

 

Cienega High School, 2004-Present

 

• English 12 Team Leader during the 2006-07 & 2007-08 school years

 

• Tied with another teacher for the teacher who made the most impact upon the students of the class of 2006.

 

• Co-coordinator of the Senior Exit Project for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 academic years.

 

• Showed leadership in the innovative use of technology, including
• • worked as one of Vail’s Teaching Technology Specialists
  • piloted new PowerSchool gradebook software for the District;
  • the use of iMovie to supplement the reading curriculum and recruit students for electives;
  • frequent use of PowerPoint;
  • using a digital projector to include the class as a whole in editing student writing;
  • creating and maintaining a classroom website to supplement the in-school experience, located at www.mrtonk.com;
  • recording audio and video of classroom lectures and discussions;
  • uploading classroom audio and video as podcasts accessible to students and parents;
  • using a classroom wiki as an online, collaborative research project;
  • introduced the use of a wiki to encourage collaborative planning between grade-level teachers

 

• Evaluated teachers as part of the Vail School District’s cognitive coaching program.

 

• Took part in various English curriculum workshops at the District level, including helping to determine the Essential Standards for writing, assisting in “unwrapping” Vail writing standards and reorganizing the benchmarks at the 11^th & 12^th grade levels.

 

• Independently “unwrapped” the 7^th & 8^th grade reading and writing standards as part of a district project

 

• Served on Site Council during the 2007-08 school year.

 

• Selected the anthology used to replace the Senior English textbook in the spring of 2006.

 

• Developed the curriculum necessary to implement Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition as a new course to Cienega.

 

• Participated in the summer “On-Watch” activities in its inaugural summer in 2005 & in the summer of 2007.

 

• Participated in the committee for the design and location of Vail’s new high school.

 

• Participated in the district’s wellness & nutrition committee, charged with instituting the wellness portions of NCLB

 

• Participated in the planning for Vail Pride Day through the Awards Ceremony committee

 

 

 

Kingman High School, 2003-2004

 

• Redesigned the Science Fiction Literature course to reflect an updated curriculum, a heavier emphasis on the development of critical reading skills, and a standards-based exploration of major themes of the genre.

 

• Taught a two-part professional development workshop for elementary teachers of Kingman Unified School District #20 in how to use the Six Traits of Effective Writing to guide writing instruction.

 

Academy of Charter Schools, 2000-2003

 

• Voted 2003 Teacher of the Year by Academy Faculty, Voted 2003 High School Teacher of the Year by Academy students.

 

• Emphasized the development of reading skills through the teaching, discussion and practice of reading strategies.  Integrated the “Six Traits of Effective Reading” assessment & teaching model into the teaching of literature and reading skills.

 

• Used the American Literature and World Literature classes to study the history of the United States and of the world through its literature and used this literature as a model for writing. 

 

• Created an innovative interdisciplinary unit in cooperation with the History department in which the American Literature students reviewed the literature of the Revolution and used that information and their own values to write a new national Constitution.  Emphasis was on Ideas, Organization, Sentence Fluency and Word Choice.  Each class created its own Constitution and then debated the merits of each in a day-long Constitutional Convention in the auditorium.  I have done this for two years and solicited two Colorado State Senators to speak at the 2002 Convention.

 

• Emphasized the development of writing skills using the Six Trait writing model and the teaching of writing as a process of creation and revision.

 

• Coached the ACS Speech Team and sponsored the Junior High Drama Club.

 

• Used Speech class as a vehicle for the Speech Team and taught the performance process as “Six Trait Thinking”.

 

• Helped to introduce “for credit” summer English courses into the ACS curriculum.  Summer courses were intensive and aimed at helping poorly performing students both gain the necessary skills for success and learn the course content in a meaningful way.

 

• Created and maintained a teaching website for my students in each class.  The website included assignment information, 2700 web resources, a chat room for online study groups (teacher is always present for an hour or so during the evening prior to exams), a discussion board, and many other resources.  This website was located at www.mrtonk.org.

 

• Received educational technology training under the Intel© Teach to the Future program as a Master Teacher in Instructional Technology during the summer of 2002.  During the 2002-03 school year I trained the secondary staff at the Academy of Charter Schools in the use of appropriate classroom technology.

 

• Participated in the Academy of Charter Schools School Accountability Committee, working to create and implement a school improvement plan for the District-School Improvement Team.