Hello, My Name is _______________: Carrie

We are currently introducing ourselves via narrative writing inspired by a 1999 Ann Landers column. For more information, visit this post: Hello, My Name is _______________.

A really interesting thing has happened. A capable, passionate Literacy Specialist has moved into my classroom. I have a vague idea of where she came from (the bills for the graduate classes help remind me). The strangest part is that even though I don’t fully recognize her, everyone else in the entire building does…..the kids all know her by name, the janitor puts her wastebasket in the exact right spot, and the school secretary’s eyes light with excitement when she neatly puts in a request followed by a quick slip of chocolate. All I know is that I barely recognize my own classroom anymore. This Literacy Specialist has totally changed the way my room feels.

So here is where I think I need to make a confession. After watching this literacy chick in action, I don’t know if I was ever really qualified to be an English teacher at all. Don’t get me wrong; I have the correct licensure to teach, but I am an English major. Which basically means that I went to college, read a lot of books, wrote a lot of papers, attended a lot of discussions, may or may not have participated in a poetry slam or two, and left college with a dream that my love of literature would be so contagious that my students would be awestruck by the life-changing power of reading.

You know what I learned from this specialist in my classroom?

First, some middle and high school students don’t like to read?!?! So do you know what the specialist does? She finds a really, really great fit book for those kids. She reads all the time so she knows the newest books out there. She also keeps a list of the absolute tried and true best books ever. And when a kid says that they “don’t really like to read,” she walks them over to her shelf, pulls about four titles that she knows will hook them, and tells them about the books in a way that makes the kid pick one out and take it back to their desk and start to read it! Over the next few days, she is always sure to ask that kid about the book.  Even the students are surprised that she remembers what almost everyone is reading at any given time. By the look on her face, you can tell that this is her favorite part of her job.

I’ve also noticed that this specialist has an amazing range of differentiated strategies. Did you know that some middle and high school students don’t know how to read?!?! I always thought that reading was about being able to say the words correctly, but this Literacy Specialist has a ton of strategies for fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. She is skilled at assessing a student’s need and providing a specific, targeted intervention.  Her intervention groups are really powerful because no one is ever “given a life sentence.” Her groups are always changing the way they look and feel.

Finally, I noticed that the Literacy Specialist spends as much of her day with teachers as she does with students. Did you know that sometimes teachers are just as hard to keep quiet in large groups as kids?!!? The weird thing is that she wants the teachers to be talking in her meetings. While I would put students who are friends in opposite corners of the room, I notice that she puts teachers next to their friends ON PURPOSE. Her professional development always depends on interaction and participation. Most of the time, I’ve observed that she works as the facilitator rather than the leader.

This Literacy Specialist sure has given me a lot to think about lately. Being in the same classroom and all, we’ve been spending a lot of time together. I even noticed that she has started to answer to my name, which I think has confused my colleagues. In fact, the strangest thing happened to me the other day when I met a teacher in the hallway. She stopped me and asked me about a literacy strategy (as if I was the literacy expert). The thing is I think I had a suggestion…..I’m pretty sure she was looking for the Literacy Specialist who lives in my room, but I went with it anyway!

Biography:

Carrie is a Literacy Specialist for the School District of Mishicot. Her job role includes part classroom teacher, part interventionist, part literacy coach, which in her mind is the best of all worlds. Her work with literacy includes a unique passion for the incorporation of technology, which has led to numerous speaking opportunities around the state. In 2012, as a credit to the incredible literacy work of her district, Carrie was awarded the Herb Kohl Fellowship Teaching Award. Her three most powerful reading moments were: the day her high school English teacher introduced her to e.e. cummings, the first time she ever read Freak the Mighty with her seventh grade students, and watching her two young boys discover Charlotte’s Web this summer.

Bio: Andrea Reichenberger

Andrea Reichenberger is starting her second year as the Instructional Literacy Coach for Menasha High School in the Menasha Joint School District. She taught English Language Arts at Maplewood Middle School for 13 years after working as an elementary library media specialist. Andrea is very proud of the fact that she shares a birthday with Elvis, as she is a huge fan, but has yet to visit Graceland. Making the trip is on her bucket list. She loves to read, shop, walk/jog (more walking then jogging), and watch clever television. Andrea lives in Appleton with her husband and two tween daughters, who are also readers. Phew!

Hello, My Name is _______________: Andrea

We are currently introducing ourselves via narrative writing inspired by a 1999 Ann Landers column. For more information, visit this post: Hello, My Name is _______________.

