February Academic Staff of the Month

February Academic Staff of the Month

by | Apr 8, 2023 | Academic, Staff of The Month

Meghan Collins Morse is an exceptional Arrowsmith Instructor at Brehm Preparatory School, with over a decade of experience in supporting student growth both inside and outside the classroom. With her unwavering dedication and passion for helping students overcome learning challenges, Meghan has become a beloved figure at Brehm over her 10 years and 7 months of service.

As an Arrowsmith Instructor, Meghan brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her role, using innovative techniques and strategies to help students with cognitive weaknesses improve their cognitive functions. Her patience, understanding, and compassionate approach create a nurturing environment where students feel supported and empowered to reach their full potential.

Beyond her expertise in the classroom, Meghan’s impact extends far beyond her academic achievements. She goes above and beyond to build meaningful relationships with her students, providing guidance and mentorship to help them navigate challenges and develop important life skills. Her genuine care for her students shines through in everything she does, creating a positive and inclusive atmosphere where students thrive.

Meghan Collins Morse is truly an invaluable asset to Brehm Preparatory School, and her unwavering commitment to student success is evident in the growth and achievements of her students. Her dedication, expertise, and compassion make her a truly exceptional instructor, and she is deeply appreciated by students, colleagues, and the entire Brehm community.

 

 

 

 

January Academic Staff of the Month

January Academic Staff of the Month

by | Feb 10, 2023 | Academic, Staff of The Month

January Academic Staff of the Month

Emerick Neitzer is our newest teacher at Brehm Preparatory School, shining a unique light on science concepts for our students.

A veteran teacher in the Carbondale community, Emerick stepped into the Brehm family to teach environmental science, chemistry, biology, and other concepts within the field of scientific inquiry. He is known by the students for his impressive implementation of technology in the classroom, a mix of hands-on activities and experiments, his laid-back approach to classroom discussion, and having the sweetest dog in the world, Dara whom he shares with his class several days a week. His ability to teach complex concepts in a sequential and robust manner while also breaking them down for differentiated instruction is tremendous and entirely in line with the academic tradition Brehm has fostered for 40 years.

In addition to all this, Emerick is masterful in his use of Google Classroom to deliver instruction in a multi-media format. Students interact within the classroom with the material and are able to revisit it when needed for review. He has also found other online tools that help students prepare for different types of testing situations in order to prepare the college-bound for higher stakes testing.

We are greatly blessed to have such a talented teacher with us at Brehm. Congratulations, Emerick on being our January  Academic Staff of the Month!

ELA Newsletter Week 14

ELA Newsletter Week 14

by | Dec 16, 2022 | Academic, All Posts, Blog Post, English/Language Arts

ELA Newsletter Week 14

It’s beginning to look a lot like finals…

One of the most challenging parts of teaching English Language Arts and Literature classes at Brehm is the finals that encompass the end of the term before a long break (once in December before winter break and once in May before we depart for summer).

Over the years, I have done finals in many ways. Different students’ finals can look very different based on each students’ strengths and the focus areas we have for them. Some students need practice with traditional exams that cover the content from the entire semester with a focus on analysis of reading material and demonstration of various writing and reading strategies. Some have a skills-based final where I give various fluency, comprehension, and decoding exercises and I use these assessments to track their progress. Others are set up as a mix of stations where content and skills are tested. Needless to say, finals take quite a bit of thought and prep in this content area!

Since returning from Thanksgiving, students in language arts and literature have finished up their novel studies, have worked on their writing assignments and final projects related to those novels, and/or worked on specific reading strategies that they will employ on their final exam. In the upcoming week, I will be out on Monday but students will work on a reading, grammar, and writing exercise. The rest of the week will be spent in practice, content review, and reteaching before their finals the following week.

In creative writing, students have rethought the writing they were doing and decided whether they wanted to continued with the haunting story they had started using the Story Arc as their outline or if they wanted to morph their haunted stories in holiday tales. The goal is to finish these stories by December 15th. (Fingers crossed.)

Congratulations to the winner of the Thanksgiving Reading Challenge: Avery Davis!!!!

Week in Review: Nov. 28- Dec.2 —Use these to ask your kids what they are learning!
Junior High Language Arts-Word Play (lect, -logy, err-, fin-); Viewed The Legends of Ga’Hoole movie, created analysis chart comparing the book and the movie, discussion.

