Melissa Novak
Managing Partner/ Early Childhood Special Education Teacher
​
Degrees
B.S. Early Childhood Special Education: Iowa State University
M.A. Ed: Saint Mary’s University
Autism Certificate Program: St. Cloud State University
​
Licensed
B-6 Early Childhood Special Education
B-Grade 3 Early Childhood Education
B-6 Autism Spectrum Disorders
Summary of Professional Experiences:
Melissa has been teaching for 20 years:
- Melissa joined TCEC in 2016 as an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher (ECSE)/ Developmental Delay (DD) Consultant supporting charter schools with special education services. She now serves both as a managing member of TCEC and an ECSE teacher.
-
Worked as an Autism consultant/behavior intervention specialist for a school district.
-
Worked in a multicategorical classroom, supporting students that were significantly impacted by their disability.
-
Participated in an autism cohort that involved educators in the state of Minnesota.
-
Case managed and provided special education services to students in Early Childhood Special Education.
-
Coached and trained paraeducators and teachers.
-
Developed, planned and facilitated professional development sessions during district professional development service days.
-
Conducted special education Evaluations, Individual Education Plans (IEPs), Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) for students in grades pre-k-first.
-
Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) certified
Personal Information:
Melissa was born and raised in Minnesota. She currently lives in Minnetonka with her husband and 4 kids, two of which she is lucky to have as bonus kids! Melissa stays very busy running her kids to all of their activities! She loves to travel and do anything outside when the weather is nice.
How can Melissa help you?
Melissa can provide a wide range of support to teachers and parents who have students/children in pre-k through 1st grade and are identified under the category of Developmental Delay. She works with school teams when behavior needs come up and helps problem solve and work collaboratively with staff to put together appropriate programming. Melissa participates in the evaluation process to ensure the evaluations are comprehensive and the needs of the child are defined. In addition, she is available to determine if TCEC has a staff member who can help support Charter schools and Districts.