I believe that the faculty of a school and/or district must have a common vision about the curriculum and instructional practices of the school, and that through creative collaboration a staff achieves better results than what individuals can achieve on their own.
I believe this because of my experience teaching at several different school sites, at several different grade levels, and several different subject areas. My work on textbook adoption committees and writing curriculum has contributed to my belief that creative collaboration is the most effective method to develop curriculum and make decisions about curriculum.
There are a lot of issues related to providing effective curriculum and instruction at a school site: the need for standards that are well-thought out and research-based, the use of challenging and engaging materials that enable students to meet the standards, the use of technology in providing a blended learning approach to standards-based instruction, and an investment in professional development that pushes teachers to continually improve their craft.
I’d like to highlight an experience I had with a professional development opportunity that I participated in. tI found the experience to be highly beneficial in helping my team to collaborate creatively in order to improve our practice and help students meet the new Common Core standards. As the chair of the sixth grade math department at my school I led a team of four teachers through a lesson study specifically related to the common core standards. Leading up to this work we had worked together to discuss the new standards, and we had taken a look at our new textbook and discussed how our instruction might look different with the new standards and mathematical practices. Through our work together we a mutual respect for each other and appreciated each other’s work as math teachers. We acknowledged our different approaches to teaching in our classrooms, but also recognized the benefit we gained by collaborating. That respect helped us to move forward in our implementation of the standards. Through our lesson study process we planned a lesson together, teaching to the one of the standards, and then one teacher taught the lesson as the rest of us observed. After that lesson we spent time debriefing in order to improve the lesson, and a second teacher taught the same lesson later in the day based on our discussion. This professional development activity moved us forward in planning for high level instruction that would support students in meeting the grade level standards.
Subject: Parent and Community Involvement
I believe that well planned and comprehensive parent and community involvement activities can provide long-lasting gains for students.
I believe this because of my experiences both as a parent and a teacher. As a parent I have attended school activities with my children, served on PTA boards, and volunteered my time in order to support their educational experience. As a teacher I have interacted with parent volunteers in my classroom, and supported and participated in school-wide activities that encouraged involvement of parents and community members.
There are a lot of issues related to parent and community involvement. For example, the importance of ensuring that parents of all racial and ethnic backgrounds feel welcome in the school community, encouraging parents and the community to support the school with time and/or talent, providing a variety of ways for parents to help out at a school site, and supporting parents as important members of the educational team by encouraging them to serve on a School Site Council or Parent Association.
I’d like to highlight an experience I had involving parents in two beneficial programs at my school site. As a teacher at Beaumont Elementary I helped to bring Family Math Nights and the Math, Science and Beyond programs to my school. These events required a lot of planning and coordination beforehand, and a committment by families and staff to try something different. Each of these events involved hands-on activities, in English and Spanish, that parents and children worked on together, under the guidance of teachers who volunteered their time to work with families to engage and instruct students. These events helped to establish a welcoming culture and a strong community feeling on our school site, and were continued year after year.
Subject: Discipline and School Climate/Culture
I believe that a school’s culture and discipline plan should foster positive self-esteem, respect, enthusiasm, and cooperation.
I believe that because of my 30+ years of classroom management experience where I have seen the effects of a positive discipline policy vs. a punitive discipline policy. I believe that the culture of a classroom and a school should be based on three rules: Respect Yourself, Respect Others, and Respect Our Community.
There are a lot of issues relating to this type of “Do No Harm” culture. For example, the value of keeping all kids in the classroom involved in the process of learning, the value of establishing relationships between teachers and students , the value of “outside of class” conversations, the value of a “never too late to learn” philosophy on a school campus, and the value of restorative practices.
I’d like to highlight my ideas for using restorative practices to create a welcoming culture at a school. I see restorative practices as a philosophy that an entire school must commit to to build that positive, respectful community I referred to earlier. A philosophy of restorative practices focuses on holding students accountable with strategies that also help them to understand the effect their behavior has on others. This practice should be implemented in classrooms, where teachers can facilitate restorative circles so that students have opportunities to express their feelings in a respectful environment. It should also be implemented in small group settings as a strategy for peacefully resolving conflicts between individuals and small groups. And it should be implemented with school staffs to facilitate positive, respectful conversations and problem solving.
Subject: Technology
I believe that schools must integrate the use of digital tools into the work of students and educators to prepare for the 21st century. I believe that innovative use of technology has great potential to engage students and assist them in meeting the Common Core standards.
I believe this because of the opportunities I have had to use technology as a teacher of children and adults. I feel that technology is an essential tool in a teacher’s toolbox, and our best chance of engaging digital natives in learning experiences.
There are a lot of issues related to using technology to prepare students for the 21st century. For example, equitable access to the internet for all students, data security and privacy issues, professional development for digital immigrants, and the availability of Web 2.0 tools which can be used to engage students and provide for blended learning experiences.
I’d like to highlight my experiences in providing technology professional development for digital immigrants (veteran teachers) to illustrate why I consider technology to be so important for 21st century schools.
I have been using technology in my classroom since the late 1990’s, and I have been a teacher leader advocating for technology use for almost as long. For the past four years I have been the Digital Teacher Leader at my school site. Through this position I serve as a liaison between the school district’s educational technology department and my school site. Beyond that I have a seat at the table at my site when technology decisions are being made. I also have the opportunity to support teachers as they work to integrate technology into their planning and lessons, and I have planned and led technology infused professional development at my site. For the last several years I have taught courses for the educational technology deparment of San Diego Unified. Through these interactions I have seen firsthand the value, for both children and adults, of integrating technology into education in the 21st century.