Teaching Strategies Employee Spotlight: Suzanne, Sr. Director, State Partnerships

Meet Suzanne Scheel, Sr. Director, State Partnerships

Seventeen years ago, Suzanne first joined Teaching Strategies as one of fewer than 30 employees. She was a member of the Technology Initiatives team, where she performed various tasks, such as writing newsletters and providing technical support. In 2007, TS began to work with states, and its customer base expanded.

Suzanne feels like she has been able to grow with TS. She has helped fulfil the company’s needs by taking on different roles over the years, and she’s thankful for the support she received from her passionate colleagues.

Recently, we asked Suzanne to share her thoughts on work and life at Teaching Strategies.

What was your experience like when you joined Teaching Strategies?

Teaching Strategies had fewer than 30 employees when I started, which is hard to believe now. I was part of the Technology Initiatives team; my role was to support customers with their CreativeCurriculum.net implementation, which was our online assessment tool at the time. Our largest implementations were programs with fewer than 2,000 children. I spent my time doing a little bit of everything, including implementation support, renewals, newsletters, conference presentations, technical support, product development and testing, professional development, and sales. We did not have a sales team at all back then, believe it or not. In 2007, when we developed an online solution to meet federal OSEP reporting requirements, we began to work with states, and our customer base began to shift and grow. My focus was to work with this new customer base and support their work. Some of my favorite memories of my early days at Teaching Strategies are travelling with Diane Trister Dodge to various meetings/presentations and the reaction that many customers had to the opportunity to meet her. It was inspiring to see her treated like a rock star!

How has Teaching Strategies supported your growth, both personally and professionally, during your time with the company?

I feel like I have been able to grow up with Teaching Strategies. As the company has evolved over the years, I have been able to take advantage of opportunities and roles for different positions that suit my skillset and interests while adapting to the needs of the company. Teaching Strategies has supported me personally though the years as well; I have had wonderful colleagues and friends throughout my time here that have been with me through many important life events. I feel lucky to have the support of such an incredible group of people who all share the same passion for their work that I do.

During your time with Teaching Strategies, how have our solutions evolved through the years?

One of the things that I love about Teaching Strategies is that we have always been focused on teachers, and we have not shied away from adjusting our solutions and make adaptations to meet the needs of the field. It has been amazing to watch our products shift to support new, different ways to collect and use data. Because of our focus on technology products, we are able to reach so many more teachers, administrators, and children. Internally, we have come a long way with our business systems as well.

As we begin 2024, what do you think the future holds for Teaching Strategies?

I am excited about continued modernization of our tools, and product updates that will streamline teachers’ work in the classroom.