Two Weeks at Home: Presentations, Celebrations, and Paying it Forward

Home. Three day weekend. No commitments for a few days except family. Bliss.

The past two weeks have been close to home, although that's not to say there hasn't been a lot going on. Almost every day I have had an appearance or commitment, most of which resulted in some long evenings. It's also the end of the school year, which brings a bit of sadness to me because I missed out on so much. My classroom was a part of my heart more than I realized. Saying goodbye to a year and a class I didn't get to be a part of makes me feel empty. 

However, there's plenty going on to fill any void - so that is where I choose to direct my energy. Two weeks ago I spoke at the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF) Scholarship Reception, recognizing and awarding students in Berkeley, Morgan, and Jefferson Counties. It was exciting to see several of my former Smoke Signals staff and student council members receive awards. What I didn't know - and found out at the end, right before wind, rain and lightning besieged the grounds of the Purple Iris - was that a scholarship had been established in my name for students choosing to pursue a career in education. This makes me so happy and gives me a purpose and a goal for the future. My goal is to support those that have the determination and talent to become educators but not the financial resources, and I'm hoping to encourage those who are non-traditional students to seek the funding to accomplish their goals.

Tomahawk alumni receiving scholarships - all were on the
Smoke Signals newspaper staff or student council :-) 

With Sabrina, a former Smoke Signals staff writer who is
attending Fairmont State in the fall to study elementary education!

With Scott Roach, president of EWVCF

Next up was speaking and helping to present awards at the Berkeley County Council PTA banquet at Bunker Hill Elementary. That was the 31st and final school I needed to visit in Berkeley County. Being pulled to travel across the state has made it difficult to get to every school, but I felt that it was important to keep that commitment. I have also finished my Berkeley County interviews for Be the DifferenceWV. That has given me the opportunity to speak to at least two teachers in every school in my county. More on that in another post.

I rarely take selfies, but thought my 31st school visit warranted one :-)

Interviewing Brande Hockensmith at Musselman High

I also shared Berkeley with two schools in Berkeley County - Back Creek Valley Elementary for their Mountaineer Day (a great event with square dancing and homemade ice cream!) and Spring Mills Primary. While at Spring Mills, I stopped in to see my elementary art teacher, Liz Altman. I remember in fifth grade living for art class day - I would still rather draw (or write) more than anything else in my spare time - when I have spare time.

Back Creek Valley Elementary students on Mountaineer Day

Talking about state pride with second graders at Spring Mills Primary 

With Liz Altman, my art teacher from Marlowe Elementary

The Tuesday after the EWVCF Reception I did an interview with Anne Laskey, the National Board Certification coordinator for Berkeley County Schools, for the Panhandle Spotlite on WEPM. We discussed the purpose of National Board certification and its impact on Berkeley County teachers with Marsha Chwalik. With a greater emphasis on teacher leadership on the federal level, it becomes increasingly important to promote opportunities for teachers to demonstrate their contributions to their classrooms. 

With Anne Laskey and...Berkeley!?!? I didn't know bears did
radio interviews, too! :-)

Some say that National Board certification or Masters degrees don't make you a better teacher. I would have to say I disagree with that sentiment wholeheartedly. Any time you challenge yourself to reflect on your practice and increase your own understanding in the field of education, you grow as a person and as a professional. Opportunities arise when you achieve those goals to better serve students in your classroom, state, and nation. Teachers are not as highly regarded as they should be as professionals, and if we want to move forward and have our voices heard and highly regarded, we need to reach out, promote, and celebrate our accomplishments and efforts to improve our practice. In states such as West Virginia, where 50% of teachers will be eligible for retirement in the next decade, it is increasingly important for National Board Certification to be supported as a means to validate, reward, and retain accomplished teachers.

I ended this school week with our fifth grade field trip to the National Zoo in D.C. In a year where my role in education radically changed, it is comforting to do something traditional. I welcome the normalcy, and I'm already mentally preparing for next school year (and how I'm going to get ready for my own classroom during June and July, since I will have my current responsibilities during the August rush). While at the zoo, I ran into Jacqueline Frierson, a social studies teacher at William Wirt Middle School in Prince George's County, Maryland. She and I were Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum fellows in 2010 and attended the fellowship in Springfield, Illinois, together. What a coincidence to meet up four years later! After 42 years in education, she is retiring this year. I'm so glad we were able to reconnect - on our class field trips!

A collage of photos from our beautiful day at the National Zoo

With ALPLM alum Dr. Frierson

This has been a school year like no other. It's a year where I have spent a lot of time by myself, doing things I never anticipated experiencing, meeting people - incredible people who have changed my life. I have one more trip this school year - I head to Beckley for the Raleigh County Teacher of the Year reception and school visits next week. There may be no place like home, but I've learned to deeply appreciate those who welcome me across West Virginia, wherever my travels take me.

March Madness, Part 2: Teaching and Learning Conference

Keeping it real...I'm a little worse for wear right now. I've made it through the winter with hardly a sniffle. Now I'm starting to feel run down. So far I have kept a pretty steady, speedy pace, but I have a feeling that if I don't take a few days and take care of myself, I'm going to have to put on the brakes stat.

Let's rewind to...wow, was it just last week?! It was! I attended the Teaching and Learning Conference in Washington, D.C., the first time I have ever been to a national conference (outside of something for a fellowship or academy, not sure that counts - and those have always been when school has been out for the summer). Keep in mind, this is the teacher that hasn't taken a sick day in nine years, so I don't normally make it a point to be out of the classroom if I can help it. This was the inaugural conference for National Board Certified Teachers across the country, and it did not disappoint.

