Deborah Davis
Reading Specialist & Extended Learning
Sky House
Contact Information
djdavis@seattleschools.org
(206)252-5550
My classroom here at Sacajawea is in the cloud-covered portable, affectionately know as "The Sky House." Please feel free to contact me at any time.
Personal and Professional History
Teaching here at Sacajawea and serving as our reading specialist is my dream-job come true. I have had a passion for helping children who struggle with reading for many years, and this has guided my educational pursuits. After obtaining a Masters degree in reading disabilities from Notre Dame University, I continued my education at the University of Washington. There I received a Ph.D. in educational psychology, specializing in cognition and learning theory, especially in linguistic areas. All of this training has enriched my ability to help our struggling students find success in reading. Also, this is my 27th year of teaching, and I'm loving it just as much today as I did when I first started!
Program Philosophies
The reading support program here at Sacajawea serves students in 1st through 5th grade. Students qualify through a combination of test data and teacher input. The students meet with me for 30 minutes a session, three to five times a week. Although the students meet in a small group, the instruction is focused on the unique needs of each student.
I'm also enjoying an additional role here at our school as our Extended Learning Program instructor. This program focuses on students who are ready for an extra challenge, above and beyond their classroom work. The content of this program has ranged from book clubs, creating an early American presidential press conference, to webquests, which is this year's focus. I truly enjoy this part of my job as much as my reading specialist role. Currently I'm serving a total of 75 students and I'm loving it!