Katia Johnstone

31 Crescent St, apt. 201 Biddeford, ME 04005 Cell: 646-342-5577 Email: katiajohnstone@gmail.com

Certification
Maine State Department of Education
Endorsement: 7-12 Social Studies (200S) June 2020

Education
University of Southern Maine, Extended Teacher Education Program, Portland, ME, Graduated May 2020
Masters of Science in Education with a concentration in Teaching and Learning,
Awarded Laura B. Hansen Memorial Scholarship for academic achievement

University of California, Berkeley, Berkely, CA

B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies, graduated Magna Cum Laude Graduated May 2012
Honors: Phi Beta Kappa Member since Spring 2012

Relevant Professional Experience

Social Studies Teacher, Baxter Academy for Technology and Science, Portland, ME 08/2020-Present
● Design and teach semester long Early Civilizations, American Studies and Civics in Action courses focused on
exploring how historical narratives develop and change over time and how those narratives continue to impact
us today
● Attend IEP and 504 meetings in addition to planning individual modifications based on IEPs/504s
● Meet weekly with my department to align curriculum, revise standards, and communicate needs to admin
● Facilitate bi-weekly advisory meetings where students engage in community building and self-reflection
● Mentor a group of 15 students who designed and are now implementing individual projects such as building a
longboard skateboard from scratch, knitting pride flag blankets as gifts for loved ones, and developing a report
on using mushrooms to remediate toxic soils.
● Design and implement a 6 part series on racial equity for all staff as part of the DEI team
● Attended weekly professional development meetings hosted by the Maine DOE on how to build equitable
grading systems during the 20-21 school year

Student Intern/Long term substitute, Westbrook High School (WHS), Westbrook, ME 01/2020-06/2020
9th grade, World Studies
● Designed and taught daily lessons that align with the History Department’s World Studies curriculum, such as
examining gender bias during European Renaissance and exploring how eurocentric bias impacted the story of
Christopher Columbus
● Designed and implemented positive behavioral support systems in the classroom, such as reward posters
● Collaborated with a four person teaching team during bi-weekly BARR meetings where we analyzed data,
planned interventions, and meet as a team with students and parents
● Used data from ACCESS scores, MEA scores, IEP/504s, and RtI to inform my planning and instruction
● Helped create a positive school culture by participating in the inaugural winter carnival and collaborating with
fellow teachers to put together a photo collage of a supportive message for students during Spring 2020
● Provided students with meaningful ways to connect and learn online by using different technology platforms
like google classroom, peardeck, flipgrid, and google meets

Student Intern, Biddeford Middle School, Biddeford, ME 08/2019-12/2019

7th grade, U.S. History
● Assisted in the classroom by implementing daily routines such as attendance and do nows, working one on one
with students who needed extra support, and designing and implementing a variety of daily lessons
● Planned a mini-unit where students explored the American Revolution from the perspective of women,
African-Ameircans, and Native Americans. The mini-unit culminated in students writing an alternative
textbook section from the viewpoint of one of the aforementioned groups
● Implemented PBIS classroom interventions such as a daily mindfulness practice
● Collaborated with teaching team during weekly meetings with support staff (guidance, social workers, admin)
to plan data-based RtI interventions and design individualized classroom modifications for specific students
● Helped organize and staff the bi- annual community night where families came to celebrate students’ work
Resume – Katia Johnstone

Substitute Teacher, Westbrook, Gorham, and Cape Elizabeth School Districts, Maine 12/2018-04/2019
● Implemented teachers’ lesson plans in classrooms from Kindergarten through 12th grade
● Created a productive learning environment by managing classroom behavior and inter-student dynamics
● Worked with students one-on-one or in small groups as a paraprofessional or resource teacher

Teacher-in-Residence, Slide Ranch, Muir Beach, CA 01/2016-12/2016

● Taught small groups of K-12 students from public and private schools about farming and the environment
● Managed the safety and behavior of students as we explored animal barns, coastal trails, and tidepools
● Developed daily lesson plans and curriculum that aligned with Next Generation Science Standards

Volunteer Advisor, Lead For Diversity, Wall, New Jersey 07/2015

● Helped facilitate workshops for a group of 55 high school students that explored systems of oppression, such
as sexism, racism, homophobia, and classism, during a week-long social justice summer camp
● Group workshops included activities such as a skit about a heterosexual teenager in a fictional homonormative
world and small group reflection sessions
● Guided groups of students as they designed a project to address an injustice at their school. Projects included a
student-led assembly to address homophobic language

Program Coordinator, iMentor, New York, NY 09/2014-08/2015

● Cultivated and managed the development of one-on-one mentoring relationships between 90 9th grade students
and their volunteer mentors at Frederick Douglass Academy II
● Planned and implemented weekly class sessions with all 9th graders to develop college readiness
● Coordinated and facilitated monthly in-person events between mentee/mentor pairs

Youth Educator, Grow NYC Learn it, Grow it, Eat it Program, Bronx, NY 06/2013-11/2013
● Collaborated with a small team to run a full-time Summer youth development program and a part-time Fall
program that served teenagers who recently arrived to the U.S.
● Worked in three community gardens fostering the teens’ cooking, gardening, and leadership skills
● Built relationships with students who spoke different languages by engaging in non-verbal activities and used
my conversational Spanish to converse with Spanish speaking students

Professional Development Activities

Maine Council For Social Studies Conference (MCSS), November 2020 - Attended the annual MCSS conference
where I learned about incorporating principles of design into history class as well as how to lead students in
individualized community service learning projects

Teachers for Social Justice Conference, October 2016 – Participated in workshops on integrating student voice into
the classroom and bringing restorative justice into schools as part of a two-day social justice education conference

Undoing Racism Workshop, People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, Spring 2015 – Two-day workshop
centered around dismantling the allocation of power and privilege in American society based on race

New York Coalition of Radical Educators Conference, March 2013 and March 2015 – Participated in workshops
on teaching the history of labor movements and mass incarceration in the U.S. and on how to build a supportive
community with co-teachers as part of a two-day conference dedicated to sharing radical educational practices

Other work experience located on follow page

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Resume – Katia Johnstone

Other Work Experience

Crew Member, Frith Farm, Scarborough, ME 04/2018-08/2019
● Worked independently from and collaboratively with six co-workers to ensure the success of the farm
● Duties included bed prep, perennial planting, seeding, weeding, harvesting, washing and packing, as well as
caring for laying hens, broilers, and pigs on a daily basis
● Managed on site CSA pick-up and staffed the farmer’s market on a rotating basis

Volunteer, Vipassana Meditation Center, Shelburne Falls, MA 12/2017-2/2018

● Worked in a commercial kitchen alongside 15 other volunteers to prep and serve three meals per day for up to
120 meditation students

Apprentice, Dandelion Spring Farm, Newcastle, ME 04/2017-11/2017

● Responsibilities included seeding, transplanting weeding, harvesting, washing and packing, watering, installing
and maintaining irrigation equipment, setting up electric fencing and taking care of 20 pigs on a daily basis
● Delivered weekly to over 15 restaurants, small groceries, and other wholesale accounts in the Portland area
● Built customer relations through my weekly delivery runs and also as a sub-in for our weekly markets

Volunteer, Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOF), South America 01/2014-07/2014

● Spent six months speaking Spanish and working on four different farms in Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina