Patchwork Literacy

I am a special education teacher based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a focus on comprehensive literacy instruction for students with complex communication needs, including those who use AAC. 

In my classroom, I work primarily with nonspeaking and minimally speaking students. My practice centers on providing full access to reading and writing through evidence-based instructional approaches. This includes implementing Comprehensive Literacy for All (CLfA) instruction, supporting alternative access to writing, and creating language-rich environments where all students are presumed competent and capable of meaningful literacy learning.

This blog is a space to document that work in practice. I share classroom routines, instructional approaches, and reflections on what it looks like to teach literacy in ways that move beyond compliance-based or “life skills only” models. My goal is to make this work visible and usable for other educators supporting complex learners.

My thinking is influenced by the work of Karen Erickson and David Koppenhaver, as well as practitioners and researchers in AAC and literacy. I am particularly interested in how we can expand access to literacy for students who have historically been excluded from it.