Director’s Message

As another year of teaching and learning draws close to an end, I want to leave you with two points that I recently read and are worthy of sharing. Both are excerpts from a publication by Dr. Harry Wong.

USE COACHES: A critical component of a successful comprehensive induction program is a coach. An educational coach is a teacher with expertise in classroom management and instructional and academic skills. Coaches have a clear-cut responsibility to help new teachers maximize their personal and professional potential. Successful coaches are compensated for their time and training so that they are able to proactively interact with and support new teachers. Coaches customize their instruction to support a new teacher's needs. Subject-specific coaches might also be used to increase proficiency in topic areas such as literacy, math, science, or technology. With a vision for student achievement, coaches are able to work with new teachers to develop instruction plans and assess for student progress. The bottom line emphasis is always on student learning.

References: www.teacher.net/wong/FEB08 and www. teacher.net/wong/MAR08

EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS: When teachers regularly and collaboratively review assessment data and work together to reach measurable goals, something magical happens: Student achievement increases.

Teaching should never be done in a vacuum - education is a sharing profession. When people work in isolation, there is no culture. A teacher's colleagues are their best resource, new teachers should get to know them. Listen to them. Learn from them. Work with them in a collegial manner and see what makes them effective and tailor their techniques to fit their needs. In this way techniques become perfected, new ideas are crafted, and a sustained culture of learning and sharing supports all the teachers. When schools become professional learning communities where teachers learn as well, student achievement increases.

Reference: www.teachers.net/wong/APR08

Thanks for another successful year - enjoy your summer - look forward to new adventures awaiting us in 08-09!

Linda S. Whitehead
Director, Teacher Development/HRD