Stacey Brown-Downham (a.k.a. Ms. Brown)
Teacher of English, Reading & Special Education
HMHS
Greetings parents, guardians, and students!
I'm Ms. Brown! I was born & raised in Canada, received my teaching degree in English from the OISE at the University of Toronto, and started my career at HMHS in January of 2007. I have a graduate certification in Special Education. I have taught small-group English 11-12, and co-taught primarily in CP English 9 and 11 classes. I am a certified Level 1 Wilson Reading Practitioner.
This year I am teaching three periods of Supplemental Reading (P1, 5, & 6) in which we will be doing a mix of Wilson multisensory instruction to facilitate encoding and decoding skills, vocabulary and background-knowledge, reading fluency, and "stop & check" and visualization strategies for comprehension. We will supplement Wilson with Read Live Naturally, an online program focused on vocabulary building, reading fluency, and comprehension. Students will work to improve their reading fluency by at least 40 words per minute with Read Live. See this brief introductory presentation for more information.
I also teach a Supplemental Study Skills Course during 4th period: click here to review the introduction presentation for parents.
I am a co-teacher in the following classes:
CP ENGLISH 11 P8 with Mr. Sean Thomas
CP ENGLISH 11 P3 with Mr. David Scorsolini
You can find more information about our CP11 classes on Canvas or on my co-teachers' webpages. Parents can follow students as observers with a unique login. Just reach out to us to gain observer access.
My inclusion philosophy is based on the notion that fair is each student getting what they need, rather than getting the same thing. With this in mind, we have students with unique learning needs included in classrooms with more mainstream learners. While some students may have scaffolds in place to support their learning, they are able to be meaningful contributors to the classroom. One student may struggle with reading comprehension but excel in the performance of texts--in this way, all students benefit from the inclusion setting in Haddonfield.
In addition to classroom teaching, I am the teacher-advisor for the Gender-Sexuality Alliance, an advocacy and support group for LGBTQ students and their allies, and a former local association president for the HEA. Currently, I am the HEA PRIDE chair, liaising with parents and community members to sponsor and organize extra-curricular, educational, and community-building events in town.
When I'm not teaching or leading extra-curriculars, I spend time with my husband and children, Milo (12) and Finn (7), in our new home, organize social justice events, volunteer at an animal shelter, and play guitar and sing in a band called The Classic Brown with my husband. Our Christmas music has been featured on NPR and WXPN. I am a founding organizer of Collingswood Porchfest--an all-day music festival where over 50 artists/groups play on over 50 porches on a Saturday in September (at least in non-pandemic years!).
Please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or concerns. I'm looking forward to a challenging, but great year!
Ms. Brown