Officer Beth Damilano has been serving the families and students of Oakwood School District through providing social emotional support and doing wellness checks on our students and families to identify needs and provide resources during the pandemic. She shows up every day with a smile wrapped in compassion, service, and care for the well-being of our staff and students. She is a champion!
Build inclusive activities and relationships in the equitable classroom with @TexasTOY2014 Monica Washington on January 20 from 3:30-5:00.
Register now: http://bit.ly/3mmNhXj
Last call! Training for school support staff on student records and communication. Register now: https://bit.ly/2020SupportStaff
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Heather Schwartz - Urbana #116
Heather was nominated based on the impact she makes here at Urbana Early Childhood School. Heather is a leader within our building. She supports her fellow colleagues with instructional practices that are developmentally appropriate for young students. She leads through example by sharing ideas and helping to solve problems others might be facing when navigating online learning. She develops new opportunities for teachers to engage their students in learning. For example, she created a STEAM lab in the school filled with an abundance of materials so teachers could introduce STEAM to students in a new and engaging way. Heather engages her students in online learning by providing fun and engaging opportunities to learn key concepts. Heather works hard to keep the lines of communication open for her families. This is evident by her student's attendance totals month after month being at or above 80%. If you had the opportunity to peek into her world, you will often times find Heather working late into the night creating individualized Seesaw activities or working on power points to present beneficial information to teachers. Through this adventure of online learning, Heather has maintained a positive attitude while also keeping a solution-oriented mindset.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT - Cassidy Jones, Noel Hatcher, Jackie Walsh and Morgan Williams - Urbana #116
All 4 of these teachers at Dr. King Elementary school have done incredible work preparing remote learning lessons for their students. They are progressive in finding ways to engage all students using a variety of online platforms including Google Slides, Google Classroom, Peardeck, Nearpod, Kahoot, Breakout EDU, etc. They are willing to share their knowledge and model lessons with their colleagues. They have been inspirational to me! It's fun to pop into their classes and see what they are using to keep their students motivated and engaged.
How can #assessment in #remote and face-to-face #learning drive #students to reach high levels of #learning?
Join us for @TomSchimmer Jan 26/Feb 2. Register now: bit.ly/SchimmerHelp
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: This year, in an attempt to keep class sizes small, we've divided our fifth grade classes into three sections. However, at Fisher Grade School, we only have two fifth grade teachers. This means that Mrs. Remington divides her time evenly between the three different fifth grade sections. Mrs. Remington has been teaching from a rolling cart all year, transitioning between rooms every 90 minutes of instruction. Although Mrs. Remington typically teaches all subject areas, this year she has departmentalized to teach Reading, ELA & Science. In her 35th year as a teacher, Erin continues to integrate new technology and strategies to engage her students. Mrs. Remington's positive attitude and excitement for learning invigorate both the students and staff around her!
Find your #community. Join one of our free, #virtual #networking communities. Visit https://bit.ly/SWEventRegistration for dates and times.
How do you ensure your policies and procedures are equitable? Join @TexasTOY2014 Monica Washington for a 3-part series on #Equity in the #Classroom.
Register now: http://bit.ly/3mmNhXj
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Ms. Boyd, of Hertiage CUDS #8, has been our school nurse working out of the Homer K-8 building for 18 years. Before COVID became an issue, she was already viewed as one of the most respected and liked staff members in our district and with the onset of COVID, her value to us has gone up exponentially.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: This is Stacey Rickard's first year at Salt Fork High School. She has dove head first into our FFA program and done an outstanding job with our kids. Her passion for Agriculture and FFA is second to none. She has already made a mark on our FFA program, winning our first soil judging contest of the year. Her upbeat, positive attitude is infectious and inspiring, especially during these tough times.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Vermilion Association of Special Education (VASE) Jessica has spent countless hours creating and providing Google Classroom and GoGuardian trainings for our staff during the first semester. She works full-time as a special education teacher, but she still carves out time to assist with technology concerns. Jessica listens to the needs of her colleagues and creates personalized trainings. Our remote learning plan has been successful because of her efforts to assist everyone else. As a special education teacher, Jessica meets the needs of all of her students by differentiating and using small groups. Her students struggle with their managing their emotions, and she helps teach them better ways to cope.
Looking for your community? Join us for free, #virtual #networking for #special #education #teachers December 10 at 2:30 PM CST. Register at https://bit.ly/DecSpEd.
@VCROE54 @RegionalOffice9
Learn practices that make #remote learning easier to navigate. Join @TomSchimmer Jan 26/Feb 2
Register bit.ly/SchimmerHelp
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Who can say they have Spider Man for a P.E. teacher? The students at Potomac Grade School can! Mr. Lubinski finds any way possible to help motivate healthy lifestyles for his students and promote physical fitness. Whether in person or remote, Mr. Lubinski challenges students to set goals, exercise, and have fun.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Libby Torbit has been a leading force in implementing our remote learning this school year. She has taken on this challenge and been a trailblazer for what we can offer our students who are learning from home. She has developed a wealth of knowledge through this time that will prove to be invaluable as we move forward. Even though this year has been a challenge she has never wavered in her caring attitude toward all students at Salt Fork School District!
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Mrs. Lindenmeyer teachers Dual Credit English and English III at St. Joseph-Ogden High School. She possesses an unmatched ability to make connections with her students and get the most out of their potential. She has been able to adapt to everything COVID has thrown at her classroom and continue to offer students and incredibly high level of learning. She is consistently on the the search for ways to improve the quality of learning in her classroom and is not afraid to take risk in trying out new ideas. Mrs. Lindenmeyer's students know she genuinely cares about their learning and their personal well being. They appreciate the level of education she helps facilitate and trusts that the rigor she demands of them is in their best interest. The qualities that make Mrs. Lindenmeyer a great teacher have continued to shine during COVID and she has served as a model of excellence and perseverance for her students.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Mrs. Nuss is the glue of Gibson City- Melvin- Sibley District. She bridges the 3 buildings with curriculum and communication. She actively engages staff, students, families, and community in all things GCMS. Over the past 8 months Mrs. Nuss has gone above and beyond to communicate, collaborate, and support and manage the evolving demands of K-12 education during a trying time!
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Ms. Johnson serves as the Transportation and Food Service Director for the Salt Fork School District. During the COVID pandemic, she has demonstrated leadership and flexibility during these uncertain times. She has worked closely with our bus drivers to ensure that we have accurate seating charts to help with contact tracing. She has worked with our kitchen staff when we need to pivot from in-person learning to remote learning to make sure students are being fed. She has even delivered lunches personally to students on a few occasions when parents have been unable to pick them up. Ms. Johnson goes out of her way to look out for others, always doing it with a smile, a kind word, and a positive attitude.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Mrs. Meagan Zindars has taken on the daunting task of leading us through the pandemic. She shows up every day with a smile wrapped in compassion, service, and care for the well-being of our staff and students. She is a champion for Oakwood School District!