Wow, where did September go? It seems like it was yesterday that I blogged the night before school...and now we're finished with September! It's been a busy start to school for everyone and I've been on the road quite a bit! I've been to the mountains and the midlands and everywhere in between! I started out the month working with mentors in Oconee County! I always leave mentor training rejuvenated and excited about the work mentors are doing to help beginning teachers accelerate their development. The people of Seneca were very hospitable and I enjoyed co-training with Kim Jedlicka and Brenda Bowling! I even went to the Walhalla Steakhouse-- they do not serve steak, but good southern comfort food! I always like to sample the local flair and avoid the chain restaurants when possible.
We also hosted a regional mentor training this month! The training quickly filled, so we created a waiting list. I want to thank Dr. Bill Coon, principal, and the staff at Meadow Glen Middle School for opening their doors to host not one, but two trainings in the building! We trained over 60 mentors from near and far in Lexington. The middle school is brand new and it's an amazing facility, but the faculty, staff, and students make it an extraordinary place to be! Albert Robertson and Sabrina Williams, both faculty members at the school, led one of the trainings for us and I co-trained with Margo Gore from Aiken. I enjoyed working with Albert, Sabrina, and Margo! I left the training with a renewed hope and joy around our work! Several mentors commented on the evaluations that the training was the best professional learning experience they had received in all of their years of service as educators! Learning should be fun and contagious! We had a great three days together!
Another lesson learned in September is the power of the teacher voice! It's incredible when individuals come together to collectively speak about issues that will impact the future of education in South Carolina. I would urge individuals to read the proposed educator evaluation guidelines and contact members of the State Board of Education to express your viewpoints. It's important for teachers to be a part of the discussion and offer input into the process. The board meets again on October 10 in Columbia.
 |
| Mentors participate in a Coaching Conversation |
September has also been a time of reflection and an opportunity to look forward to the future. We hosted an advanced training with our NetSCOPE grant partnership and trained an additional 35 certified mentors in the Coaching and Observation Mentor Strategies Academy. This brings our total to 180 mentors who have received this advanced training! We are going to launch the training statewide in November! Analyzing our data, we certified 1,332 mentors at 49 initial mentor trainings from July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012! This brings our total number of certified mentors in South Carolina to 9,012! We now have 252 certified mentor trainers serving in districts across the state! We're excited about the future and the opportunities we have to advance and expand the work!
We also hosted a regional mentor training this month! The training quickly filled, so we created a waiting list. I want to thank Dr. Bill Coon, principal, and the staff at Meadow Glen Middle School for opening their doors to host not one, but two trainings in the building! We trained over 60 mentors from near and far in Lexington. The middle school is brand new and it's an amazing facility, but the faculty, staff, and students make it an extraordinary place to be! Albert Robertson and Sabrina Williams, both faculty members at the school, led one of the trainings for us and I co-trained with Margo Gore from Aiken. I enjoyed working with Albert, Sabrina, and Margo! I left the training with a renewed hope and joy around our work! Several mentors commented on the evaluations that the training was the best professional learning experience they had received in all of their years of service as educators! Learning should be fun and contagious! We had a great three days together!
