Selena Coutts

Work History

Classroom Teacher

Ray Watkins Elementary School

09.2022 - 06.2023

Grade 2/3 and a Grade 4/5 class, all subjects
Taught with an Indigenous lens and integrated local indigenous pedagogy, language, values and teachings into units and lessons.
Organized online and in-person field trips (Zooms with Geologist-Rock Cycle, Trip to Pumpkin Patch-Interdisciplinary Unit).
Dedicated 3-4 days a week to working with elders on Language Revitalization work to bring more local dialect into the school.
Increased students' vocabulary of Nuu-chah-nulth words/survival phrases using memorization techniques. Students wrote their own introductions in Nuu-chah-nulth.

Classroom Teacher

Gold River Secondary School

09.2021 - 06.2022

Careers 8 and 9, Math 8, ADST 8 and 9, Foods 8-12, English 8 and 9, Art 8, Social Studies 8 and 9, Textiles 8 and 9
Established a hot lunch program for school, through the Foods 8-12 classes. Served a healthy hot lunch 2-3 days a week.
Helped students develop self-esteem and life skills by fostering healthy conflict-resolution, critical thinking, and communication.
Collaborated with parents, administrators, counselors, and Special Ed to develop improvement plans for struggling students.
Supported student teachers by mentoring on classroom management, lesson planning, and activity organization.
Volunteered personal time to mentor and tutor struggling students during lunch times and afterschool.

Classroom Teacher

Gold River Secondary School

09.2019 - 06.2020

Taught: Social Studies 8-11, Careers 8, Foods 10-12, and a Special Education Block 8-12
Established the board game club, Magic group, and volunteered within school clubs, events and activities, such as student leadership and spirit club. Created a school-wide photo scavenger hunt that was very well received by all.
Established and enforced rules of behavior to drive social development and maintain positive interactions; many of which were implemented school wide.
Supported student teachers by mentoring on classroom management, lesson planning, and activity organization with an Indigenous lens.
Volunteered personal time to mentor and tutor struggling students during lunch times and afterschool.

Classroom Teacher

Gwa'Sala-‘Nakwaxda ‘XW School

08.2018 - 06.2019

Grade 1, all subject- BC curriculum. *PE was prep.
Integrated local Indigenous culture, history, ways of knowing, values and used an Indigenous lens when creating units and lessons.
Followed school wide literacy, numeracy, and assessment programs. (Saxon, Reading Mastery, Read Well, Dibels, Six-Minute Solutions, and more.
Established open communication and positive relationships with students, parents, peers, and administrative staff.
Administered various reading tests and determined student reading levels based on assessment findings.
Met with parents to review Individualized Education Plans for at-risk students.
Scheduled and directed field trips and hands-on activities to foster student learning and creativity.
Used learning stations often to allow for organized small group work, to make interventions easier and to help students develop communication skills and build relationships with peers.

Educational Resource Developer

PHSA Indigenous Health

08.2016 - 08.2018

Contracted by PHSA Indigenous Health to design Indigenous health and wellness educational activities and materials in partnership with their online modules in the 'Ask Auntie' Youth Program.
Developed and published two different resource books for PHSA Indigenous Health for 'Ask Auntie' Indigenous Health and Wellness Youth program. I developed a detailed facilitators script, 130 pages, and a comprehensive facilitators guide, 164 pages.
Demonstrated great skill at working independently and collaboratively in a team environment
Ability to stay self-motivated, with a strong sense of personal responsibility throughout project time line.

Indigenous Girls Group Facilitator

North Island Building Blocks

09.2016 - 06.2018

Awarded several short and recurring contracts with North island Building Blocks; community worker, facilitating girls group, facilitating adult wellness groups, etc, all with an Indigenous lens focus.
Maintained positive, fun, and comforting environments that felt safe and inviting to clients and participants.
Planned and facilitated an Indigenous Youth Girls Group workshops on a weekly basis.
Incorporated exciting and engaging activities to achieve participation from participants and explored hands-on learning opportunities.
Advised and counseled youth to help them develop skills and knowledge required to succeed in life.
Implemented creative ways to foster curiosity for complex principles through hands-on learning and planned activities.
Helped participants explore concepts like personal wellness, self-love, colonization, residential school, racism, healthy relationships, addictions, staying balanced and much more, with engaging, learning-focused activities.
Fostered participant curiosity and interest through creative hands-on activities.

Indigenous Health and Wellness Workshop (3 Days)

Kwakiutl Band Council

07.2017 - 08.2017

Contracted by Kwakiutl Band to develop and facilitate a 3 day Indigenous Health and Wellness Workshop for Women with all content materials and activities to be developed with an Indigenous lens.
Workshop focused Indigenous Wellness with topics like; staying balanced, self-care, self-love and acceptance, building healthy relationships, effects of colonization, unpacking trauma and explored various personal wellness tools and strategies for participants.
Incorporated traditional Kwakiutl signers, elders, cedar weaving, drum making, and traditional healing.
Provided leadership for attendees, guiding day-to-day activities and facilitating a safe, welcoming, fun, educational, and culturally environment.
Planned special daily cultural events for program participants based on local Kwakiutl traditions. Over the 3 day workshop participants engaged in cedar weaving, drum making, healing crafts, traditional beading, and more. Each day had a traditional welcome and closing with songs and prayers by local elders.
Facilitated community outreach to expand participation and support.
Approached issues proactively to best meet current and future community needs.
Led group discussions and activities to meet different participant and community needs.