A very weird thing has happened  A strange woman has maneuvered her way into my professional cadre.  I have no idea who she is, where she came from, or how she got in.  I certainly didn’t invite her.  All I know is that she wasn’t there at the start of my career, and a few years later she was. She is the one who whisked me out of my classroom and into the office I currently occupy.

If you had noticed her fifteen years ago, you would have instantly recognized her lust for new learning and her admirable work ethic, but unfortunately, she was a follower.  Too nervous to speak up for herself and too fearful others would judge her if she took the lead in professional situations, but she always did what was asked of her.  She rarely said no.

A few years into her career, the woman developed a certain level of confidence, but it was misguided. She began to speak up, but about the wrong things.  She was still blindly following others, believing in what they preached even when her gut told her otherwise. Luckily, she was still eager to learn and she continued to do so. She began to recognize the error of her ways.

Eventually, this woman’s new learning led her down a new and uncharted path  Still a hard worker, she began to do crazy things--like lead. Back then, she wasn’t a great listener, and she may have been overeager when sharing ideas and newfound knowledge with her colleagues.  Her passion led to battles--battles of mindset and philosophy.  She also started to experience internal conflict about whether or not she should move on or stay.  

I’m still not sure how she got here or how she became a part of my life, but I finally began to appreciate her passion and her thirst for knowledge.  I also admired her desire to start listening and coaching.  Admittedly, many whom she had once followed were unwilling to accompany her on her journey because she was, after all, a stranger to them too.  But there were also those whom she believed she would have to persuade and was pleasantly surprised to find many of them standing right beside her.

Even though this woman and I bare a striking resemblance, I would be very interested in having more interaction with her 10 or 15 years from now and welcoming her into whatever office I am in at that time. I trust that her passion will remain, and that she will continue to hone her skills. Maybe the office will be the same one I’m in now, but with this woman’s history, I find that highly unlikely.

Biography:

Andrea Reichenberger is starting her second year as the Instructional Literacy Coach for Menasha High School in the Menasha Joint School District.   She taught English/Language Arts at Maplewood Middle School for 13 years after working as an elementary Library Media Specialist.  Andrea is very proud of the fact that she shares a birthday with Elvis, as she is a huge fan, but has yet to visit Graceland. Making the trip is on her bucket list.  She loves to read, shop, walk/jog (more walking then jogging), and watch clever television.  Andrea lives in Appleton with her husband and two tween daughters,who are also readers. Phew!

Bio: Jaimie Howe

Jaimie Howe is in her third year as a Literacy Coach at Roosevelt Elementary School in the Eau Claire Area School District.   She has taught four-year old kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade. All of which have been in Eau Claire at Roosevelt Elementary. She received her bachelor’s degree from UW-Stout in Menomonie, WI and her Master’s Degree in Literacy Education from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.  She lives in Menomonie, WI with her husband and two young boys.  When Jaimie is not taking on new learning opportunities, she enjoys running, scrapbooking, watching her husband’s many softball tournaments, and reading to her two boys.

Hello, My Name is _______________: Jaimie

We are currently introducing ourselves via narrative writing inspired by a 1999 Ann Landers column. For more information, visit this post: Hello, My Name is _______________.

Young Woman Puts a New Spin on Things

      

A very peculiar thing has happened. A young, inexperienced woman has taken on a huge leadership role in my building.  I have no idea what she is thinking, how she got hired, or if she even knows what she’s doing for that matter.  All I know is that she has a lot to learn.

In the five years that she has been teaching, I do know her as a hard worker who is very passionate about anything that she does. She works hard to get her job done and is always looking for ways to be better at what she does.  Others would describe her as having a positive, charismatic personality, a desire to collaborate and seek out new learning opportunities, and as having a love and devotion to her profession. However, being a young teacher, I know she lacks experience and confidence.  She is somewhat afraid of making mistakes, wants to be a rule-follower, is concerned about what others think, and tends to take on more than she can handle at times. I wonder how she thinks, after only five years of teaching, that she can lead an elementary school of veteran teachers in the area of literacy.

I do know that after three years of teaching, her sincere desire to learn, led her to pursue a Master’s Degree in Literacy Education.  Through this program, the knowledge about literacy came.  Everything she learned was applicable to her current teaching position as a first grade teacher and she was able to authentically utilize most things she learned about literacy development and best practices. She was happy with what she learned about literacy and felt like it made her a much better teacher.  She assumed being a classroom teacher was her destiny and that was where she belonged. She had never pictured herself anywhere else, especially not in a leadership role. So what sparked her interest in applying for a Literacy Coaching position? Did she have the credentials?  Was she, again, taking on more than she could handle?  That was for time to tell.

