Teachers need to be leaders in their communities, and they need to lead in partnership with all of the other stakeholders in student learning, including parents, colleagues, other school professionals, and school leadership. Learning communities engage a a constellation of people dedicated to improving student achievement, and as educators, teachers need to lead that effort.
As a long term substitute at Auburn High School, I had the opportunity to become a part of the school community. The students came to know me outside of class, and I was involved in all aspects of the school community, including spirit days and pep rallies. I participated in the student-faculty basketball game as part of the end of year celebrations and became a person beyond a teacher to the students. Becoming involved in the community of the school strengthens relationships between teachers and students.
As a student teacher at Christiansburg High School, I shared a ParentLetter to families introducing myself and urging them to reach out and contact me with any questions. As a teacher, I will involve parents or guardians and families in concerns about students. I have had good success in managing students and addressing concerns through the simple act of a call home, which helps me, the student, and her family.
As a teacher, I always seek to collaborate with my fellow teachers and the larger community of the school. My student teaching experience was a great growth opportunity for me in this regard, too, as Christiansburg High School uses a truly equal model of co-teaching, so I learned to plan, collaborate, and actually teach side by side with an equal teacher. This was a fantastic experience for me and a great experience for the students, as we were able to give each student more personal attention. We met and planned collaboratively, and lesson were a mix of station teaching, parallel teaching, individual support, and alternating mini-lessons. Here is the planning document again — a closer look reveals the initials by each planned task to note the planning responsibility, but both teachers delivered instruction on all tasks: Student Schedule March 9 – English 10_upd
Educators need to work together as a team to deliver the highest quality instruction to students. We are stronger together.