I know it's February, but so many amazing adventures happened during the month of January that I needed to catch you up! Reflecting back over the past month provided numerous opportunities to work with Teacher Cadets, induction teachers, and teacher leaders!
Back to school after the holidays began with an awesome visit to Allendale County School District. The district provided a staff development day for teachers. It was extra special because my mom, one of my greatest teachers, decided to ride along with me! She retired from an amazing career in nursing and is an inspiration to me! While speaking, I had the chance to thank her for being an incredible teacher in my life and to remind others that we are all teachers to someone! We can all thank a teacher for inspiring us to persevere! I want to thank educators like Lena Green, 2012 District Teacher of the Year, Christina Samraj, 2011 District Teacher of the Year, and Rhonda Farmer, a former Teacher in Residence at CERRA for their passion and commitment! They give students the gift of hope and inspire others around them!
Other highlights included work with Beaufort and Jasper County Teacher Cadets! I had an amazing day with the cadets at their inaugural Regional Teacher Cadet Day organized by Teacher Cadet instructor Cindy Sturgis! Hilton Head High School served as our host for the day! I had the opportunity to work with the cadets to challenge them to integrate the arts in their lessons out in the field. We had a toe tapping, finger snapping kind of day! Kudos to the cadets at Battery Creek, Beaufort, Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, Ridgeland, and Whale Branch Early College high schools for their awesome creations and desire to make a difference in the world! Marcella Wine Snyder, Program Director for Pre-Collegiate Programs, educated students on the trends and issues of education in SC and reminded us all of the power of one!
The Department of Juvenile Justice partnered with CERRA to provide a regional mentor training for teacher leaders in the area. I had the opportunity to facilitate the session with Anna Stoner from DJJ and Jean Graddick from Richland 1. I am thankful for educators like Anna and Jean who are dedicated to providing quality support for all teachers. We had a fantastic three days with participants and all learned much from each other.
Shronda Taylor, 2011 Hampton 2 District Teacher of the Year, invited me to conduct a staff development for her entire district on orchestrating student success. I am excited about all the possibilities for forum in the district! I also had the chance to facilitate an induction session in Pickens on ways to utilize the continuum of teacher development to chart a course of growth.
From the mountains to the sea...and everywhere in between...there are passionate educators dedicated to making a difference in the lives of young people and those around them!
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