Fear, and Legos

    We used to be members at the Legoland Discovery Center in Chicago for about 3 years.  It was an hour drive to get there, but the kids LOVED it, and everything is at least an hours drive in the suburbs anyway.  We let our membership lapse a few years ago when we went to Legoland California for the first time.  We used the money to buy admission tickets there instead.  

     Two years later, we were headed back to Legoland, but this time in Florida.  They have The Dragon coaster that is displayed on the wall of the Discovery Center in Chicago.  They had talked about going on that ride for years.  The time had finally come.

     And then is almost didn't happen.

     My son loves to watch roller coasters, but isn't a huge fan of riding them.  He often lets his fear of the unknown stop him from trying many things, like rides, and foods, and even movies.  I suppose he takes after me.   My daughter, on the other had, jumps right in, and then admits later that something scared her a little.  She is much more like her father.  I told my son that we weren't going to let fear stop him from something that he had hoped for for years.

     Our first ride at Legoland was indeed The Dragon, and we all survived.  We did it!  We even have the DigiPass photo to prove it.  We put our fears aside and experienced it together.  The second time around, a few of us decided to skip it, and that's ok.  There are some things you just need to do once.  :)  

This post is part of Big Time Blogging Challenge with Big Time Literacy. #BTBC17

Sunset

     We just got back from Florida, and this was the sunset that we were able to see on the Gulf of Mexico.

     We had arrived in Naples, and it was raining for most of the afternoon.  We had hoped it would clear up in time to catch the sunset, but it just kept raining.  I kept checking AccuWeather, and the rain kept showing up in MinuteCast.  I was starting to become doubtful that a sunset was in our future.  Around 8pm, there was a break in the rain, but the sky was still cloudy.  Was it worth taking a drive to the beach to catch the sunset, even it the clouds might block it all?

    We took the risk.

     My family and I had the beach all to ourselves, as the sun set over the gulf.   And it was beautiful.
Sometimes, taking a chance is exactly what you need to do.

This post is part of Big Time Blogging Challenge with Big Time Literacy. #BTBC17

A Little Nettle Creek Love

     I had the pleasure of spending the day with the teachers at Nettle Creek in Morris yesterday working on guided reading with their K-5 teachers.  The topic was decided by the teachers earlier in the year, because they decided that they wanted to grow in that area.  Yesterday, they opened up their school and their students to me, and we worked together to grow as reading teachers.  

     I am so very impressed that teachers (who don't even know me very well) opened their classroom doors to me.  They allowed me to walk around the building, going classroom to classroom, looking for examples of balanced literacy in their rooms.  They also allowed me to work with their students, and as I taught three guided reading lessons, they were flexible with teacher coverage and watched in pairs in a fishbowl. Their administrator watched, too.  Then, when the day was over, we used their extended day to talk a little more deeply about the parts that go into planning well for guided reading, and made some plans to move their guided reading groups along.

     I mean, isn't that just a growth mindset utopia?  It is in my book.

     I just love that the teachers at Nettle Creek are so dedicated to their students that they not only want to learn, but trusted me to come into their classrooms, work with their kids, and allowed me to give feedback. More impressively, they asked questions and talked with each other to make plans for their students.

     Did I mention that they videotaped my lessons?  I mean, isn't that just the type of thing I tell my teachers to do all the time, and they turned the tables on me!  Marissa Darlington, you speak my language. 

     Thank you, Nettle Creek.  The sunrise you see over the fields in Morris every morning pales in comparison to your beauty as educators.  

     I urged the Nettle Creek teachers to look at this picture of my own kids at the beginning of the year, and asked them to make sure they makes "stops" along their path as teachers.  Our school hallways are a lot like that path, where the doors remain closed and we make our way to our own rooms and just pass them.  But, if we stop every once in a while and go through those doors, or open our doors to others, then we see all the beauty that is hidden on the sides of the path.  Collaboration is right there waiting.  

    I urge us all, in 2017, to embrace opportunities to learn from others in our building or across our districts.  Whether it is in person, social media, or anything in between, let's learn with each other this year.  

    

Reading Workshop Routines and Structures

     The first week of school has finished, and the teachers at Hiawatha spent it getting to know their kids, building classroom community and positive climate, and adjusting back to the routines and schedules of school.  It was a great success.  If you would like to take a tour of our first week, via Twitter and Storify, here you go:
https://storify.com/leahod/first-week-success

     The second week, though, can bring some pressure.  It could even make you want to scream a little.

