Laura P.

Weakland
52111 Eleven Mile Road
South Lyon, MI 48178
(734) 276-5389
lpweakland@sbcglobal.net | http://lpweakland.weebly.com

CERTIFICATIONS
Michigan Administrator’s Certificate - 2015 – K-12
Michigan Teaching Certificate – 2010 - Elementary - K-5, all subjects; K-8, self contained;
Mathematics Endorsement - grades 6-8 (EX); Integrated Science Endorsement - grades 6-8 (DI)
Certified Public Accountant, State of Georgia - 1987 (status: inactive)
CPI Nonviolent Crisis Intervention – 2017 and CPR and First Aid - 2016

EDUCATION
Masters of Educational Leadership - Oakland University - 2015
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Teacher Preparation – 2009
 Eastern Michigan University (EMU) - Minors: Mathematics and Integrated Science
Bachelor of Business Administration - 1987
 University of West Georgia - Major: Accounting

AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

 National Promising Practice – “Dolsen Taking Care Initiative,” Character.org - 2016
 Elementary Teacher of the Year, Oakland County - 2015
 Excellence in Education Award – “Taking Care of Others,” Oakland County - 2014
 Dean’s Award for Student Teaching, EMU Department of Teacher Education - 2010
 Miriam Schaefer Scholarship, Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics - 2009
 Dr. Everett L. Marshall Scholarship, EMU Department of Teacher Education - 2009
 DACTM Scholarship, Detroit Area Council of Teachers of Mathematics - 2009
 Outstanding Achievement for Excellence in Mathematics Education, EMU - 2009
 Outstanding Supplemental Instruction Leader of Physics, EMU - 2006

EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

South Lyon Community Schools District (SLCS)
Interim Principal - Dolsen Elementary (1/16 – 5/16, 3/18)
 Participated in the school improvement process at the building and district level
 Planned and facilitated Shared Involvement Process (SIP) meetings
 Developed the school budget and supervised the expenditures from the budget
 Planned staff meetings and led professional learning for staff on building and sustaining a
culture of thinking (CoT)
 Supervised and evaluated kindergarten paraprofessionals
 Mentored Michigan State University educational leadership intern
 Revised noon supervisor guidelines and responsibilities and communicated to staff
 Screened applicants at the district job fair and participated in the district screening
interview process in preparation for the hiring of instructional staff
 Conducted interviews and hired a 1st grade teacher
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 Coordinated district and county applications for Teacher and Support Person of the Year
 Attended all IEP meetings and worked closely with the resource room teacher and social
worker to ensure students’ academic and behavioral needs were met
 Administered guidelines for proper student conduct in conjunction with Board of Education
(Board) policy and maintained student discipline while working closely with parents,
teachers, bus drivers, noon supervisors, and office staff
 Served as the building M-Step administrator overseeing the scheduling and administration
 Reviewed district assessments and held one-on-one data meetings with teachers
 Provided leadership to Parent-Teacher-Organization (PTO) and attended all PTO meetings
 Attended all district administrator meetings and participated in discussions about ongoing
district matters
Fourth Grade Teacher - Dolsen Elementary (8/10 – present)
 SIP Committee – participated in the review of the school improvement plan, school budget,
and many other building-level matters
 External Review Team – collaborated with steering committee for the building AdvancEd
External Review; participated on External Review teams for three other districts
 CoT Leadership Team – led CoT leadership team on building and sustaining a culture of
thinking at the building and in the district
 Guest Columnist, South Lyon Herald Newspaper– wrote education articles as a way of
communicating the Dolsen vision and mission to the community
 Guest Blogger, Oakland County Cultures of Thinking Blog – wrote blog post – “Thinking is
Contagious!...How our Cultures of Thinking Journey Began”
 Interview Committee – participated on various committees since 2011 hiring eight teachers
 Mentor – supervised and mentored two EMU student teachers and two 4th grade teachers
 Math Subject Area Committee Member – aligned new Investigations curriculum and created
instructional maps, created CCSS-M aligned report card and district math assessments
 Professional Learning Facilitator and Presenter – led professional learning for new and
experienced teachers at the building, district, and county level; as well as presented
initiatives to the district Board:
County:
o Fostering Social-Emotional Learning through Read Aloud – Oakland County Effective
Practices Conference (6/16)
o Shared Leadership in Building Dolsen’s Culture of Thinking and Using the L.A.S.T
Protocol to Examine Student Learning – Oakland County CoT Foundations Seminars
(4/17, 3/17, 4/16, 3/16)
Board/District:
o Fostering Literacy Engagement and Motivation – new teachers (2/18)
o Dolsen Taking Care of Others Initiative – Board meeting (2/16)
o Engaging the Whole-Brain Learner: Developing Classroom Culture to Support
Academic Achievement – new teachers (3/17 and 3/15)
o Providing Online Math Opportunities for Students– grade 3-5 teachers (3/15)
o Math Investigations and Unpacking the CCSS-M Training – grade 4 teachers (8/14)
o Utilizing the Math Workshop Model – new teachers (8/14, 8/13)
Building:
o Sailing into Summer with Children’s Literature – literacy workshop for parents (5/18)
o Sailing into March is Reading with Children’s Literature – literacy workshop for
teachers (3/18)
o Supporting the Exceptional Learner – co-led professional learning series (2016-2017)
o Creating a Culture of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform our
Schools – co-led year-long book study and read-discuss-act-reflect PLC staff meeting
series (2015-2016)
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o Continued Transformation into a Culture of Schooling, Learning & Thinking:
Developing Classroom Culture to Support Academic Achievement (9/15)
o Breakfast Treats and Twitter (5/15)
o Pushing Student Thinking in Mathematics: Providing Students Rich Opportunities and
Supporting Math Discourse – developed and led staff meeting series (2014-2015)
o Integrating the Standards of Mathematical Practice (11/14)
o The Whole-Brained Dolsen Learner: Developing Culture and Skills for 21st Century
Learning (8/14)
o Making Thinking Visible – co-led new teacher workshop and year-long book study and
staff meeting series (2013-2014)
o Creating a Safe and Secure iPad Environment for Students (8/13)
o Making Thinking Visible – led an after-school PLC series on creating a culture of
thinking (2012-2013)
 ESL Grade Level Representative/Tutor – served as a building ESL representative and tutor
 Technology – participated in a district Chromebook pilot, led an iPad pilot/proposal,
launched hashtag #dolsenthinkers, created Dolsen Thinkers website
http://dolsenthinkers.weebly.com/, and utilized the Pearson Inform and Illuminate data
systems for collecting and analyzing student assessment data
 Bond Issuance and Elementary Design Committees – made recommendations to the Board
regarding content and dollar amount of proposed bond issuance in May 2015, as well as, the
design of the new elementary school to be built with bond dollars
 Task Force Committee – developed a plan to address how best to accommodate the
anticipated elementary enrollment increase for 2016-2017
 Specials Schedule – co-developed the building specials master schedule
 Student-led Curriculum Night – proposed and led a building-wide student-led “leaders of
our learning” portion of Curriculum Night
 Dolsen Taking Care Initiative – launched and led an award-winning, building-wide initiative
tied into the Dolsen school rules and district habits of mind to help students develop the
lifelong skills needed to “take care of themselves, each other, and the world”
 Helping Hands Club - founded a club to help students develop empathy and compassion for
others; led teams of 4th graders over a 5-year timeframe to fundraise school-wide for charity
 Helping Hands Snack Bag Program – organized and fundraised for a building snack program
 Coordinator - School-wide Assemblies – facilitated school-wide assemblies with Children’s
Craniofacial Association, Leader Dogs for the Blind, Learning Gizmos’ Family Math Night, and
authors Maria Dismondy and Kris Yankee
 Girls on the Run Coach – participated as coach for after school program

OTHER PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

MCN Energy Group Inc. and Deloitte & Touche, Detroit, MI
Senior Accountant, Senior Auditor, Financial Reporting Accountant (7/87-4/01)
 Prepared quarterly and annual shareholder reports and corresponding SEC reports
 Planned and scheduled job responsibilities and deadlines for quarterly and annual reports
 Reviewed working papers and financial statement disclosures prepared by staff
 Planned and coordinated financial statement audits
 Reviewed audit working papers and financial statement disclosures
 Supervised, scheduled, trained, and evaluated from five to ten auditing staff

References Available Upon Request