Our Elementary Math Coaches in Tampa, Florida had a remarkable experience working with Sue O'Connell over several days. Sue's inspirational workshop left our coaches energized with fresh ideas to reflect on their roles in enhancing mathematics within the school. We found the data action plan and the discussions with activities related to differentiating instruction to be particularly helpful, and we are making plans to incorporate these vital pieces in our school action plans for the upcoming year. We feel Sue's powerful tips for coaching will help our cadre of coaches develop lasting relationships with teachers and guide us all in attaining our goals in mathematics teaching.
Shelley Fritz
District Resource Teacher
Elementary Math Department
Hillsborough County Schools
Tampa, FL

“Several years ago, I was in search of a consultant with math expertise who could deliver solid professional development related to problem solving and writing in mathematics, as well as strategies for struggling learners. I knew immediately after attending a workshop Sue conducted that she was the woman for the job! I was impressed with her content knowledge, her interactions with workshop participants, and the many, many creative and practical strategies for effectively teaching mathematics. I plan to continue to utilize Sue’s know-how for the benefit of the districts I serve, both through her excellent presentations and her high quality publications.”
Anna Frank
Professional Development Specialist
Special Education Training and Resource Center
Monroe #1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Rochester, NY

“Sue O’Connell has continued to awe and inspire middle school math teachers in our school system for the past three years. She has provided teachers with a series of ongoing workshops on the integration of math content and process. All of her trainings have offered teachers new ideas to use with their students. As a result of her workshops, teachers have continued to refine and extend their thinking. Every evaluation shared by her participants used the words ‘practical’, ‘motivating’, and ‘hands on’.”
Kay Brown, Mary LaMarca, and Ronnie Singer
School Improvement Instructional Specialists
Department of School Improvement & Accountability
Prince George's County Public Schools, MD

"Sue O'Connell is a master at delivering practical, motivating workshops which include both the content and the necessary background needed for full implementation. Her math coach workshops provide inspiration and know-how for teacher leaders as they assist other teachers improve their craft. Our math coaches left her full-day workshop filled with new knowledge, understanding, and do-it-tomorrow techniques. Several months later, they were still buzzing about all they had learned from Sue. We all give her the highest rating possible!"
Kimberly Rimbey, NBCT, M.Ed.
Professional Development/Math Specialist
Rodel Charitable Foundation of Arizona

“Sue conducted a workshop for nearly 90 elementary teachers in Bucks County and all 90 thought she was fantastic! Her workshop was engaging, hands-on, and showed us all that differentiating problem-solving instruction is something that we can do. Staff developers and teachers alike left with many ideas and activities that were ready to use the next day in classrooms.”
Lindsey R. Sides
Staff Development Coordinator for Title II and Title V Programs
Bucks County Intermediate Unit, PA

“Originally I heard Sue present at a workshop. I was so impressed we brought her to the district many times to train our teachers in problem solving and writing for math. She is a wonderful presenter who shares a wealth of information. Her presentation style captures interest and makes learning fun!”
Bonnie LaFave, Ed. D.
Curriculum Supervisor, Grades 5 – 8
Galloway Township Schools, NJ

"Sue O'Connell is a well-known and well-loved consultant and friend in Pueblo School District No. 70. She has worked with our teachers for the past four years. Teachers leave her workshops with practical applications that they can apply and use with students immediately. Her strategies work for all students!”
Ginger Andenucio
Director-Instructional Services
Pueblo School District 70
Pueblo, CO

"Sue's lively and interesting workshops and seminars have been very valuable for the teachers in my district. She always provides meaningful activities and strategies for those high-priority areas such as problem-solving, math communication, number sense, and number operations. She has worked extensively with lead math teachers and classroom teachers in my district.”
Shirley Ellison
Math Teacher on Special Assignment
Red Clay Consolidated School District
Wilmington, DE

"The evaluations of Sue’s workshops attest to their value. Our teachers comment on the knowledge and expertise that Sue brings along with her hands-on activities, multiple examples, and resources that can be taken back to the classroom to improve their students’ writing and increase their content vocabulary in a way that compliments our math curriculum! She allows teachers to process their understanding of the theory by facilitating discussion and planning time so it can be applicable to their curriculum. Sue solidifies the connection of theory to practice in teachers’ minds by demonstrating how the writing and vocabulary strategies are evident in our state assessment’s released constructed response items. Her workshops created a nice bridge for reading and writing in the math content in our district.”
Lola J. Brown
Federal Programs Curriculum Specialist
Harrison County Schools
Clarksburg, WV

"I attended Sue O'Connell's seminar on "Writing About Mathematics". This seminar was packed with practical ideas, suggestions and creative ways to integrate writing and mathematics. Sue presented the information through hands-on activities and provided us with resources to take back and use in our classrooms. This seminar provided detailed information on how to help students improve their communication skills in mathematics. I am an elementary math specialist and will be sharing this information with the teachers in my school district. It's exciting to think about the potential for positive changes in our classrooms.”
Shannon E. Gilmore
Elementary Math Trainer in Minnesota

"I attended Sue’s workshop "Writing About Mathematics" and was taken aback by the immediately useful material she gave us. Since then, I implemented many of the writing strategies with my 8th grade students and saw tremendous growth both in their writing and mathematical understanding."
Veronica Ruiz-Ramirez
Simons Middle School, CA

"Sue O'Connell's seminars are highly practical and engaging. She has given our teachers tools and confidence needed to implement our problem solving instruction for all learners. Practical, ready-to-use ideas were shared that have been proven successful in our classrooms. Sue has enhanced our schoolwide problem-solving program by helping teachers discover how to make better use of both pre-assessments and ongoing assessments to more effectively target instruction on what students really need to learn. In assessing our community of learners, she provided feedback that guided our program to effectively meet the needs of our students.”
Nancy Sawa
Teacher/Facilitator, Problem-Solving Committee
Sugar Grove Elementary School
Greenwood, Indiana