     Curriculum starts creeping in rather rapidly, and for our staff that means they are ready to start getting some feedback based on the curriculum.  BUT, let's start as a reasonable manner.  If we build reading workshop well at the beginning of the year, then learning can begin and continue to take off all year long.  That's why I like to focus my first feedback of the year on the basic routines and structures needed for a successful workshop model to occur.  It helps us know if we are on the right track, and it gets me in the classrooms to offer support and answer questions as they come up.

     When I come into a classroom for brief visits at the beginning of the year, I look for the things listed above.  Do I expect to see them ALL in place during the visit?  Of course not!  But, at least one of those things is usually either being actively taught, or evidence of it is seen in student behaviors or on the walls.  So, I simply circle the things I see and then write notes about what I notice or observe in that visit.  No judgements.  No evaluation.  I just let the teacher know that I can see that they are building workshop routines and structures in their classroom.  And, in the process, I get to see the students.

     Why did I choose to include those things in my list above?  Honestly, they just seem to be some of the lessons or structures that once you have in place, you can focus on content and the CCSS in your instruction.  If you don't have things like a meeting place, or a time for mini lessons, or partner routines, or anchor charts, etc. you will have a much harder time once you eventually start trying to cover the standards.  Also, if your students don't have stamina or are not engaged when they are reading, there will be management problems once small group instruction starts.  We are not planning for small groups or CCSS lessons now, but they will be much easier down the road if the workshop routines and structures are established in the first 6 weeks of school.

     On the post its on the right, I like to give compliments for things that are going well, and considerations for things that I have questions about, or perhaps things that I didn't actually see but might be in place.   Considerations are just meant to help the teacher reflect on the routines and structures they have established in their room.  They often just help us have a conversation about the workshop after the lesson has occurred, or jump start another routine or structure.

     I walk into classrooms with a growth mindset mentality.  I am looking to give high fives through my notes, and validate the hard work that has already been put in place.  I know that we all want to make sure we are headed in the right direction.  I am lucky to be a person who tells our staff that they are on the right path, and help them continue down it as well.  

     I am eager to get into the classrooms and start supporting the teachers by talking to the students and doing a little kid watching myself.  Here we go!

(Thanks, Bitmoji, for the Little Leah's in this post.)

     

The Kids are My Curriculum

There I was, standing in front of 2 sessions of new teachers, giving an overview of reading workshop during New Teacher Week, but starting with an apology... 

     I apologized for the overwhelming information I was about to give.  Yes, I tried to make it general, and less daunting to our new staff who come with a range of experience.  I tried to think of the questions new staff would ask.  I put on my smiling face, and talked about the underlying principles of workshop and the resources we have and the things to consider at the beginning of the year.  But with each question asked, I somehow starting talking about common core, and Calkins, and formative assessment, and guided reading, and CAFE, and balanced literacy, and leveling systems, and workshop set up, and curriculum resources, and...

     The truth is, ALL teachers want to know what they are going to teach.  Sessions like that are necessary, because whether they are new or not, workshop model is an expectation and they need to explore it.  But, workshop and balanced literacy is NOT a script.  There is no one *right* way to do it.  There are guiding principles, but no clear recipe for success.  So, sometimes, when you talk about it, it actually creates more questions.

     And, maybe, that's ok.

     If teachers are questioning their practice, and looking to their kids for answers, they are probably going to teach better than if they just followed a script.  Even if at first things are a little rocky, the reflection and kid watching will smooth things out.  BUT... Sometimes we do need to follow something.  Experience builds with action, and with knowledge, and with time.  We need to fill our teaching toolbox before we can really look at the kids and know what to do next.  Programs and workshop overview can help do that.  But, it is up to the teacher to determine their path.

Case in point:
https://crawlingoutoftheclassroom.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/what-my-reading-conferences-have-become/
@JessLif

     That blog post was written about conferring and the other day I found it on Twitter.  Yes, conferring is on our puzzle pieces of balanced literacy and is an expectation.  But, after reading the blog post below, I started to think about what happens when something is taught because it is "an expectation."  I have seen it with my own eyes a lot as a literacy coach, and as a classroom teacher myself.   Decisions are made, and sometimes people jump to do them not because they understand the purpose or because they have adapted it to meet their students' needs, but because they have to, or their principal wants them to.  And often times, that isn't really the case.  And, things fall a little flat.

