Michelle J. Cooley

Michelle J. Cooley

Mathematics Consultant

Michelle Cooley joins TranscEnDence Educational Partners with over ten years of professional experience. Bringing to the organization a specialization in instructional leadership, paired with teacher coaching and development, Michelle will serve as an Instructional Consultant specializing in helping districts and schools reshape their math programs, as well as training and coaching teachers at all levels of the school organization.

A passionate and driven educator who brings a natural ability to influence the work of school organizations, Michelle currently serves as Assistant Principal at Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls in St. Louis, Missouri. In this capacity, she leads the design and development of the instructional program design, oversees the coaching model for teachers, and oversees the targeted interventions for struggling students in concert with the Executive Director. Prior to her work as a school administrator, Michelle taught 8th grade Algebra I at Westview Middle School in St. Louis, Missouri. Upon her arrival to Westview Middle School she created the first Algebra I Honors course for 8th graders and advanced 80 percent of her students to Geometry Honors. This opportunity afforded students to enter high school with a math credit and allowed them to matriculate to college with several credit hours. Over the course of her five-year tenure there, Michelle led the charge in sending over 100 students to the high school with advanced credits in mathematics. Michelle also forged partnerships with Emerson, Apple, Maryville University and the Girl Scouts to bring Robotic Coding and 3D printing to the urban student she served.

Michelle has a strong belief in continuously broadening her skill set, and has been affiliated with several Professional Learning Networks throughout her career. She has served in various instructional leadership roles, including Site Testing Coordinator, Algebra I Math Curriculum developer, lead for technology initiatives, classroom management facilitator, and has played a critical role in leading educational professional development. Areas of specialization under the TranscEnDence Model include:

Plan, implement, and evaluate instructional programs with teachers, including learning objectives, instructional strategies, and assessment techniques.
Monitor instructional processes to ensure that program activities are related to program outcomes and use findings to take corrective actions.
Apply research and district data to improve the content, sequence, and results of the teaching and learning process.
Involve instructional staff in evaluating and selecting instructional materials to meet student learning needs.
Plan the necessary time, resources, and materials to support accomplishment of educational goals.
Design and provide effective staff development activities that incorporate the mission of the district, program evaluation outcomes, and input from teachers and others.

Michelle’s work is grounded by a belief that all students deserve to have the best educators to learn from despite their economic status or ethnic background. She believes that all students can meet the academic challenges of our society with perseverance and hard work. Michelle brings to TranscEnDence a motto of “Partner, Plan, Prepare, and Proceed”, and looks forward to continuing her pursuit of transforming education in urban populations and school alike.

Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology with a minor in Chemistry from East Texas Baptist University. A TFA Alum, she received her Standard Teaching Certificate through their program. Michelle also earned her Master’s Degree in Secondary Education with a specialization in Innovation Leadership in Administration from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. She resides in St. Louis with her husband.