Danielle: It’s About Growth

I started this week not really believing that I was going to make it. The quarter ended last Friday, so grades were due. I had two doctor’s appointments, one blog due, and a meeting with two high school departments on Thursday. I needed to be at the board meeting Monday night and the National Honor Society faculty council meeting Wednesday night. None of which would be a problem. Except that my department was being audited—on Thursday.

I love that word, audit. Just saying it strikes fear into the hearts and minds of everyone in hearing distance. It reminds me of the words “Final Exam” or “Dean’s Office.”

Our school has never really had a full time GT Coordinator, so I wanted to show everyone, myself included, just how amazing our program could be. The primary function of the audit, of course, is to determine whether or not the school is in compliance with state regulations. I don’t want to be just in compliance; I want our school to be a leader in gifted education.

Now I understand that it won’t happen overnight. I’ve only been in this position two months; asking to have a perfect score on the audit, and be the very best school that the auditor has ever seen is probably a stretch. On the other hand, I can be the biggest improvement she’s ever seen, right? So I aimed for that goal, and drove toward it as hard as I could.

In preparation for the audit, I blanket tested 600 elementary students, and identified 30 new students. Our population of GT students in the elementary school now matches the correct proportions based on gender, race, and (this is where I am most proud) ELL students! How amazing is that? I met with students to identify goals that are based on interest and need, instead of just test score, and have developed a new snapshot ALP that teachers, parents, and students can read in one minute, not one hour, which has gotten a lot of positive feedback. Every elementary student is in the state system. 

I also used previous assessment scores and teacher surveys to identify 25 students who needed testing in the high school. We identified 11 students, bringing our population to almost match the correct proportions, but not quite as well as elementary. Everything in high school is up-to-date in the state system, and I have delivered two hours of professional development, along with a full manual of teacher information to the staff.

Middle school is where I’m behind a bit, but catching up! Half of the 50 potential students are tested, and half are in the system. We are getting there!

What I’m most excited about is that I’ve created a faculty mentorship program, where each GT student will choose and work with a faculty mentor on a year-long project to be presented at the end of the school year. The project will be related to their area of giftedness, but will also connect to their personal interests. I’ve had so much fun helping students create interesting and exciting projects to present, and I think it will be really fun to allow them to stretch themselves!

I only had to stay up half the night typing ALPs three times that week to get it all in, but I felt ready when the audit started. Despite my nerves, it went amazingly well, actually. Of course, the program isn’t perfect, and we don’t have everything ready. Compared to where we were, our school has shown tremendous growth. Our auditor actually asked me to send her some of my creations so that she can send it to everyone as an example. She said that we have grown into a leader, an example of what to do. We may not be the very best, but our growth has been outstanding.

I can definitely live with that.

Comments

[Nick]

Danielle- Talk about a stressful week. It sounds like you did a wonderful job of dealing with everything you had on your plate. Reaching for perfection is always a great goal to think of, but as you have demonstrated, it is very important to be realistic within your goals. You are a great example, and I hope to be as good of a teacher as you are someday! I can't imagine the stress that comes along with an audit, you are right... it's a scary word! But you handled it with great class and determiniation and it sounds like that was all well worth it from the feedback you received. Congratulations!

[Kelsey]

Congratulations on getting through a tough week. It's always a great feeling when can accomplish something, even if it is just getting grades into the grade book. I like how you seemed to stay positive with everything that was in front of you and were continually motivated to become a better teacher and make your school better for GT students. I think GT programs are often overlooked in schools but these students should get the attention and rigor they deserve in the classroom. I love the idea of working with a mentor, I think it would be a really positive thing for students!

[Christian Louboutin]

Danielle,
Congratulations on a job well done. This just goes to show that when we work hard (very hard) and put our minds to it that we can accomplish our goals. I like that you put your goal into perspective from the beginning. You said, you weren't going to go for being the best right away, but that you thought you could reach the goal of being the biggest improvement. I think this is important for us to remember of ourselves and our students, we cannot always reach for perfection, but if we are always looking to improve and seeking improvement then that is what matters. Thank you for sharing and keep up the tremendous work!