Language Arts-Word Play (lect, -logy, err-, fin-); Visualizing and Verbalizing image writing; V/V non-fiction Mark Twain biography page and comprehension questions; V/V non-fiction Montgomery Bus Boycott informational passage and comprehension questions

Literary Strategies- Word Play (lect, -logy, err-, fin-) Continued and finished working on five-paragraph essays comparing three main male adults in the book Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. Editing and conferencing completed.

Creative Writing-Idiom Word Play (pay through the nose, bring down the house, talk through your hat, high on the hog); Choose your own adventure-decide if it is best to continue your current writing, morph the story into a new direction, or start fresh while still focusing on the Story Arc as the outline.

Modern Literature- Word Play (lect, -logy, err-, fin-); finished Pop Music vs. Classic Poetry mini-unit; Commonlit poetry practice with Tupac Shakur and We Wear the Mask.

Week in Review: Nov. 28- Dec.2 —Use these to ask your kids what they are learning!
Junior High Language Arts-Word Play (lect, -logy, err-, fin-); Viewed The Legends of Ga’Hoole movie, created analysis chart comparing the book and the movie, discussion.

Language Arts-Word Play (lect, -logy, err-, fin-); Visualizing and Verbalizing image writing; V/V non-fiction Mark Twain biography page and comprehension questions; V/V non-fiction Montgomery Bus Boycott informational passage and comprehension questions

Literary Strategies- Word Play (lect, -logy, err-, fin-) Continued and finished working on five-paragraph essays comparing three main male adults in the book Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. Editing and conferencing completed.

Creative Writing-Idiom Word Play (pay through the nose, bring down the house, talk through your hat, high on the hog); Choose your own adventure-decide if it is best to continue your current writing, morph the story into a new direction, or start fresh while still focusing on the Story Arc as the outline.

Modern Literature- Word Play (lect, -logy, err-, fin-); finished Pop Music vs. Classic Poetry mini-unit; Commonlit poetry practice with Tupac Shakur and We Wear the Mask.

Finals Scheudle

ELA_Newsletter-Week_13

ELA_Newsletter-Week_13

by | Dec 16, 2022 | Academic, Blog Post, English/Language Arts

ELA_Newsletter-Week_13

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Happy Thanksgiving

to all of you!

I am so thankful for all of my students, for my opportunity to work at such a wonderful school that truly tries to do what is best for each student. Thank you for letting me teach your child. I will see you all after the break! Then three weeks til winter break. The time moves too fast. Enjoy the week!

~ Courtney

WEEK IN REVIEW: NOV. 14-18—USE THESE TO ASK YOUR KIDS WHAT THEY ARE LEARNING!

Junior High Language Arts-Word Play (demi-, hyper-); almost finished Guardians of Ga’Hoole and discussion; Thanksgiving Would You Rather.

Language Arts-Word Play (demi-, hyper-); Image Analysis Pre-reading activity; Working through an excerpt from A Taste of Blackberries; Comprehension, Maze, and Vocabulary extension; Thanksgiving Would You Rather.

Literary Strategies- Word Play (demi-, hyper-); Differences Among Men Outline and Essay; Thanksgiving Would You Rather.

Creative Writing-Idiom Word Play (pie in the sky, lose your shirt, gone to the dogs); Inciting Incidents in Short Stories; Thanksgiving Would You Rather.

Modern Literature- Word Play (demi-, hyper-); How to Read a Poem; Poetry Lingo; Pop Music vs. Classic Poetry; Thanksgiving Would You Rather

Empower Creativity: Fueling Future Visual Storytellers at Brehm Prep!

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ELA Newsletter Week 15

ELA Newsletter Week 15

by | Dec 16, 2022 | Academic, Blog Post, English/Language Arts

ELA Newsletter Week 15

Our Mission,

to empower students with learning disabilities and differences to recognize and
optimize their potential throughout their lives, has been at the forefront of my
mind over the past exciting and eventful twelve days.

I am excited to confirm I have accepted the position of Interim Director of Education here at Brehm. This is an opportunity that brings me such joy as I look at the trajectory of my life as an educator and my future goals as part of the Brehm family. There is a lot to do in the upcoming months and we have the best team for continuing to offer the individualized services that our students need and to prepare for a successful future for them and our program!

