Obenauf, Kaitlin
During
her undergraduate career Kaitlin earned a B.A. in Psychology with an
additional major in Economics at Michigan State University. She
was active in extra-curricular activities including the Dean’s Student
Advisory Council, peer advising, and service learning. She received
awards for her paper discussing women and the gender gap in math and
science as part of the Undergraduate Economics Student Paper Conference
at Bowling Green State University.
After
her senior year, she was accepted into the Teach for America
program. She taught second and third grade on Chicago’s south
side. At her school, she assumed several leadership roles
including the social studies and investment committee. To help
her students succeed, she began tutoring and secured grant funding for
additional library and classroom resources. To create a real
world curriculum she instituted a mini-economy. During her second
year, third grade students raised their reading scores from 38% to 80%
for the Illinois State Achievement Test. They increased their
math scores from 51% to 88%.
Outside of work, she also earned a Masters in Teaching from Dominican University and participated in the University of Illinios in Chicago field study for third grade math curriculum. She was granted two Segal Americorp Education Awards for national and community service in teaching. She is pleased to continue her lifelong learning as part of the IES economics of education specialization within the Educational Policy doctoral program. She is enthusiastic to belong to a community of scholars. Her current work centers around reforms and its impact on teachers and schools.
