Melissa Monette Smith currently works with the York Region District School Board. Over the last 17 years, she has held many positions, teaching grades 3-8, Special Education, Regional Literacy, and Kindergarten. In the 2024-25 school year, she is teaching Grade 1.
Melissa attributes the success of the first year of the new curriculum implementation in her current school partly to the administration’s willingness to provide space for ‘early adopters’ like herself to support teachers who may have further to go in their learning journey.
“I work at an amazing school with eager colleagues and a supportive administrator who provides ample time for learning and collaboration. If you want real change to happen, having an administrator who values giving teachers time to work together is a must.”
When Melissa began learning about the science of reading and explicit systematic instruction several years ago, she quickly realized that her approach to teaching needed to change. She needed a different skill set to reach all her learners effectively. “And once I started to do that, I just saw every child excel in my classroom—emotionally, academically, in their interests.”
She explains that the biggest surprise for her was that it wasn’t any big change. “It was a lot of little, manageable changes that, over time, compounded into this force inside my classroom.”
From Early Adopter to Helping Others
In the 2023-24 school year, Melissa joined the curriculum assistance team to help other educators navigate the new curriculum. She also co-led the Getting Ready for Report Cards webinars and she has also contributed language block templates for Grades 1 and 2 and junior/intermediate levels. This year, Melissa hosted a four-part book study on Strive for Five, and highlighted how she uses screening, diagnostic and progress monitoring data to inform instruction in the Grade 1 Planning webinar series.
Across all these ONlit projects, Melissa enjoys connecting with Ontario educators. “I really like answering their questions and sitting with them, finding out where they are on their journeys and going together. Each new teacher brings their own experience with them, and when I can take my knowledge and their experience, we go off together and find new ways of applying the knowledge to their classrooms and their student experiences,” says Melissa.
Melissa Monette Smith’s dedication to educational excellence continues to inspire and support teachers across Ontario, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to succeed.
To learn more, watch this video on YouTube featuring Melissa’s story.
