Common Core Provides Leadership

It's always a joy to meet and work with outstanding teacher leaders across the state who are making a difference! I had the pleasure of meeting Kristen Hearne, the 2011-12 Anderson 1 District Teacher of the Year, this past year through our work with state teacher forum! Kristen is making a mark on our profession and a lasting impact on the students and faculty at Wren Middle. Check out this Education Week article about the role of the school librarian in Common Core. 

Anderson Area District Teachers of the Year
Anderson 2:Terri Ivester, Anderson 1:Kristen Hearne, and Anderson 5: Curtis Smith

 Here is an excerpt from the article below:


With the common standards on her doorstep, Ms. Hearne has a lot to do. Her library at Wren Middle School in Piedmont, S.C., is a nerve center in her school's work to arm both teachers and students for a focus on new kinds of study. She's working to build not only students' skills in writing, reading, research, and analysis, but also teachers' skills in teaching them. She and other librarians say they view the common core, with its emphasis on explanation, complex text, and cross-disciplinary synthesis, as an unprecedented opportunity for them to really strut their stuff.

"When it comes to the common core, librarians can be a school's secret weapon," said Ms. Hearne, who blogs as "The Librarian in the Middle."Like most school librarians, Ms. Hearne has been trained both as a teacher and a librarian, a combination she thinks is perfectly suited to helping students and teachers as the Common Core State Standards presses them into inquiry-based modes of learning and teaching.


You can read Kristen's blog at  "The Librarian in the Middle"

It's great to see one of our outstanding teacher leaders featured in Education Week! Congratulations Kristen!