While I could
write all day about why teaching is rewarding for me, the most important characters in the story of my teaching
career are my students (or “Preppies”). I’d love to tell you a little bit more
about what they have accomplished so far this year, and how my colleagues and I
have helped them reach those milestones at DC Prep.
As I’ve
mentioned before, I am a special education and intervention teacher for
preschool, prekindergarten, and Kindergarten students at DC Prep’s Benning
Elementary Campus. Part of my role is to closely support students with
disabilities. However, DC Prep and DC Teaching Fellows both champion the idea
that effective instructional techniques and classroom management strategies are
at the heart of success for all
students. At DC Prep, my colleagues and I share the load and collaborate in
supporting all children, regardless of whether or not they have a disability. In
my role, I teach small groups of students from multiple different classrooms
who are in need of help with specific skills. I also help teachers brainstorm
ways to accommodate learners who need slightly different strategies during a
typical whole-group lesson. This is one
way that DC Prep holds its students to high expectations. We know that all students
can master rigorous academic content, as long as they receive the appropriate
supports – like small group instruction and classroom accommodations (i.e.
presenting instructions in a different way, chunking difficult tasks into smaller
pieces, presenting a new approach to practicing a given skill, etc.)
Much of the
academic support I’ve provided thus far has been through guided reading groups
with Kindergarten students at DC Prep. For 15-30 minutes each day, every elementary
school student at my school receives small-group reading instruction based on their
current skill level. During guided reading, students practice reading text that
is easy enough to avoid frustration, but challenging enough to stretch their
skills. In guided reading, I’m able to target specific things by carefully
choosing books with certain features. Students are able to practice a variety
of reading strategies while I support them to make sure that the strategy is
being used correctly. Implementing
guided reading allows all students (below, at, or above typical level for their
grade), to be challenged to improve their reading skills. This article explains a little
bit more about the instructional practice of guided reading, which I use and
find effective with my students.
Through
weekly collaborative meetings and professional development sessions, monthly
“Data Days” dedicated to diving deep into students’ assessment results, and
careful daily measurement of students’ progress on specific skills, the
Kindergarten team and I were able to provide targeted instruction that helped
us end 2012 with 73% of our Preppies above
the expected reading level for this time in the school year and 11% of students
at the expected level. DC Prep uses an assessment tool called STEP to determine
each student’s mastery of reading skills along a continuum of benchmarks or
reading levels called “steps.” A typical Kindergartener will have moved up one
STEP level by December. Recently, four out of six students who were in my
guided reading group between August and December improved by at least one
“step” or reading level, including two students who improved by TWO “steps!”
Knowing that
nearly two thirds of my guided reading group is currently trouncing the
achievement gap puts me on a teacher’s high, but I also know my job is never
finished. For example, as I head into the new year, I’m already aware that two
of those students will need me to reboot my strategy and catch them up. Constantly
reflecting on whether my instruction is working, and refining my instruction
when it’s not, is the key to making sure every single student I teach masters
what they need to know.
Are you ready
for victories like the ones I’ve had with my DC Preppies? More importantly, are
you up for the challenge? Apply to DC Teaching Fellows today!