The first two years of her position as a literacy coach flew by, with new district initiatives, coaching trainings, and on the job training.  I’m sure it was a whirlwind.  As year two started to wind down, I had some time to reflect with her.  I realized that she may not have known everything, may not have had years of experience, but she had a willingness and a desire.  She learned through time and process that challenges, change, and discomfort are what help us grow.  She understands that learning is a process and we certainly cannot do it alone. Every person has something to bring to the table and we can all learn from each other.  Collaboration has been the key to her survival and the center of her work.  She has learned that having the flexibility to listen, be patient, try new things, and learn from her mistakes push her to be better at what she does.  I know she has learned a lot over the past few years and I welcome her newfound confidence.

Biography

Jaimie Howe is in her third year as a Literacy Coach at Roosevelt Elementary School in the Eau Claire Area School District.   She has taught four-year old kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade. All of which have been in Eau Claire at Roosevelt Elementary. She received her bachelor’s degree from UW-Stout in Menomonie, WI and her Master’s Degree in Literacy Education from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.  She lives in Menomonie, WI with her husband and two young boys.  When Jaimie is not taking on new learning opportunities, she enjoys running, scrapbooking, watching her husband’s many softball tournaments, and reading to her two boys.

Bio: Bobbi Campbell

Bobbi Campbell is a Literacy Activist for the Madison Metropolitan School District.

Hello, My Name is _______________: Bobbi

We are currently introducing ourselves via narrative writing inspired by a 1999 Ann Landers column. For more information, visit this post: Hello, My Name is _______________.

As part of a reflective exercise, a group of fantastic coaches from around the state got together and had a two-day learning retreat. One of the stimuli for our written reflections was an Ann Lander’s piece about an unwelcome visitor settling in to a woman’s home.  Turns out, the unwelcome visitor was just old age.  Although I could definitely write about getting older, my reflection below has taken a spin on the Lander’s column, and I am speaking from the perspective of my much wiser self to the me that has grown and changed in the role of literacy coach and literacy activist for the Madison Metropolitan School District.

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http://www.retroyoutube.com/2008/10/retro-youtube-that-girl-marlo-thomas.html

When you walked into your new position, you reminded me of Marlo Thomas in the 1960’s show “That Girl” – bright eyed, face full of wonder, body flouncing and humming with palpable energy. For those of you who are too young, and I am sure there are many, you have to watch the link I have included in order to get an accurate visual in your head. Let us forward to the present once again and revisit the current Marlo, err… Literacy Coach, entering not the crazy world of New Yorkers, but the even crazier world of education.  Having been in education for 22 years, I am sure I understand why you, a classroom teacher turned Literacy coach, expected group hugs, open-armed welcomes, and a “let’s do it for the kids” attitude. That’s not quite what happened, was it?

Luckily, you are a reflective person and spent a lot of time hashing over your first few coaching gigs, and decided that coaching is WAY more complicated than you first thought.  Not only is it complicated, you also learned that to be a successful coach, you need the following traits: knowledge, patience, methodical organizational skills, and the ability to morph into an introvert (quiet observer) to an extrovert (dynamic facilitator) with the spin of your head (not the exorcist…I save that type of head spinning for when I get home to my three kids.)

I see you progressing, sometimes regressing, but most importantly learning. You rediscovered that relationships develop over time; patience is a key ingredient to change; and making mistakes is the only way one can authentically participate in life. Most importantly, you are beginning to understand that knowledge is constructed through a process, not given as a product. Therefore, one way to support knowledge learned is to reflect on it. In addition, as a strong supporter of Literacy, I say WRITE, WRITE, and WRITE! I encourage readers to use the prompt below at the beginning or end of a meeting.  Another idea is to respond to the prompt in the comment section of this blog.

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Do you want to begin your professional development with a reflective writing prompt?  Look after the pencil symbol each blog post provided by Bobbi Campbell.

Reflective Writing: 

What qualities of a coach do you value the most? Out of those qualities, which one would you choose to have has your goal or focus of the year?  How will you go about monitoring and measuring your progress? Choose a song to represent your goal.  It should be a song on your Ipod, or on a CD you own.  Keep it handy and play it weekly to remind you of your goal. As an example, my son Alexander uses the theme song to Rocky before his football practice or game. His song choice reminds him to stay focused, breathe through the drills, and that each day will get easier if he perseveres.

Biography:

Bobbi Campbell is a Literacy Activist for the Madison Metropolitan School District.