Gretchen Jurlando

Where and What I
Teach

Hello everyone! I cannot tell you how excited I am to finally be posting my introduction, and I
can’t believe that June is almost over. Between technical difficulties, traveling, and taking care of my nieces (who are 6 and 3 three years old) I thought this might not happen until class
starts. But here I am, finally!

My name is Gretchen Jurlando, and I feel like I am in a very unique situation as far as teaching reading goes. I have spent 10 years teaching in FMD classrooms in Jefferson County, the past six at Whitney Young Elementary. However, this fall I am transferring to Lincoln Elementary to teach 2nd grade. For those of you not in Jefferson County, and even for those who are, but don’t know what a FMD classroom looks like; it is the smallest number of students that JCPS services (also referred to as Low Incidence because of low numbers) because of the severity of their
disabilities. To qualify for FMD, students must have a very low cognitive level and also very low adaptive functioning skills. I truly enjoyed my time in the FMD classroom and feel like I
was quite proficient at it, but it was time for a change.

I graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1992 with a degree in Elementary Education, but did not begin teaching for another 10 years. In 2001, I was hired by JCPS with a provisional certificate to teach in a FMD classroom, while going to the University of Louisville to obtain my masters in moderate and severe disabilities. That pretty much brings us up to the present time.

About Me

I am a single mom with a 13 year old son, who attends Noe Middle school. When I am not working and have the money, I love to travel. Most recently my favorite trips have been to Cuba and Mexico, which brings me to another hobby, studying Spanish. I also enjoy reading, knitting, and anything that involves water (especially the ocean).

Recent Reads

Although reading is one of my favorite things to do, I haven’t been doing a whole lot of it.
The book that I most recently read, that I loved, was Jodi Picoult’s Change of Heart. I am excited to read during KRP in order to get me ready for this coming year. When I left Young for the last time, my principal said “read, read, read” (professional texts), and next week I am
going on a cruise so I will take both professional texts and fun reads. I will finish what I am currently reading Five Fortunes and probably start the Fifty Shades of Gray book.

Literacy in My Classroom

For this year, this part of my bio will drastically change. In the past, literacy in my classroom has
consisted of a lot of read alouds and meeting students individual reading goals. Most recently, there is more emphasis on comprehension for low incidence students, but this usually comes in
recalling information which, can be very difficult them. We answer a lot of “wh” questions. Discrete trial is a very specific strategy that is used to teach sight words, and two years ago we were provided with our first research-based reading program, Emerging Literacy Skills Builder.
Some other programs I have used either in their entirety or in bits and
pieces have been Reading Mastery and Rigby. My favorite reading computer software, is Edmark. It does a great job of getting students to read the books they provide in a relatively short amount
of time. And don’t all students love it when they first feel like readers!

Writing has mostly been done as shared writing. I model and students provide facts and
details, often using visuals as supports. Pixwriter is a computer
program that some of my students were able to use to publish their writing. My principal did an excellent job ofincluding all of her teachers in most reading and writing PD’s, so I feel like
I have a general background of what needs to happen this year, but like any
skill it requires practice and implementation. I feel like my strengths this year will definitely include working with struggling readers and writers, using data to guide my lessons, and scaffolding lessons.