The Instructional Support Program at St. Thomas More School

Program Overview

St. Thomas More has a comprehensive instructional support program that provides both enrichment and support activities. Our instructional support team uses a variety of student assessments to identify needs and plan intervention strategies. Each year we conduct a comprehensive analysis of the IOWA results to identify students whose performance indicates that they may be in need of instructional support. The IOWA results are evaluated in concert with other measures of student performance such as: Dibels, classroom grades and individual teacher evaluations. Based on this analysis, our instructional support teachers can provide a variety of instructional support activities in concert with the classroom teachers and the students’ parents. Parents are a key element in the success of learning interventions, and they will be involved in the discussions concerning any out-of-class support. The goal of our instructional support team is to provide the necessary interventions, strategies and challenges so that each student has the opportunity to become the best version of himself/herself here at STM.

Who is included in our Instructional Support Team?

Mrs. Janelle Rush is our program director who has been an educator in both the private and public sectors since 1994. She has a great love for learning and teaching. She enjoys spending time with her family, going for walks, camping, hiking and summer vacations to the beach.

Mrs. Michele Rieder is our full time instructional support teacher for Kindergarten. She has been an educator since 1986 in the Allentown Diocese, teaching a variety of grades from Kindergarten to fourth grade. She enjoys helping children learn in small group and individual settings. Mrs. Rieder enjoys reading, gardening, and swimming.

Mrs. Courtney Ridley, our full time instructional support teacher for first grade, has been working here at St. Thomas More since 2004. She loves working with our students and helping them grow and learn. She enjoys spending time with her family, camping, hiking, jogging, taking long walks with her dog, and reading a good book.

Mrs. LuAnne Frank is our full time instructional support teacher for grades two and four. She has taught at STM since 2002. Mrs. Frank enjoys working with children in all grades, especially in reading. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, reading, cooking, and going to concerts.

Ms. Angie Hock is our full time instructional support teacher for grades five through seven. She has three children who are students at STM. She has been a soccer coach for STM teams since 2001. She enjoys spending time with her large family, reading, movie night and knitting crafts.

Mrs. Cathy Kinsella is our part-time instructional support teacher for grades three and eight who has taught at St Thomas More since 1999 and has three children who all attended STM. Mrs. Kinsella loves traveling to visit her family, going for long walks with her dog, bike riding at the shore, camping and reading.

After serving as First Grade Teacher at STM for ten years, Sister Melita, a Bernardine Franciscan Sister, continues in the teaching ministry as an instructional support teacher for Kindergarten and first grade. She is confident that the innocence and openness of the young children enriches her life and brings a smile to her daily.

Mrs. Barbara Traupman is a Guidance Counselor who joined the STM Faculty in 1995. She enjoys working with and helping children and families and greatly values education. Outside of school she enjoys animals, reading, theater, traveling, quiet moments and spending time with friends and family.

Mrs. Susan Perun, Guidance Counselor, has been part of the STM faculty since 2004. She enjoys working with students and their families in a variety of capacities. When she has free time she likes to go to the beach, play Scrabble, read, and relax with her boys.

Our team works collaboratively with administrators and teachers to “level the playing field” for all students. We treat each student as an individual and work hard to accommodate and challenge all individuals here at STM always keeping in mind that…