Sarah M. S. Kwilinski is a former Special Education teacher. She has taught in a variety of settings from the jungles of Papua New Guinea, to inner city schools, to rural Michigan. Her Special Education teaching environments have ranged from co-teaching in an inclusion-only program, to a Resource Room, to an ISD program for Emotionally Impaired students.
In 2004, Sarah began incorporating the Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations into her teaching program. She was delighted to find that using the GLCE in each area of teaching made her more efficient and effective. The GLCE transitioned easily into IEP Goals and Objectives. They then became the foundation for writing Unit Plans. Finally, through a unique adaptation of the typical Grade Book, Sarah developed a system for immediately recording each student's level of mastery as soon as it occurred.
This increased efficiency translated to increased teaching time, and therefore a faster learning rate by her students. End-of-the-year testing revealed that 90% of her Special Education LD and EI students had made from 1 1/2 to 2 full years of academic progress in one year! For example, students who began the year reading at the 1.2 grade level ended that year reading at the 3.0 grade level.
In the Spring of 2005, Sarah received the opportunity to present her program before the Region II Special Education Monitors. Since then she has launched her career in Professional Development for Special Education teachers with The Quill Method.
For the 2010-11 school year, with the arrival of the Common Core State Standards, Sarah is launching brand new products and workshops along with the help of her new business partner, Dr. Ilene Satchell
Dr. Satchell has spent over 30 years as a teacher, a principal and an ISD staff member supporting teachers' growth and development. Her focus area is curriculum and instruction and she adds her knowledge of general education procedures to Quill PD. Together Dr. Satchell and Mrs. Kwilinski are serving the needs of all kinds of teachers, staff, and administrators from Kindergarten through 12th grade, both special ed and general ed.
Sarah lives with her husband and two sons in central Michigan. Ilene lives in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.