Turning Doubt Into Results

Turning Doubt It Results

The first 9 years of my education career, I was a Physical Education teacher. Over those 9 years I had the opportunity to write curriculum for an entire district, to develop an innovative system working with the Center of Assessment to share high quality assessment to support Student Learning Objectives (SLO's), to serve on local and state committees to write policy to support physical activity and health in schools. All this work and my experiences as a Physical Education teacher prepared me for taking the next step in my career, becoming a school leader. I wanted to make a difference for more people, to add value to more lives. Going back to school to get my principal's license and Master's Degree in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies was the road to that dream.

What I did not expect as I began on my new path was the stigma associated with being a Physical Education teacher. 

As my Principal Internship ended in May of 2016 and I was knee deep in my job search, an Instructional Superintendent told me "I needed to go teach 2nd grade to learn about instruction." At first, I took great offense to the statement. I spent 9 years of my life teaching Physical Education & had been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for my teaching. To say that I didn't know anything about instruction, was something I thought of as a great insult.

I used that statement has fuel. It became my fire to prove the Instructional Superintendent wrong. I was going to do everything and anything to better myself as an Instructional Leader. Over the last year plus, I've lived in classrooms. I've studied, read, reflected, asked for feedback, and worked tirelessly to be better for those I serve. The better I can become, the greater capacity I will have to give back to others. 

Genius Hour was one thing I studied last year and I worked with our 3rd Grade Team to implement it in their classrooms. We had one young man who started a non-profit to provide food for families in need who got to meet new Jeffco Superintendent Dr. Jason Glass on his tour around the county. The 3rd Grade Classrooms saw a 14% status achievement increase in ELA  & 16% increase in Math on the PARCC exam. 

In 5th Grade Math, we took our interim MAP results and input them into Khan Academy to create point of need personalized learning for every student. We moved away from a 20+ year tradition of Side A and Side B of Saxon Math worksheets to a workshop model that gave students more at-bats to develop their skills. Our 5th Grade Math students saw an 18.7% increase on the PARCC exam. 

One book I read over the last year was Michael Fullan's "The Principal". In the book Fullan names Capacity Building, Collaborative Work, Pedagogy, and System-ness as the Right Drivers to Improve Outcomes at Schools. These became the focal points of my leadership. Armed with this charge, I worked tirelessly to build the capacity of staff, to engage in collaborative work as a part our PLC's, to improve pedagogy, and to implement coherent systems necessary to improve teaching and learning. 

The data below will show near double digit gains across in all but one grade level. I am immensely proud of supporting the growth of our staff and students to attain the results. It goes to show when we develop relationships, a culture of learning and are intentional to support both our students and teachers as learners, we can accomplish great things.  

ELA Grade 03

66.7% Met or Exceeded Expectations (+14.0 points vs. 2016)
93.5% Participation

ELA Grade 04

55.7% Met or Exceeded Expectations (-7.2 points vs. 2016)
95.9% Participation

ELA Grade 05

70.0% Met or Exceeded Expectations (+8.0 points vs. 2016)
98.9% Participation

ELA Grade 06

66.7% Met or Exceeded Expectations (+14.7 points vs. 2016)
96.3% Participation

Math Grade 03

69.4% Met or Exceeded Expectations (+16.1 points vs. 2016)
93.5% Participation

Math Grade 04

38.6% Met or Exceeded Expectations (-9.9 points vs. 2016)
95.9% Participation

Math Grade 05

56.7% Met or Exceeded Expectations (+18.7 points vs. 2016)
98.9% Participation

Math Grade 06

37.2% Met or Exceeded Expectations (+10.5 points vs. 2016)
96.3% Participation

This summer, I also served as the Principal at Edgewater Elementary of a Summer Literacy Program in Jeffco known as JSEL (Jeffco Summer of Early Literacy). I am so grateful for the opportunity I was given to serve at Edgewater. I hope to be a principal one day. Especially in Jeffco, where we live and my 4 children attend school. As an educator, I am excited about the vision and leadership of new Jeffco Superintendent Dr. Jason Glass. He's someone I want to serve with and I'm excited for my kids to be in schools under his leadership. 

At Edgewater, we focused on developing a collaborative school culture and once again on developing teacher capacity to support the intentional teaching of students at point of need as readers and writers. The results below speak to the power of how making a school a great place to come everyday for all learners. 

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