Laura was born and raised in upstate NY near Keuka Lake. As she finished her BA in Deaf Studies from the University of Rochester, she realized she wanted to teach and pursued alternative certification in Texas' Rio Grande Valley. In 1998, she went home to NY and was hired by the Turning Point Program of Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES as a special education teacher for middle school students whose emotional and behavioral difficulties made being in a less restrictive placement challenging. She transitioned to an elementary position in the same program and then to TST's first Instructional Coach. Across her career, Laura strives to foster a culture of collaboration and support as a teacher leader and as Teachers Association President. She has facilitated the district approach to APPR mandates. In 2011, she joined the NBC ranks as an Exceptional Needs Specialist and is currently the Southern Tier Regional Co-Director of the National Board Council of New York. Laura is passionate about ensuring that teacher voices are heard in district, regional and state-wide discussions.
Finding Meaning in Challenging Times
May 11, 2020
In times of crisis, humans seek meaning. The ripple effects from the COVID-19 pandemic shook my existence. In the blink of an eye, my school was closed. My colleagues were distanced. My materials and resources were across town. My students were out of reach. I was disoriented and disconnected. I went in search of answers. I turned on the news, flipped through social media, reached out to friends only to find confusion, misinformation, and catastrophizing. What I needed was guidance, clarity, and direction. The National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) emailed about a webinar concerning their response to the…
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