16. Early Childhood-Grade 12 Leadership
a. Articulate the alignment of curriculum from preschool through Grade 12
b. Understand the different organizational systems and structures of early childhood, elementary, middle level, and high schools levels c. Ability to work with children of all age levels d. Ability to work with parents, teachers and staff at all levels of schooling e. Understand the characteristics of effective transitions from one level of schooling to the next f. Demonstrate an understanding of developmental needs for children of all ages |
I am fortunate that throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work at all three school levels: elementary, middle, and high school. At the elementary level, I taught fifth grade for seven years, four of those years as a gifted cluster teachers. Since my return to the elementary level four years ago, I have taught Title I reading to grades K-5. At the elementary level, I have also served on the faculty senate, iTeam, and literacy team. I worked at the middle school level for nine years of my career in the roles of: grades 6-8 writing teacher, reading intervention, sixth grade special services teacher, and seventh grade language arts. While at the middle school level, I served on the faculty senate, staff development committee, and iTeam. I spent the first year of my career working at the high school, teaching reading intervention and keyboarding, and two of the four years I have worked as Q Comp coordinator, I have had my office at the high school allowing me to be involved with the programming at that level.
One observation I have made about kids at each level is that the transition from one school to another is a time of stress. In order to help alleviate that stress, it is important for schools to provide support to students and their families. The transition from preschool or home to kindergarten is a child’s introduction to a system that will enrich their days for many years. Rockford Elementary Arts Magnet has two kindergarten gatherings- Kindergarten Festival in January and Round Up in March. I have been able to attend these programs as a volunteer for the past few years. Children and their families come in to school filled with nervous excitement, ready to begin the school journey. Rockford has allowed parents and students to choose their kindergarten teacher the past few years, so that is always a big decision for families (Artifact 1).
Transitions occur as students move from building to building as well. Our schools split between fourth and fifth grade and eighth and ninth grade. A student-to-student mentoring program supports both transitions. At fifth grade, the WEB program trains sixth graders to pair up with in-coming fifth graders, give them a tour in the spring of their fourth grade year, and meet them on their first day of fifth grade to help them find their ways. The same sort of program happens with in-coming ninth graders with the LINK program at the high school. Both programs are based on the Boomerang Project format (Artifact 2). Over the last year, I have been able to visit and observe multiple meetings that these groups have put together.
An additional opportunity I have had is to teach in magnet schools. Two of our district schools part of the Northwest Suburban Integration District: Rockford Elementary Arts Magnet School and Rockford Middle School Center for Environmental Studies. Both programs support students academically and developmentally. I have observed instructional strategies and educational opportunities that enrich and engage students at their developmental levels in both programs. Elementary level arts integration allows students to pair their first learning experiences with visual art, music, and drama, challenging them to use their imaginations as they learn (Artifact 3). At the middle school level, students visit parks and the on-site school forest, participate in hands-on/minds-on experimentation, and tackle deep thinking related to ecological challenges facing our world at a time when their minds are just opening up to evaluation and justice.
Having worked at all levels of preK-12 education, I acknowledge that there is a definite paradigm shift when working with students and planning for each level. Although my preference is the elementary level, I am confident that I have the ability to support all levels.
One observation I have made about kids at each level is that the transition from one school to another is a time of stress. In order to help alleviate that stress, it is important for schools to provide support to students and their families. The transition from preschool or home to kindergarten is a child’s introduction to a system that will enrich their days for many years. Rockford Elementary Arts Magnet has two kindergarten gatherings- Kindergarten Festival in January and Round Up in March. I have been able to attend these programs as a volunteer for the past few years. Children and their families come in to school filled with nervous excitement, ready to begin the school journey. Rockford has allowed parents and students to choose their kindergarten teacher the past few years, so that is always a big decision for families (Artifact 1).
Transitions occur as students move from building to building as well. Our schools split between fourth and fifth grade and eighth and ninth grade. A student-to-student mentoring program supports both transitions. At fifth grade, the WEB program trains sixth graders to pair up with in-coming fifth graders, give them a tour in the spring of their fourth grade year, and meet them on their first day of fifth grade to help them find their ways. The same sort of program happens with in-coming ninth graders with the LINK program at the high school. Both programs are based on the Boomerang Project format (Artifact 2). Over the last year, I have been able to visit and observe multiple meetings that these groups have put together.
An additional opportunity I have had is to teach in magnet schools. Two of our district schools part of the Northwest Suburban Integration District: Rockford Elementary Arts Magnet School and Rockford Middle School Center for Environmental Studies. Both programs support students academically and developmentally. I have observed instructional strategies and educational opportunities that enrich and engage students at their developmental levels in both programs. Elementary level arts integration allows students to pair their first learning experiences with visual art, music, and drama, challenging them to use their imaginations as they learn (Artifact 3). At the middle school level, students visit parks and the on-site school forest, participate in hands-on/minds-on experimentation, and tackle deep thinking related to ecological challenges facing our world at a time when their minds are just opening up to evaluation and justice.
Having worked at all levels of preK-12 education, I acknowledge that there is a definite paradigm shift when working with students and planning for each level. Although my preference is the elementary level, I am confident that I have the ability to support all levels.