I started the process Thursday of explaining to the students what their English Language Arts, Literature, or Creative Writing Classes will look like moving forward. This was mostly to give them a general idea of who would be taking over the content teaching of their classes to help relieve some of their confusion and anxiety surrounding their schedules. I will be emailing each of you individually in the upcoming week to let you know who will be teaching their classes starting on January 4th.  I will be finishing out this month with them and get them through finals next week. It was sweet to see so many of them protest the fact that I couldn’t keep teaching them and do my new position (“You totally could do both, you’re just being lazy,” was my favorite!).

While this is an exciting time, I also know that it is a troubling time with so many changes that have already arisen in the past few months, and really since COVID, for our students, our staff, and our school community. Changes in leadership and staffing have resulted in a lot of growing pains

TEACHING

Teaching Junior High
Language Arts 1st hour.

LEADING

Guiding the academic
portion of the Brehm
holistic model.

COLLABORATING

Working closely with
students, parents,
teachers, and all direct
service providers.

as we navigate similar issues seen in public education and other industries. While I don’t have all the answers, I do know this: the teachers and staff that are here are dedicated to the empowerment and success of your children and to the mission of our school. My charge in this new position will be to continue to cultivate the academic portion of the holistic model that Brehm has been known for for the past 40 years.

The hardest part of accepting this new position is my inability to continue with a full load of English Language Arts and Literature classes. Some of you may be worried about the impact of this transition in the middle of the school year and the changing of hands so to speak of your student’s reading and writing skill development. Please be assured that I am considering the implications of the changes and will match my students to the teachers that can deliver the instruction that the students in those classes need. Bradley and I began this process last week and made some decisions, but even throughout this weekend I am continuing to think through the changes being proposed to make sure that they will have positive educational impact. Once we have finalized the plans this week, I will be communicating those changes. If you have any questions or concerns moving forward please reach out and let me know. I am looking forward to continuing to work with each of you in this new capacity!
Happy Holidays!
Sincerely,
Courtney Vincent
Interim Director of Education

November Academic Staff of the Month

November Academic Staff of the Month

by | Dec 3, 2022 | Academic, Staff of The Month

November Academic Staff of the Month

Barb Drew is the embodiment of the Brehm spirit and culture that reminds us that learning, though challenging, can be fun when you have someone who incorporates a strength-based caring approach that builds trust and rapport with students that allows her to tap into the untapped potential that otherwise would be neglected or missed altogether in a traditional classroom setting.

Barb Drew has been working tirelessly to restart Student Council on Brehm’s campus, ensuring that our students have a voice in the process and helping them organize themselves into committees designed to address the specific issues that mean most to each of them and their constituents.

In conjunction with her Student Council co-facilitator Jen Conwell, Barb has sacrificed countless lunch periods to meet with students to help them organize their thoughts into sensible policies that can be put forth to Brehm’s Administrative Team to better help address the issues that are most salient to the student body.  If you’ve had the pleasure of working with Barb before, you’ll understand that this process is informative, fun, and engaging.

Barb has also spent her personal time reorganizing the Brehm Student Store.  For those unfamiliar with the Brehm Student Store, it’s an opportunity to provide students with real-world job experience involving engaging with customers, processing orders, and providing correct change.  This provides them with real-world employability skills that are transferable across a variety of industries.  The Brehm Student Store also provides Student Council with a fundraising opportunity, with the proceeds largely going to fund Brehm’s Prom, which is tentatively scheduled for Friday, May 5th, 2023, provided that Student Council raises enough money to rent space off-campus.

Barb has worked to implement the Lexia Learning program Core5 Reading and PowerUp Literacy programs in her work with our students and has been instrumental in its implementation across the program. Barb has worked to understand the program so she can provide training to other faculty and staff and it has helped to better our on-campus literacy initiative as a result.

Barb and Jen worked with the student body, in conjunction with Jeremy Robbins, LaNeal Nance, Jordan Vandeveer, and Brehm’s newest employee, Licensed School Social Worker Cody Roberts, to string the lights on the Lights Fantastic Float, aka the maintenance truck, which we are thankful to Tom Coffel and Mike Hosman for letting us procure for a large part of the week.  Barb and Jen worked to design the float and got vital help from Brad Siemer and Monte Hefner, who helped to get the bright “BREHM” lights strung on a sturdy sign that will go across the grill of the truck.