     But then, there are moments of brilliance.  Moments when teachers try something new, or adapt things to fit their own teaching style, and it resonates with both the teachers and the students.  Learning just starts oozing from the classroom and spills into the halls.  And people notice the great instruction and want to learn from that teacher, or even her students.  We begin to inspire each other.  And our students grow.  And we grow.

     Those moments of brilliance sometimes happen after we allow our selves time to develop as {both new and experienced} teachers.  

    So, I apologize to the new staff who might have wanted me to give them the one answer on how to teach workshop.  I really can't, because I don't know your kids.  Sitting in that room during New Teacher Week, your kids were still registering.  I can make assumptions and use my experience to generalize, but I want to meet them.  Then, I can guide you better.

     And, the truth is, many of your questions will be answered as you need them answered.   Some answers will come from within, and others from colleagues and Twitter posts and professional resources.  My email is always open to you, and the rest of the D100 literacy coach team is here to support you as you follow our literacy plan.

     Workshop model and balanced literacy are the heart of our district literacy plan.  It is driven by shared beliefs and common planning and a growth mindset mentality and lots of best practices.  We do have a program.  I even held up the Units of Study box and showed it.  But, I held it up and hopefully made it clear that the program is not our curriculum.  THE KIDS ARE.  

     Meet your students.

     Set up your workshop.

     Incorporate pieces of balanced literacy into your literacy instruction.

     Ask for support.

     Invite me, your literacy coach, your peers, etc. into your classroom.  

     You will be great.  And, someday, I hope you appreciate that this district that hired you believes in teachers so much that YOU can make decision in your classroom about how your students need to be taught.  We learn from each other, but respect each other enough to allow for instructional differences.  Workshop and balanced literacy allow for you to find the pieces that fit your students' needs.  Putting together the puzzle isn't always easy, but it sure can be powerful.

     Welcome to D100!

In case you needed my presentations...

K-2 Workshop Overview

3-5 Workshop Overview

Our Inner Dorothy

     Have you ever felt like you couldn't do something, and then somehow, someway, you actually did it?  Was it almost like you magically clicked your heals, and it was within your power?

     Today, I told one of the teachers that I work with that she is raising readers.  Her response?  She said that it was only because I taught her how.  Time to be Glinda, and tell her the truth.

     People have the power to do great things.  They just don't always see it for themselves.

     All year, the teachers that I am blessed to work with came to me to collaborate and grow together.  Sometimes, we met in my office during their lunch.  Others used their plan times to plan lessons and units.  There were after school meetings, ELA plan periods, text messages, and ideas shared in the hall.  Phone calls, Twitter comments, and even Cold Day conversations.  The teachers in my building embraced a growth mindset, whether in their areas of strength or weakness, and we learned together.  

     The truth is, they always had the power.  They just needed someone to talk it through and collaborate with.  Education is a challenging profession, and it takes a village.

     I am a literacy coach, and I have the best job in the world.  I have come to see that coaching is (in my humble opinion) the single best PD available to us.  It is a powerful thing when a learner decides to learn something, on their own, and they take steps towards their goals.  I know this, because I have been coached along the way myself.  I have also witnessed the growth our students make when their learning is individualized for them.  Their growth can be astounding at times.  So, too, can be that of a teacher.

    Thanks, my Hiawatha and D100 family, for a great year of learning. Thanks for welcoming me into your classrooms and into your students' lives.

    Thanks, +Virginia Burdett, for reminding me to share my purpose for coaching.  I loved being a classroom teacher.  I became a coach so that teachers could find the power within themselves to make decisions in their own classroom.  That was my intent 2 years ago, and remains the same today.  I want to empower people, with learning and growth mindset and reflection, to find their way.  It's just a click of the heals away.   We just need to put those ruby slippers on and believe in the power we all have inside of us.

     That picture is of my daughter (who just happens to have ruby slippers...).  Rather than just text Ginny back with the quote from Glinda, I had to get the camera out, head out into the backyard despite the drizzle, and take a picture of my own Dorothy.  We all have the ability to help others realize their power.  The teachers we work with, the students in our class, our own children...  They all have the power for greatness.  Let's help them become aware of it.   

The Needs of the Kids

     I was at a workshop with past week about biliteracy and dual language classrooms, and the conversation of perspective (or mindset) came up.  The presenter, Karen Beeman, had us do two powerful things.  First, she had us think about what our definition of literacy is.  Then, she had us consider whether or not you actually need to be bilingual to support a multilingual perspective.  (Thanks, +Vianney Sanchez, for the post it image.)

