Who Is Patrick Birkle? | Bridges to Learning

12 years public school teaching experience.

I have worked with students from all socio-economic backgrounds. My work with English language learners (those whose native language is not English) provides me with instructional techniques that benefit all students including those identified as TAG (talented and gifted) and those receiving special education services. While most of my experience is as a 3rd and 5th grade elementary classroom teacher, I have taught (as a substitute) every grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade. I can adjust instruction to the particular needs of an individual student.

I know the requirements and expectations for high student performance.

I keep myself informed of education trends in the state and nation by regularly reviewing current state achievement standards and keeping aware of proposed changes including Common Core State Standards initiative in which Oregon participates.

I am a 20 year resident of St. Helens, Oregon.

I am committed to this community. I have developed many relationships of trust with local educators, business owners, city (appointed member of the City of St. Helens Budget Committee) and county agencies and volunteer organizations (ShoeString Community Players, Scappoose Bay Watershed Council) . Dozens of local residents can attest to my character.

My children attended St. Helens schools K-12

I learned that even as a professional educator myself I needed the support and expertise of others to help them to succeed in school. Parenting is a difficult job. My wife and I were the first and most important teachers of our children, as are all parents, but we teamed with others to get the job done. I understand the concerns of parents for their children and their desire for their children to succeed academically. I understand the frustration that parents feel when they don’t know how to help their children with schoolwork.

I served as a parent site council representative and as an elected member and chair of the St. Helens school board

I know how the educational system works from multiple points of view. This helps me to understand why certain things are required of students and gives me insight about how to help them to succeed.

I evaluate students needs based on the assessment results focusing on student strengths.

Students are referred to tutoring because they are not performing well. Often, the question is asked, “What is the student doing wrong?” instead of “What is the student doing right?” I taught third grade students who were in a Spanish/English bilingual immersion program. The native Spanish speakers had not been required to write a complete multi-paragraph writing sample in English without help until they were in my class. One could have looked at all of the spelling errors and grammatical mistakes and thought that these students were in big trouble! They knew how to say the words in English, but not how to spell them so they used Spanish spelling patterns.My knowledge of Spanish enabled me to see how these students were using what they knew of Spanish and transferring it to English. I was able to affirm their resourcefulness but then to show them that, “This is how we d0 this in English.” By the end of the school year they were writing with much greater proficiency in English.

Who is Patrick Birkle?