Monday, April 20, 2015

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

It's April and I'm already thinking about next school year. It's pretty normal really. This time of year is the "transfer period" in my district, where teachers can apply to move to another school or position. I considered it. Briefly.

I have a couple of things I'm changing for next year that I've committed to and have begun the process of taking action upon.

Making my library media center a more student-focused space. Currently my space is set up to be the most convenient place to hold faculty meetings. That's nice, but that only accounts for 1 hour each month of the approximately 160 hours my colleagues and I are on campus. My kids are there every day, 6 hours a day. I've been looking in to learning common spaces. I can see a space with more kid-friendly seating, whiteboard tables and collaborative space.

Learning how to meet the needs of ALL students. My toolbox for working with special needs students is limited. This summer I will be taking some professional development courses and researching ways to support ASD students. In preparation for that, I will be spending time with my ESE resource teachers to get feedback on trends at our school and recommendations for areas of focus for my learning.

Amplifying the work and voices of others. There are so many incredible things happening in classrooms all around us every day that we never hear about. I've been presented with an amazing opportunity to pursue a passion of mine and be a Coach with the National Blogging Collaborative.  (http://www.nationalbloggingcollaborative.com/) This work will not only spur me to write more often (and therefore be more reflective about my practice), but encourage others to write and reflect and share their work as well.

I would welcome any suggested resources you may have for supporting any of these goals. Feel free to comment here or send me an email: juliehiltz@gmail.com.


"David Jakes on Change 2" by Ann Truss is licensed under CC by 2.0


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