     I really could write a blog post about both of these things, but that is for another day.

     What struck me about the answer to those two questions is how similar they really are to the reasons we have other initiatives or programs in place for D100.  It always seems like we have something new going on in D100.  Over my 16 years, we have had some major shifts...

Bilingual Program

Full Inclusion

Coteaching

1:1 technology

RTI Model

Workshop Model and Balanced Literacy

Common Core Implementation

Standards Based Learning

Dual Literacy (coming soon!)

     Beeman's question was, "How do we create a culture where the mindset is positive for a multilingual program?"  How can we get everyone involved to see the value of reading and writing in two languages?

     The answer, for all those programs listed above, is the same.  

     Look at the needs of the kids.

     I have been very lucky to have been a part of many of those programs from the start.  To be honest, the biggest challenge with some of them had been my own time to adjust.  We, as teachers, come with our own strengths and weaknesses, and our own teaching styles.  What we feel comfortable doing is not always what the kids need.  Sometimes, our programs need to change to fit the needs of the kids in front of us.  D100 seems to recognize that.

     I am proud of the teachers in our district, because they are willing to take on challenges and learn new things, just so the children that we teach will be successful beyond our classrooms.  We put things in place that might not show immediate gains in the year we have them, but we hope will help them in the years after they walk out our doors.  We are creating children whose dreams can come true.

     What makes me even prouder, though, is our staff's ability to look at all of those programs and decide what the students in their classroom need the most.  None of those things are one size fits all, and they do not stand alone.   Pieces of them can be woven into pieces of another, and it is our job to see what will make the most difference for the kids in our class.  

     +Karen Marino is leading a book talk about Standards Based Grading at Hiawatha.  Our teachers just asked themselves what they wanted for the students at Hiawatha and put their responses on an anonymous Padlet wall.  One of the teachers wrote this:

    

     No matter if they are speaking English or Spanish.  No matter the instructional method or group size.  No matter the use of paper or tech.  It's what the KIDS needs.  We make decisions that make the most impact that we can.  And the teachers in D100 are making that happen, every single day.  

     So think about these questions...

     What do you believe for your students?  

     How are you going to make that happen?

Self-Assessment in 1st Grade

     We have a first grade teacher who has really embraced growth mindset, for both herself and for her students.  She is willing to collaborate and learn from her team, and other coworkers, and the friendly lit coach (me).  Her name is +Julianne LaFleur.

     Today, we were meeting because she had found a video with a lesson idea that she would like to try out in her room.  (More on that in a later post).  It centers around feedback, and we ended up talking about some lesson ideas we had planned in her shared reading block around reading with fluency.  We had met a few weeks ago to figure out how to split lessons between the reading mini lessons and shared reading so that they worked together in a balanced literacy way.  For reading workshop, the long term goal for the unit is to create "movie book clubs" around some drama and story reenactment.  So, for shared reading, we thought it might be nice to focus on reading with fluency and gestures to work toward that end goal.  Julianne also wanted to create a way for students to self assess and to give feedback to each other about their character performance.

     Julianne has a 1:1 iPad classroom, so her students are very savvy with tech.  But, what impresses me is how the students use that tech to self assess their learning.  Take this for example...

Here is a video of one of her students showing the facial expressions and gestures of a character from a just right book in his independent reading box.
Take 1!

     He watched his own video, then used this rubric to self assess his video and submitted it to his teacher through Showbie.  Oh his rubric, he marked himself as a frown for both eyebrows and mouth not matching the emotion.  Julianne then decided to use his video to model having the class give him feedback, and they also told him to add those two things as well.

Click Here for Full Rubric

So, he went back to iPad and did it over again!  Here is a video of her student, after he self assessed himself and the class gave him feedback to use his eyebrows and mouth more.
Take 2!

     Isn't that incredible!  Even in first grade, students can learn that we can always improve.  We can assess ourselves, we can ask others for feedback, and we can do things more than once.

#growthmindset
#proudlitcoach

Growth Mindset: A Snapshot

Growth Mindset

     I have talked a lot about growth mindset over the last few years, both in person and on my blog.  I have embraced the mindset described by Carol Dweck quite assertively since I became a literacy coach.   Perhaps because I had so much to learn in order to help others, it seemed like a growth mindset was the mentality I needed to have.  