Classroom Teacher

Wagalus Elementary School

09.2015 - 06.2016

Grades 4-7
Taught all subject areas and followed BC curriculum.
Integrated local Indigenous culture, history, ways of knowing, values and used an Indigenous lens when creating units and lessons.
Incorporated multiple types of teaching strategies into classroom.
Followed school wide literacy, numeracy, and assessment programs. (Saxon, Reading Mastery, Read Well, Dibels, Six-Minute Solutions, and more.
Worked cooperatively with other teachers, administrators, and parents to help students reach academic and cultural objectives.
Fundraised $5,000 to take class and chaperones to Vancouver, BC for five days. Students participated and led several cultural events.
Supported student teachers by mentoring on classroom management, lesson planning, and activity organization with an Indigenous lens.

Classroom Teacher

Port Hardy Secondary School

09.2014 - 06.2015

Math 8, Science 8, Communications 12, Shared Understandings 10-12 ( Kwakiutl Culture and History)
Developed a senior Kwakiutl course through consultation with elders and community that focused on culture and history and taught it to grades 10-12. Content that was created still used today, though I'm sure it's been build upon by community.
Helped students develop important learning skills and good study habits useful in trade school or college education.
Encouraged student interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and participation in middle and high school national science competitions.
Planned and escorted student field trips relevant to current science course work.
Delivered audio-visual presentations on various platforms to cater to different learning styles.

Classroom Teacher

Port Hardy Secondary School

12.2013 - 06.2014

Digital Literacy 8, Math 9 and Science 9 (continuing teaching contract held)
Developed, created, and taught the digital literacy course modules and syllabus for SD 85.
Incorporated an Indigenous lens perspective and personalized instruction based on needs, interests and capabilities of individual students.
Provided individual mentoring and special tutoring to struggling students during lunch times and afterschool.
Tested and evaluated student progress to determine effectiveness and impact of teaching methods, materials and projects.
Managed and maintained computer systems, equipment and mobile devices by troubleshooting hardware and software issues, cleaning out keyboards and wiping down computer surfaces.
Attended professional development technology courses to increase knowledge base and learn new information.
Supported student teachers by mentoring on classroom management, lesson planning, and activity organization with an Indigenous lens.

Multi-Grade Classroom Teacher

Eke Me Xi Learning Centre

09.2013 - 12.2013

Math 8-10, Science 8-10, English 8-10, Careers 8-10, Foods 8-10, Art 8-10, PE 8-12, Environmental Ed 8-10, Social Studies 8-10
Helped students develop self-esteem and life skills by fostering healthy conflict-resolution, critical thinking, and communication.
Created engaging lesson plans, fostered culture of discovery and provided well-organized classroom structure to help students succeed in program.
Kept abreast of technological advances in mathematics and adapted curriculum for individual, small group and remedial instruction to meet diverse needs of high school students.
Offered supplemental and individualized instruction for at-risk and struggling students.
Collaborated with parents, administrators and counselors to develop improvement plans for struggling students.
Established and enforced rules of behavior to drive social development and maintain positive interactions.
Drove student learning by establishing clear classroom plans and group objectives, as well as actionable strategies to achieve each goal.
Supported student teachers by mentoring on classroom management, lesson planning, and activity organization with an Indigenous lens.

Classroom Teacher

Gwa'Sala-Nakwaxda'XW School

08.2011 - 06.2012

Grade 3/4, all subjects
Integrated local Indigenous culture, history, ways of knowing, values and used an Indigenous lens when creating units and lessons.
Followed school wide literacy, numeracy, and assessment programs. (Saxon, Reading Mastery, Read Well, Dibels, Six-Minute Solutions, and more.
Established a School Spirit Club, Board Game Club, and Art Club.
Helped students develop self-esteem and life skills by fostering healthy conflict-resolution, critical thinking, and communication.
Drove student learning by establishing clear classroom plans and group objectives, as well as actionable strategies to achieve each goal.
Worked cooperatively with other teachers, administrators, and parents to help students reach learning objectives.
Kept students on-task with proactive behavior modification and positive reinforcement strategies.

Summary

Overview

Work History

Classroom Teacher

Classroom Teacher

Classroom Teacher

Classroom Teacher

Educational Resource Developer

Indigenous Girls Group Facilitator

Indigenous Health and Wellness Workshop (3 Days)

Classroom Teacher

Classroom Teacher

Classroom Teacher

Multi-Grade Classroom Teacher

Classroom Teacher

Education

Indigenous Language Fluency Certificate - Indigenous Language Revitalization

Special Education Certificate - Special Education Teacher

Bachelor's Degree - Elementary Curriculum

Associate of Arts Degree - Education

Skills

Certification

TTOC Experience

Timeline

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