Thursday, May 26, 2022 Volume 16 Issue 32
R.E.A.L.
You know at Thurgood Marshall, we are keeping it R.E.A.L! The “L” stand for Lifelong Learner, and this is a value that we hold for both students and adults. I regularly write about the learning students are doing at TM, and I thought this time I would share a bit about the learning our adults are doing! If we value having a growth mindset and continuously improving, then adults need to keep up our learning, and to model this for adults. In fact, one of the regularly recurring features in our assembly is called “Lifelong Learning” and we ask a school adult to share something meaningful they have learned. This past week, Ms. Damitio shared about some new things she has been learning, including her new hobby DJ-ing. Additionally, Ms. Damitio recently completed her endorsement to teach Multilingual Learners.
Here’s some other learning our school adults are doing:
Ms. Echols, one of our Bilingual Instructional Assistants, is completing her classroom teacher certification this year. Ms. Echols came to TM as a parent with an HR background. She took a position managing our kitchen, saw the need for Vietnamese speaking Instructional Assistants and then for more diversity in our teaching workforce.
Ms. Egolf is also completing her teacher certification. Ms. Egolf also came to TM as a parent, working as a lawyer. TM’s allure won her over and before she knew it, she was a literacy tutor and then went back to school to get where she is now.
Mr. Miah, Mr. Deron, and Mr. P.J. are all in teacher education programs currently. While they already teach students every day, in just a couple years, they will also have their own classrooms.
Ms. Glass, Ms. Egelhoff and Ms. Damitio all mentored student teachers this year. When teachers become mentors to student teachers, they have the opportunity to reflect on their own practice as they are supporting someone new.
Ms. Tyshler, our Head Teacher and Reading Interventionist, is completing her Administrative Internship this year. This will allow her to become a principal when she is ready. (And I got to sharpen my own admin skills as her mentor).
Ms. Reed, Ms. Bodden and Ms. Duarte all became Math Fellows this year through a grant we have with Seattle University and the Gates Foundation. These three teachers have done a deep dive into teacher math and are regularly working with other teachers around the city to help each other improve.
For the past 2 years, Ms. Howard-Powell, Ms. Huss, Ms. Miller, and Teacher Natalie, have been our Teacher Leader Cadre. This position provides additional training in data analysis and review, and gives teachers practice in coaching their peers in a variety of ways. This year, our Teacher Leaders worked with the UW’s Center for Educational Leadership to enhance our learning about leading instruction. Next year, Ms. Glass and Ms. Reed will join this team. Ms. Huss will be moving on to a district literacy coaching position and she will be missed!
All our classified and certificated staff engage in all sorts of learning each year, in addition to what I’ve mentioned above. Some of our classified staff spend the equivalent of an extra 8 days attending workshops and classes each year. Our certificated teachers also show their value for learning by attending professional development offered through the district and around the state. For the last couple years, Kindergarten – 3rd grade staff were immersed in the Science of Reading. Next year, we will all be building on the math learning that was our focus this year as we are trained in the new math adoption curriculum.
Our community is excited to continue to learn and grow. When adults stay curious, our students benefit!
Thank you to our school staff for making TM a great place to be a learner – for adults and students.
