Lately, I have been asked about our mission statement and I heard a question.....Are we (teachers) striving for excellence every day? My initial reaction...you really have to ask this question? We show excellence every day. At least the teachers I work with strive for EXCELLENCE every day. After a little time, I realized the public doesn't get to see what I get to see on a daily basis. It will not make the newspaper or the 5 o'clock news, it won't be shouted from the rooftops and teachers will not be receiving that huge Christmas bonus they so deserve.
I am blessed to be in a position to work with every grade level team K-3 and in the past 4th, 5th and a little with preschool, 6th, 7th & 8th grade literacy teachers. I KNOW beyond a doubt we have excellence every day. SO when I’m asked the question, “do we have excellence in our buildings?”, get ready........ because I can talk with you for hours and tell you all of the excellent things I witness on a daily basis.
We have overhauled and strengthened many areas of our teaching the last few years. With our new focus of the Iowa Core we have raised our expectations for student learning and for meeting individual needs.
Each teacher strives to help each child reach grade level. With our current demographics, we no longer have classrooms with easy average learners. We have a large percentage of SES students and ELL students. This leads our teachers to differentiate every day. We have added curriculum pieces to our literacy....the Daily 5, the CAFE, Making Meaning, Being a Writer, Guided Reading, Strategy Groups, Independent Reading, Leveled Classroom Libraries and Guided Spelling. “Diversity is our strength”
These pieces allow teachers to meet individual needs through small groups, 1 to 1 conferring, partner work and daily reading and writing activities to build their reading stamina. We know research states...”children from SES homes or ELL homes will not come to school with the necessary literacy skills needed to be successful and they will be far behind their peers in vocabulary from the first day of school.” These curriculum pieces also allow us to challenge and provide enrichment literacy activities for our children who are above grade level. It is a constant balancing act for teachers.
I probably average at least 3 teachers a week that stop in to talk about their student’s learning needs. I often hear....what else could I try? I hear her struggles and I see her face after a night of no sleep due to the heartfelt concern for a student who may be struggling- academically, emotionally or physically. “Learning is our priority”
Every year I see teachers spending their own money on their classroom libraries or curriculum materials. Teachers know that children need to have a successful IDR time and to ensure this happens it takes hundreds of books. Walk into any room and teachers will show you the wonderful libraries they are creating and the many cozy book nooks they create to enhance children’s reading experiences. We believe our children deserve this gift. “Respect is our norm”
Every day teachers either come in at 7:00a.m. to prepare for the day or they choose to stay until 5 or 6pm. Our teachers come in on weekends or back again at 8 or 9pm after they have tried to meet their own family needs. Does anyone see this? Probably not. But it happens every week, every weekend. Teachers cannot prepare and have their classrooms organized while 23 children are in the room. It takes outside time to plan and prepare. Teachers care about the quality of their lessons and activities. “Integrity is our foundation”
Every day I see teachers tutoring children during their recess break, lunch break or before/after school. This means limited restroom breaks, no coffee breaks or no lunch break for the teacher. “Learning is our priority”
Every day I see teachers working together in classrooms to meet children’s needs. Co-teaching, sharing groups or removing a child so the teacher or child can regroup and positively participate in class. I see teachers have tears when a child is taken from the home, or if the teacher had to inform a parent that their child may have serious learning disabilities. It can happen, it does happen and its hard but that’s what we do. Teachers care about their students. That is why we say “OUR kids”.
Currently we are doing a book study (Pathways to the Common Core) to dig deeper into the state’s mandated learning goals called the Iowa Core. 33 teachers--reading and studying the book on personal time. They are meeting to discuss and to question current teaching beliefs because they want to be sure they are doing the best that they can do for students. It’s hard work and we take it seriously. We care if our students our prepared for the work force and college. We are being proactive and we strive to learn and stay in touch with researched strategies for our students. “Collaboration is our culuture”
Back to the question I heard.....Do we (teachers) believe we have excellence? Is our mission statement fitting for North Side, South Side and the Middle School? Absolutely, positively....YES!
I am blessed because I witness this excellence every day. It’s an honor to work with such an AMAZING staff. THANK YOU, teachers, for creating a safe, caring culture of high expectations where all students reach their greatest potential!
The video was a few pictures I took in just one day. Imagine the excellence we could capture over time!
Merry Christmas and may each of you have a blessed year!! Mrs. Speake
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