Educator Spotlight: McComas & Trzeciak

Corey McComas

Intervention specialist Corey McComas’ positivity, empathy, dedication, and humor make her the perfect person to lead the RISE classroom at Emerson Elementary. As a child and family psychology major in college, Corey worked with students with autism and that experience spurred her to return to school for an education degree focused on special education. Corey’s nominator, speech and language pathologist Ellery Martinko, thinks special education and Corey are a perfect fit.

“Corey’s classroom may not always be calm…but it’s full of heart, understanding, and connection. She has an incredible way of seeing her students as individuals and meeting them where they are, with patience, flexibility, and genuine care.” Ellery says.

Corey knows it can be hard being a parent of a special needs child so she makes sure to communicate with her families daily to share something positive about their student’s day. “I always try to spin things in a positive way,” she says.

Ellery notes that Corey is an excellent collaborator who is always willing to share ideas, resources and support her colleagues. She often collaborates with her teaching counterparts in the STAR unit at Emerson on project ideas and teaching strategies. Corey embraces a growth mindset. She says that being a newer teacher (she is in her second full-time year with the District), necessitates that she seek out collaboration with others just to “bounce off ideas” and to learn from their experiences. 

“Corey values everyone’s input and keeps the focus on what’s best for students,” Ellery says. “She’s dependable, encouraging, and makes our school community stronger through her teamwork and spirit.”

Chelsea Trzeciak

Emerson Elementary fourth grade ELA teacher Chelsea Trzeciak knows how important the sense of belonging plays in making a child feel comfortable and ready to learn. It’s why she works so hard on developing a sense of community in her classroom and throughout the school. Chelsea stepping up to help lead the implementation of the Ron Clark Academy House System at Emerson is a perfect example of her community-building and collaboration skills. It’s also one of the reasons her fourth-grade counterpart, Matt Shields, nominated Chelsea.

“Chelsea is instrumental in moving our district forward on multiple fronts. She is spearheading our drive to implement the house system, serves on many instructional committees with a sincere belief in advancing the curriculum, and does it all in a positive manner with 100% effort.,” Matt wrote about Chelsea.

Matt, who Chelsea calls “an inspiration and a great motivator,” also notes that Chelsea is an excellent communicator. Each week Matt and Chelsea team up to send fourth-grade families a video on Mondays to share what the week’s homework will be and keep families abreast of what to expect for the week in the classroom. Chelsea also feels it's important to check in with her students every day and listen to their feedback and adjust accordingly. She is empathetic to their concerns and wants to be sure they feel heard.

Chelsea’s hobby of traveling the world is one way that she brings the Vision of a Lakewood Ranger competency of global awareness into her classroom as she shares her adventures in countries around the world with her students. 

Chelsea loves giving back to the community she grew up in and is grateful to be a Lakewood City Schools teacher.