     Being a perfectionist, and a stubborn one at that, I don't know how much I embraced the learning process growing up.  I have always been someone who fears failure, and because of that I will not be seen parallel parking or making a left turn onto a busy intersection.  There are things in life that I can't do, and those things seem pretty fixed.  

     So, why is it that some things are fixed for me, while others I feel ready to develop and grow and be better at?

     Today, when we were at the zoo, my daughter spontaneously rubbed her nose together with her pet stuffed seal.  She had really wanted Dip N Dots, and we eventually gave in to our little girl.  The sun had gone away, so her hat came on, probably as a result of the frozen treat in front of her.  When asked if she was ready to leave, she said that Sealy wanted some Dip N Dots, too. She can't feed a stuffed animal ice cream, so she just leaned down and went nose to nose with him.  It lasted for 30 seconds, or a minute at most, but it was the sweetest thing I have seen in a long time.  And, because I am quick with my camera, I took a picture of it.

     In fact, over the last year, I will say that I have gotten to be a better photographer.  I have ALWAYS loved taking pictures.  It started when I was a kid myself, with an old camera that my mom had.  It used flash cubes and real film.  I graduated up to another camera that used a flash stick and film, then disposable cameras with a flash, and finally a pocket 35mm camera with a built in flash.  I didn't get my first digital camera until after I got married, so for 25 years or so I took pictures and had to wait for the film to develop to see the images.  It was a gift... That excitement over seeing the images.  Today, though, I can take 300 pictures and only keep the best 100.  Yep, that's my average photos taken on a trip with my family.

     I have always loved taking pictures, but last year I made some real attempts at being better at it.  Upgrading my camera always resulted in better images, but not my skill as a photographer.  I bought a nicer DSLR camera a few years ago, so I took a class that helped me learn a little about it.  It didn't help me actually shooting, so I took an online class that gave us a project each month and some feedback.  That is where I started to get better.  I learned some tricks, started following new photographers on Facebook, learned a little more about Photoshop Elements, and I practiced.  A lot.  

     Today, I took a picture of my daughter.  A picture that I love.  One that I will cherish forever, because it is HER, captured in a photo.  But, there were 327 other photos I took today too.  Some were good, many were awful.  A lot went into the digital trash can.  With all the work I have done to take great pictures, I still take a lot of bad ones.  I still have a lot to learn, but I can develop that talent.  

     How does this apply to education?

     When I say that we need to have a growth mindset, I am coming with the belief that we are already good teachers.  That we take our profession as an art form, and are always developing those skills to be the best we can be for our students, and for ourselves.  Over the years I upgraded the tools I use to take pictures, just like the tools I use to teach. But, the knowledge I have learned isn't forgotten.  It is applied and synthesized into something new, to make me better than I was before.  I once used an overhead projector and screen, and now I use a laptop and a SMART Board.  But, I can still use the pedagogy and content knowledge I used back then.  I have only upgraded my method of delivery.  (Or have I...  Someday I will find a reason to use an overhead projector.  It has to be instructionally relevant still in some capacity, right?)

     It seems that with all the new stuff in education these days, we are forgetting that the old stuff is usually just repackaged and retitled.  Many things remain the same.  What is different is the teacher that we are today, and the one we were before.  With the experience we gather each year, we learn the rules well so that we can break them to fit the needs of the students sitting in front of us.  It is that instructional decision making (and the toolbox that we require to make those decisions) that grows by having a growth mindset.  Picasso believes that artists break the rules, and I think that great teachers know the rules well enough to make their own or break them when it will truly make a difference in their students' lives.  A hybridizer, as I call it.  Use what you know, and make it better.

     I have also come to the conclusion that it is much easier to have a growth mindset over things that we are passionate about (hence my struggles with parallel parking and left turns).  The truth is, it is hard to believe that we can improve our skills when we feel we have no skills at all.  That's why it's important to remember what brought you into teaching, and bring that into your classroom as often as you can.  Remember why you became a teacher in the first place, and use that to propel you into developing yourself into the teacher you dreamed you could be.  

      The Leah of my childhood would have benefited from the reminder that it is ok to make and grow from mistakes, and that there is always something to learn to move ourselves along.  Perhaps the Leah of today would know how to parallel park...  Oh well.  There's always tomorrow. 

     

Giant Mistakes?: A Slice of Life

Writing teachers need to write themselves.

