Mr. Sean Harrigan graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication along with a Minor in Theatre and has been involved in English instruction since 2013.
Mrs. Jessica Waller
Mrs.Waller has over ten years of experience in the field of education from teaching middle school to college students. She also taught as a tutor for three years in The Writing Center at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Mr. Mikhail Hellerbach
Mr. Mikhail Hellerbach has over three years of theater teaching experience.
Each class is 75 minutes long and will be held once a week.
Students will receive both teacher and peer feedback weekly. Grading is based on our own assessment criteria covering content, delivery, and overall performance.
We encourage students to attend as many classes as possible to ensure the highest quality of instruction however, because this is not always possible, we offer recorded lessons for at-home review as well as access to all student resource materials for
the missed class. Students are still expected to come to the following class prepared to engage and deliver their speeches.
Each class will consist of a review (5 min), new topic lesson/discussion (20-30 min), in-class activities (10-15 min), student presentations (25-40 min), and speech assignments (5 min)
No. Our curriculum does include elements of competitive speech and debate but is not structured like a speech competition. Students will receive assessments and use leaderboards to track progress throughout the year but no formal competition will take
place.
Upto 10
Children will deliver a pre-prepared speech each week. The two exceptions are the students first class (they will have a speaking opportunity but are not expected to prepare the formal speech for that week) and impromptu weeks. During impromptu weeks,
students will do impromptu activities in lieu of a prepared speech.
Yes caregivers, will be invited to classes periodically and are welcome to join if needed but are asked to use their own device if possible.
We have developed our own curriculum that covers a variety of formal, practical, theatrical, and academic speaking subjects and assesses students based in-part on The National Forensics Association standards.
Yes! Our classes are modular, and students can join at any time.
The program offers 40 weeks of unique classes.
Students will participate in a monthly student symposium. Symposium speeches will be recorded and accessible to viewers. Additionally, caregivers will be invited to sit in on presentations occasionally.
Each week, students will have resources available through their student portal. These include, speech requirements, video resources, lesson materials and any additional information or instruction that may be required.
Students/Staff
Parents
