Hi, Teachers!

My name is Sarah Smith. I am a…

  • former 1st grade teacher  
  • certified behavior analyst
  • K-2 instructional coach
  • happy mama
  • voracious reader

 

My first year of teaching was a disaster, and I determined that I would never again fail a group of students like I had that year – especially knowing that my own daughter would be in my classroom within a few years. It took a graduate degree (Applied Behavior Analysis), studying the research, and developing much of my own curricula to achieve it, but ultimately, I saw the results that I wanted for my students. 

For the past several years, I have worked as an instructional coach – taking what I learned about the fundamentals of an effective classroom to hundreds of teachers. The result is that they, too, have helped their students achieve academic and behavioral success.  

My goal is to illuminate what the fundamentals of an effective classroom are and to provide K-2 teachers with access to high-impact curricula so that students everywhere can achieve success.

Success in the Classroom

Here’s a sneak peek at what I will help you to master. Effective teachers are effective because they implement these five crucial practices: They…

  1. Maximize Structure
  2. Clarify Expectations
  3. Reinforce Appropriate Behavior
  4. Respond to Disruptions
  5. Engage Students