Susan Leftwich

Susan believes that trust and mutual respect are essential to student engagement and success. She takes time to understand each learner as an individual, creating an environment where students feel heard, valued, and comfortable taking the academic risks that lead to growth. Her experience supporting neurodivergent students and learners across a wide range of academic levels has made her highly skilled at adapting instruction to each student’s strengths and needs.

With more than 20 years of experience teaching elementary and middle school, Susan brings a deep understanding of classroom expectations, curriculum, and student development. She is highly organized while remaining flexible and responsive in her teaching. Her background in project-based learning helps her encourage curiosity, critical thinking, and real-world problem-solving while making challenging material accessible and engaging. Susan is especially experienced in guiding students through the writing process, including those who feel overwhelmed by writing or insist that they hate it.

Colleagues describe Susan as warm, adaptable, and exceptionally skilled at balancing positive structure with student choice. She strives to help every learner feel capable, develop greater independence, and recognize their own potential.

Qualifications:

• 22 years of classroom teaching experience in elementary and middle school
• Extensive experience with differentiated instruction, project-based learning, writing support, and neurodivergent learners
• Oregon and Washington teaching licenses, with Oregon endorsements in English Language Arts, Elementary–Multiple Subjects, and English to Speakers of Other Languages
• Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Texas at Austin