Nicole Starke, Technology

Nicole Starke teaches technology classes at Green Woods Charter School. She graduated from Rosemont College with her Master’s in Technology in Education, and is a Pennsylvania State Certified Instructional Technology Specialist. Nicole joined the Green Woods staff after several years of working as a computer trainer with adults. She loves working with the students at Green Woods and enjoys finding ways to work technology into the unique curriculum of our school.

Mrs. Starke is a native of the Pacific Northwest, born in Portland, Oregon, and raised just outside Seattle, Washington. As a new mom, Nicole spends most of her free time with her son, Daniel, and her husband, Tim. Their family loves being outdoors, and enjoys outside activities—when the weather holds up! Nicole also enjoys running and yoga, when time allows.

I can’t imagine teaching anywhere but Green Woods. Our small classes allow me to really get to know each student, and let me feel I am part of his or her life, if only for a short time each day. As a teacher, I sense that what I am doing has an impact on each child’s life, and it makes me want to work harder for our kids, to make sure they get the best education possible.

Being part of such an amazing, caring, and dedicated staff is another reason why I love Green Woods. The teachers and staff here are truly devoted to providing a strong education through an interesting, engaging, and fun curriculum. Nowhere else will students see and learn the things they do at Green Woods. The teachers and staff have made sure that our curriculum will give students all the tools they need to succeed in the world and in their lives after Green Woods.

General Technology Blurb:
With the school year just beginning, we plan to continue integrating our technology lessons into current classrooms studies, as in years past. The flexibility of technology allows us to mold and shape our activities and projects to make them relevant to what students learn in the classroom. Always, we will focus on obtaining technology competence as related to the National Educational Technology Standards and the Pennsylvania State standards for technology.

Students in grades K-4 focus their attention on making sure that all students felt comfortable with working on the various software programs used in the computer lab. As the year progresses, students use programs and online activities which help build writing, reading, spelling, math and critical thinking skills. They are beginning to develop skills, too, for navigating the Web in a safe manner. They also learn to understand and use the computer interface. In an effort to make the learning more meaningful to students, we endeavor to ensure that the activities in computer class tie into the content being taught in the classroom as much as possible. Younger students will work on shorter activities, such as creating virtual fabric in Kindergarten, which will build their skill sets and allow them to eventually fold their knowledge into a project when they reach the middle school.

As a result of developing an integrated curriculum across the middle school grades at Green Woods, we use our technology classes as an opportunity for students to learn new software tools as well as to apply those tools to projects and activities which tie into classroom content. This includes tasks such as building an interactive map presentation, creating a multi-page newsletter, or constructing a small database. All of these ventures help the students learn important computer skills. At the same time, the students learn to apply the tools in a variety of situations.

Jean Wallace, CEO/Academic Director

As the Academic Director and CEO, Jean is responsible for guiding the design and implementation of our award-winning curriculum and for supporting the direction of all areas of school life. Jean works in collaboration with our staff, Board, community and educational partners to build on our successful past toward an even greater future.

Charter schools are public schools.  As such Jean is accountable to the Department of Education for ensuring that our students are receiving a standards-based learning experience from qualified teachers within the guidelines and mandates of Federal, State, and Charter School Law. In addition to the many responsibilities associated with curriculum and instruction, Jean supports Green Woods through successful grant writing, ongoing website communication, mentoring our Jr. School Leadership Team mediation team, and by networking with key partners from within and outside the Green Woods community.

As a member of the Governor's Council for Environmental Education, Jean works with many of the State's environmental experts and agencies. "By working collaboratively with the Department of Education and the outstanding environmental agencies throughout our state, Green Woods is able to gain both valuable resources along with well-deserved local, state and national recognition for the exceptional work being done by our teachers and students," Jean said.
In addition to the daily interactions with Green Woods dedicated staff and parents, Jean enjoys those rare and special times when she gets to trail along on hikes with our budding naturalists. "Hiking with even our youngest students and seeing how they interact with the natural world always presents a wonderful learning opportunity for me. While many young children enjoy walking in the woods, Green Woods students are skilled observers, able to take in the big picture of the field ecosystem while at the same time patiently exploring the leaf litter in search of the smallest signs of life."
Jean currently holds four Pennsylvania education certifications: Principal K-12, Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction, K-12 Environmental Education, and Elementary Education. She earned her post-graduate certifications and her MAEd in Environmental Education from Arcadia University, a BA in Elementary Education from Beaver College, and an Associate Degree in Health Science from Gwynedd Mercy College.

Each day is a new day of exploration and discovery as we challenge each other to provide the best possible learning environment for our students.

In less than four years time our amazing teaching staff has taken teaching and learning to a whole new level. Working in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, our teachers, themselves, developed our K-8 award-winning EIC Curriculum which engages our students in integrated learning experiences that span all disciplines. Utilizing our 350-acre learning laboratory as an outdoor classroom, our partnership with the Schuylkill Center continues to grow and thrive as the Center’s expert educators spend many hours working with our classroom teachers to enhance the teaching of environment and ecology concepts.

Green Woods is the only public/charter school in the entire country to be housed directly within a nature center. Years ago I earned my graduate degree by utilizing this same setting as a laboratory for learning. It is so rewarding to now spend time observing our students as they explore and discover new things while hiking in the same woods where I learned so much about the natural world.