Sarah Lougheed-Gill

"When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking."

I was delighted to hear this phrase last winter at my local public school fifty years after my First Grade teacher first introduced me to the world of phonics. I wrote a blog post on my coaching site about my love of reading instilled in me by my family and teachers; inspired by early memories of weekly family trips to our public library, I recalled being encouraged to check out as many books as my tiny arms could carry!

I am a retired educator who sometimes offers my expertise as a substitute teacher in my local district here in Massachusetts. Watching students proudly carrying their library books during my recent Long Term Substitute assignment as a second grade teacher became a full-circle moment for me. I recognize that my life-long love of reading extends to all of the students that I have encountered as a teacher. My excitement about children learning to read and write is connected to my own childhood sense of wonder learning to read in a supportive environment.

Last spring, I was invited back to the same local school to cover a mid-year retirement as an Instructional Support Teacher for Reading and Math K-3 (mid-year retirement March – June). Since then, I have been studying to take the Praxis ESOL test this fall.

When I work with students, I analyze data to identify

learning goals; document the behavior and social/emotional development of students in addition to their academic growth in order to assist families, teachers, and administrators to secure the support that students need.

I have most recent experience administering assessments using district tools like Great Minds (math); Literacy Footprints and Fountas &

Pinnell’s Leveled Literacy Intervention (reading). As a retired educator, I have taught in independent schools and public schools in California and Massachusetts.