Hi all, 
My name is Paula Bourque, (rhymes with work!) and I am the literacy (instructional) coach for all four elementary schools (Farrington, Hussey, Gilbert, and Lincoln) .  I'm embarking on my 35th year of teaching and I am passionate about reading and writing. I work directly with classroom teachers on instructional strategies, assessing students, and implementing our literacy curriculum. Our district has adopted reading and writing programs from The Center for Collaborative Classroom, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to support the academic as well as the social and emotional development of the students we all serve. I am very excited about the engaging and research-based instruction this will offer our students. 

I am a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in the area of Early/Middle Childhood Literacy: Reading-Language Arts and have a Certificate of Advanced Study-C.A.S- (like a 2nd Master's degree) in Literacy Leadership. 

I also create and present professional development workshops for K-12 teachers in the district. When I'm not working in Augusta schools, I teach graduate courses, present at national conferences, and I have written two  professional books for teachers that have showcased the work done in our amazing elementary schools in Augusta: Close Writing: Developing Purposeful Writers in Grades 2-6 (Stenhouse, 2016) and Spark! Quick Writes to Kindle the Hearts and Minds in Elementary Classrooms(Stenhouse 2019). All of these endeavors have helped me to bring cutting edge ideas and instruction to my coaching in Augusta. I am passionate about making Augusta one of the best school districts in the state.
 
Please feel free to contact me via email (pbourque@augustaschools.org) if you have any questions about literacy in our district. I am dedicated to supporting the  learning of all students, teachers, and parents.