Click the picture to email Dana Thomas!
Dana Thomas is the Consultant for Curriculum and Instruction at Black Bear Academy, and has extensive experience teaching in preschool and elementary classrooms, as well as designing and implementing early childhood curriculum.
Dana grew up in the Detroit area and has lived in Chicago for the past eleven years. She has a Masters degree in Child Development from Michigan State University (Summa Cum Laude) and an Educational Specialist degree in Educational Administration from Oakland University (Summa Cum Laude). She also has a Bachelors of Arts degree with a double major in Elementary Education and Math from Missouri Valley College (Summa Cum Laude).
Dana has taught in a variety of preschool and elementary classrooms in both public and private schools. She began her career by teaching at a private laboratory preschool, working with children ranging in ages from infants to four years old. In 1995, Dana began teaching in the Michigan public schools system, where she taught kindergarten, second, and third grades. She also wrote curriculum, participated in teacher hiring, and was a coach for the MEAP (Michigan Education Assessment Program) standarized test. After moving to Chicago in 1999, Dana taught fifth and sixth grades for several years in the Oak Park Public Schools (District 97), where she continued to design and implement curriculum and served on a number of school-wide and district-wide curriculum committees. Dana also participated in Curriculum Through Long Hallways, a grant project to integrate technology into curriculum at public and private schools.
As a parent of two children who graduated from Black Bear Academy, Dana is very familiar with the school’s philosophy and practices. She has been involved with Black Bear since 2005, serving as a parent volunteer and, for the past two years, was the Chair of the New Family Mentor Committee. She has given numerous tours of Black Bear, spoken to countless parents and prospective parents about the program, and observed many of the staff in their classrooms. During that time, Dana continued to keep her knowledge current in the areas of child development and early childhood education.
After taking a leave to stay home with her children, Dana has returned to the work force and is excited to bring her extensive teaching, educational, and early childhood experience to Black Bear. Dana is looking forward to working with the students, staff, and parents of Black Bear Academy throughout the upcoming school year.
