Penny Copplestone, MEd

Penny’s career in elementary education was founded on the belief that building relationships with students and championing their individuality is fundamental to their capacity to engage with learning, and to become responsible, kind human beings as well as critical thinkers. Core to her efforts is the desire to close the achievement gap between students who excel and students who fall behind because of race, economics or ethnicity. Penny holds a Masters Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Framingham State University, a BA in Elementary Education from UMass Amherst, and is certified as a K-8 teacher in Massachusetts with additional training in teaching the whole child and teaching in an inclusion classroom.

Penny’s educational interests include effective teaching strategies, differentiation in the classroom, effective modifications and adaptations in the classroom, and classroom management. She also enjoys supporting teachers in Readers’ and Writers’ Workshop, and Effective Guided Reading Strategies. Additionally, she has written units of study based on Massachusetts Core Curriculum Standards for Gifted and Talented, co-taught workshops in methodology for differentiated curriculum for Gifted and Talented students and in the use of broad based curriculum for all students. She is a consultant teacher, delivering methods and materials to classroom teachers to facilitate higher-level, critical and creative thinking. She also served on the Diversity Leadership Team for the Wellesley Public Schools.

Penny has presented at the National Gifted and Talented Conference in Indianapolis, and co-authored the article “Dealing with Death; How to Help Children Who Have Experienced Loss”. Personally, Penny enjoys time with her adorable grandson as well as reading, walking, the beach, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.