Hi y’all! I’m Stephanie Icenogle, the teacher-author behind The Creative Classroom. I’ll be sharing a little bit about me here. My mission for The Creative Classroom has been the same since I began this adventure in June 2012. I want to help teachers by creating high quality resources that meet the needs of all students.
I graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2008 with a degree in Social Studies Education with a minor in English. While I originally thought that high school social studies was were I wanted to be, life had other plans for me.
My Teaching Experience
My first teaching job was at the middle school where I student taught. It also happened to be the middle school I attended as a student. I was assigned a Literacy Enrichment class for 6th-8th grade students who struggled on our state ELA assessments. There was no curriculum for this class so I had to create everything that I did with my students. It may have been a bit overwhelming at times, but the freedom to bring in topics from social studies and high interest topics was super exciting!
It was during that year that I realized working with students who struggled in ELA was my calling. There is nothing better than watching students grow throughout the year. Seeing the smiles on their faces when they see how far they have come is the best feeling. I was lucky enough to teach this class for the first six years of my career.
In 2013, I was asked to move to the core classroom as a 6th grade ELA inclusion teacher. That year came with new expectations and challenges. It wasn’t easy and I felt like a brand new teacher all over again. There was so much trial and error that year, but it ended with the best student growth results that I had ever seen. I have used the knowledge that I gained during this time period to help me create scaffolded and differentiated resources that will engage even the most reluctant student and help them grow.
My Accomplisments
I was a member of our school leadership team and a mentor teacher for four years. My job as a mentor teacher was to coach and help a small number of teachers each year through walkthroughs, follow-up visits, and coaching sessions. It was an absolute joy to be able to work with my colleagues and to help them implement strategies in their own classrooms. In 2014, I was selected as the Teacher of the Year for my school.
I remained in this position until I had to go undergo fertility treatments in hopes of becoming pregnant. Eventually I had to go on bedrest during my first pregnancy. After Oliver was born two months early in 2019, I made the decision to leave middle school. I became a full-time mom to him and our dogs.
About Me: Life Outside of The Classroom
Although I am no longer in the classroom at the moment, I love that I am still able to help teachers and students through the resources that I create. There are still days that I am in awe at exactly how many teachers and students that have utilized my activities and lessons.
When I am not creating new lessons, I am usually driving Ollie from preschool to speech therapy or his sporting events. Being his mom is my FAVORITE job that I have ever had. I’ve been married to my amazing husband, Patrick, for almost eight years. We currently have three dogs- Sammi, Bea, and Grogu. I love my little family and being able to make memories with them.