I am participating in the Slice of Life 2015 Challenge, 

where I attempt to write stories and narratives about moments in my life.

I apologize if this blog post veers off the informative "literacy lens" I usually write through.

This month I am pretending to be a writer, for my students' benefit (and my own).

Writers write. 

#SOL15

Major mistakes?

Big blunders?

Mighty misunderstandings?

Massive misinterpretations?

Enormous errors?

Fantastic faux pas?

Incredible inaccuracy?

What kind of mistakes would you have to make in order to need an eraser that big?

     Today, I went on a site visit to a neighboring district to see their dual language program in action.  My district is starting to make some changes so that we can move our bilingual classrooms towards a dual language program over the next few years.  I saw many things that changed my understanding of a bi-literate classroom, some of them pretty enormous.  I will be processing some of the things that I saw today for a while.  We have so many things in place already that will help us as we move towards these changes, but much to learn ahead.

     The image that I decided to blog about, though, was in the first classroom we went into this morning.  It coincidentally happened to be the sister of one of my former 2nd grader students (who is graduating high school this year and has been accepted to 4 colleges! #proudteacher).  On the middle of each of her clusters of desks was a shared supply cup containing some pencils and a giant pink eraser.

     It made me think about the message that eraser could send to our students...  

     It could be the message that "YOU need to fix your mistakes, and you all will make a TON of them."  

     Or, it could be "Mistakes are part of OUR shared life, so notice them and learn from them."

     Every mistake we make is the path to new learning. Life is full of mistakes, and therefore learning opportunities just waiting to be found.  In fact, the only constant in life seems to be change.  As we make major changes, planning and preparation helps us to make fewer major mistakes, but mistakes will always still be part of the process.  It's what we do about those steps off the path that makes the difference.

     As we move toward dual language, or continue to implement workshop model or 1:1 technology integration or full inclusion with coteaching, we need to remember that mistakes are just a part of the process.  Missteps happen along the way, and can ultimately take us to learning that far surpasses our originally intended path.  If our goal is simply to make our instruction the most beneficial for our students, and we just keep working toward meeting their needs, then we are moving in the right direction.  When we step away from our focus on the students, only then will that eraser need to fix our ton of mistakes.  If we keep students' best interests as our focus, then those mistakes will only lead us closer to our goals.

Energizing enlightenment

Refined reflection

Intentional illumination

Useful understanding

Lasting learning

Watchful wisdom

Perhaps having a growth mindset helps us see opportunity in our mistakes,

for both our teachers and our students.

     I appreciated the visit today for the district's shared insight on not only what is working for them, but also what didn't work so well.  Honest reflection is a powerful thing.  I especially appreciated the team of people who were there with me from my own district. Thanks +Gissel Escobedo +Jean Suchy +Liliane Gelacio +Lucy Carrera +Sonia Peralta +Jane Bagus for the conversations today.

     

Teacher Leaders

Teacher Leaders?

     Today I followed a Twitter Chat with ASCD about teacher leaders.  That is actually a topic I have thought a lot about recently, working with the various teacher leaders in my own school district.  I have the lucky position of getting to work with many teachers who lead others, both at Hiawatha and throughout the district in my PD role, curriculum work, the mentor program, and National Board mentoring. So many of these tweets made me think of D100 staff.  So, here are some of the highlights.  Do you see yourself in these tweets?  I do!  

How do you think the role of teacher leader should be defined?

How can admins support and empower current teacher leaders?

What are some ways that teachers can work on becoming teacher leaders?

What are some of the challenges or potential pitfalls of developing teacher leaders?

Tell us about a time when you were encouraged to be a leader, or when you encouraged someone else.

How can a strong teacher leadership structure benefit school climate?

What is the best advice you'd give to someone who wants to be a teacher leader or develop teacher leaders?

     In D100, we are blessed to have many opportunities to lead as teachers.  I am proud of the moments that I have been able to use the skills that I have to help others, but I am even more proud of the co-workers that I see every day lead others on their teams and in our building.  The things we are doing at Hiawatha fill me with pride, and none of those things could be accomplished without the drive, dedication, and perseverance of our teacher leaders.  New teachers, veteran teachers, teachers in between, all rising up and leading others with their talents.  Thank you for what you do.

     To quote @cvarsalona, "Reflective learners become the best leaders." Take time to reflect on your teaching, your students, your purpose, and your goals, and share your light with others.  We are a district full of teacher leaders, making a difference every single day for our students.  

#huskypride

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