[Hailey K]

Danielle, you are a wonderful teacher who knows that being a good teacher isn't being perfect! The stressful weeks are the ones we learn the most from! One thing that came to mind when I read your post is how when we want to change the behaviors of our students we start with something that they can succeed at first to give them the confidence to change a bigger behavior. For example... I have a student who I want to independently do work at his desk, but that is a big defeat for this student, so when changing the behavior I started with sitting at his desk, then sitting at his desk and being quiet, then eventually added sitting at his desk, being quiet, and working his best on his work. We must do this for ourselves as well or we will never feel accomplishments. Even the small things can be celebrated as accomplished goals. Keep up the great work!!

[Danielle]

Thanks for all of the great support!! It's always awesome to have such kind words to greet me after stress!

[Liz]

Congratulations on working hard and reaching your goal! I am so glad you were able to go above and beyond! It is always important to work hard and gain the knowledge as well as pass on the knowledge to others. I completely agree that there is a fear factor to the term audit! I hope that I will be able to face it like you did and show the auditors exactly what I can do.

[Kelsey]

Danielle,
I'm glad your hard week is over!! Congratulations on a job well done. This is really insightful and really goes to show that if you want something enough, hard work really does pay off!! Perfection is not always the most important part of the outcome. For you I really think setting goals and knowing where you want your program to go is important. Keep up the amazing work!!

[Nicole]

Danielle,
That sure did seem like a busy week! The nerves you felt are completely normal. We all want to be the best and sometimes that reaches too far and everything starts to lose its vest. But you showed that you can change your mind set to just show some improvement is important. I think that's something everyone of us needs to remember, especially as teachers. We may not be able to get our students where we want and expect them to be but if they even show a little improvement in that area it is a success. I hope I can continue to remember that as I grow as a teacher. Thanks for sharing! I cannot wait to read more!

[Kari]

Danielle,

That sure sounds pretty stressful, but it proves that you have dedication and you want your school to stand out. I think that is very important for a teacher to care about their school and do their best to make them succeed. I look up to you for the fact that you took responsibility and although there was so much to do, you knew you could make a dent at least. Great effort and I hope I can make those big leaps when I start my teaching!

[Brenna]

Danielle,

You are a great example of the kind of teacher that I want to become! You are extremely motivated, hard-working, dedicated, and excellent at what you do! Congratulations on receiving positive feedback from the auditor. That just proves that you truly are an effective teacher and other people definitely notice you. It is great that you have found more students that qualify for the GT program at your school. I think that sometimes we forgot about the students who are gifted/talented and focus most of our time and money on students that have disabilities. I think both programs deserve attention and are equally important. I also really liked your idea of placing each student with a faculty member and having them present a project at the end of the year. This is something that students with disabilities could also do. This project working with an adult staff member could really boost confidence and build rapport. Great idea, thanks for sharing!

[Brooke]

Danielle,
Wow, sounds like you had a very busy week! I have experienced stress but nothing like what you went through. You set a good example by not trying to be perfect, because many times perfection is an impossible goal to reach. Instead, you set a goal that was possible and you succeeded, so congratulations. It sounds like it was a big accomplishment if she was asking for some of your "creations" as examples for others!

[Jamie]

Danielle,
Congratulations on a job well done. This just goes to show that when we work hard (very hard) and put our minds to it that we can accomplish our goals. I like that you put your goal into perspective from the beginning. You said, you weren't going to go for being the best right away, but that you thought you could reach the goal of being the biggest improvement. I think this is important for us to remember of ourselves and our students, we cannot always reach for perfection, but if we are always looking to improve and seeking improvement then that is what matters. Thank you for sharing and keep up the tremendous work!