In November, NJEA ACCESS consultant Katherine Clark worked with the staff at Trenton Community Monument School. Clark regularly works to support Special Education teacher, Glynis Spencer. Spencer became an educator by way of the alternate route in 1999, earning a K-8 Teacher of the Handicapped certification through Rutgers University in 2000. She has taught in the Trenton Public Schools system her entire career in education. Spencer has worked in various positions as a special education teacher at several schools in the district, including resource room, MD and LLD teacher.
Clark, Spencer, and Khadijah Butt, a classroom aide, work together in the classroom. Recently, Clark and Spencer presented a trauma informed care session for the building faculty. These presentations are held approximately once per month.
Prior to embarking on a career at NJEA, Clark served as an elementary and high school principal. Clark has more than 30 years of experience as an educator, counselor, speech teacher and school administrator in various educational settings, including elementary, high school and post-secondary. She is focused on enhancing student achievement through parental involvement, teacher empowerment and professional development.
Clark currently serves as a school board member in the community where she resides.
In November, special education teacher Glynis Spencer facilitated a professional development workshop titled “The Truth About Suspensions” for her peer teachers at Monument Intermediate School in Trenton. Spencer became an educator by way of the alternate route in 1999, earning a K-8 Teacher of the Handicapped Certification through Rutgers University in 2000. She has taught in the Trenton Public Schools system her entire career in education. Spencer has worked in various positions as a special education teacher at several schools in the district, including resource room, MD and LLD teacher. The Healing Hearts series of workshops provides an overview of the impact of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on the developing child.
Each month, the School Improvement Panel (ScIP) at Monument School facilitates professional development sessions for teachers to help them develop a trauma-informed lens to better support students and their families. By the end of this school year, teachers will have participated in 10 sessions by the end of the year. The ScIP teacher leaders at Monument School include Renee Bailey, Katrina Baldwin, Heather Edwards, Viktor Lawson, Glynis Spencer, and Bree Williams.