Each day there were several general, or plenary sessions held with a well-known presenter. The opening plenary session was with Gayle Manchin leading a panel discussion on "Reclaiming McDowell." McDowell County is the 8th most impoverished counties in the United States, and the panel discussed efforts being made to support its schools and improve the future of its students. I think about West Virginia a lot. I know that sounds silly, but the extreme Eastern Panhandle (Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson counties) is very far removed from the harsh realities of the more rural, remote areas of the state. The more I see, the more I understand - and the more I feel the need to learn about the issues that the majority of this state has to contend with  - and that will be a separate blog post.

Gayle Manchin leading the "Reclaiming McDowell" panel

Some of the other speakers were Bill Gates being interviewed by George Stephanopoulos about the Common Core, Arne Duncan, Harvard educator-in-residence Dr. Tony Wagner (who was outstanding), author Doris Kearns Goodwin (author of Team of Rivals, which was the basis for the movie Lincoln), and Vicki Kennedy sharing the progress on the Edward Kennedy Center for the United States Senate.

iPad picture of Bill and George (unfortunately my phone battery went dead right before this...)

Arne Duncan

Dr. Tony Wagner

Vicki Kennedy

Doris Kearns Goodwin

I also happened to run into Gail, one of the other teachers that I went to Germany with through the Transatlantic Outreach Program this past summer. We were even staying in the same hotel! It was great to catch up and hear about what her first grade class is up to in North Carolina.

I also attended three breakout sessions each day over the two day conference. On Friday, I went to a session on professional writing presented by the editor-in-chief of Kappan magazine, a "Teacherprenuer" workshop by the Center for Teaching Quality, and a session on PBS Learning Media (which is ironic - will explain in my third March Madness post). The theme within all the sessions was how teachers could lead and extend their influence in education without leaving the classroom full time. I truly love the classroom and miss my students, but have also been able to see through this experience how one can have an impact on education outside of the school setting. It is reassuring that opportunities exist to do great things in education without leaving the classroom.

The sessions I choose for Saturday were a little more random. The first session of the day was with Steve Spangler, who is an incredibly enthusiastic, engaging presenter and lover of all things science. He makes you want to go back to the classroom and teach science all day! The second session was a panel discussion on education systems in other countries, namely Finland, Australia, and Japan. I ended the conference with a music in the schools session presented by Debra Lindsay, a music teacher in Alexandria, Virginia, who is a former Martinsburg resident.

Steve Spangler Fun!

Bernoulli's Principal at Play

The conference concluded with a music performance and discussion with Bobby McFerrin ("Don't Worry, be Happy"). I had to leave early  to catch my train home, but am glad that I was able to hear part of his performance.

Bobby McFerrin

I learned a lot about the potential and future of National Board Certified Teachers to transform the profession. It was a wonderful, unexpected experience to add to my year. Now, I need to get myself up-to- speed and take care of myself, because April is going to be a busy month!

Week in Review: Apple Harvest Parade and New Teacher Mixer

Right now, I'm a little sleepy. Alex, my big, orange, kitty, is keeping me awake by grunting at me whenever I stop scratching behind his ears (which makes typing a little difficult).

It's been a busy seven days.

Last Saturday, I rode in the Apple Harvest Parade, an event of the Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival in Martinsburg. If you remember in my last post, I was quite tickled they asked me to be in it, shortly after the school year began. And it was absolutely, purely fun to get to wave at my family, friends, and students ("There's Mrs. Sponaugle!!! There's Mrs. Sponaugle!!!") along the parade route. As I said previously, every teacher should get to feel so special.

Thanks, Jim, for driving me in your car!

Ready to roll!

Driving up Queen Street

I taped an episode at Potomack Intermediate on Monday for Be the DifferenceWV. A big thanks to Lauren Mongada and Cathy Stickel for letting me interview them. I hope to get it up on my YouTube channel tomorrow - there's been so much else going on I haven't had time yet to put the segments together. My head is still swimming (remember the Olympic backstroke?) with how to balance my classroom with my new responsibilities. Which is why I am catching myself nodding off to sleep as I write this - except Alex, the big orange kitty, has now proceeded to the kitchen to yowl like Tarzan for a late night snack.

On Tuesday, I attended the New Teacher Mixer at the Purple Iris. There were about 70 new teachers from Berkeley County Schools, as well as some of our school business partners. This was actually my second event for new teachers in our area, as I spoke to the 200+ newly hired teachers in our school system this year at a breakfast at the start of the school year. It was a nice event to introduce the new teachers in our county to one another, as well as to some of the resources for young professionals in our area. 

With some of the new teachers from Tomahawk

New Teacher Mixer

Purple Iris

I spoke at this event as well about how I began my teaching career, the importance of community, and my three A's for new teachers. You can watch my speech at this link. 

Today, I presented at the National Board Certification cohort in Berkeley County. I am a candidate support provider for those pursuing National Board Certification in our school system. My sweet, fellow CSPs, some of which mentored me when I was going through National Board certification, presented me with an NBCT pin to wear during my travels this year. I strongly support the National Board process and introducing teachers to the benefits of achieving certification. In an era of monumental education reform, we need quality teachers who remain in our school systems throughout their careers. The incentives of National Board Certification provide a link to that - but I'll have to expand on that in another post.

Tomorrow is my day off. I will spend it preparing this upcoming week for my students, as well as planning what I want to accomplish this year as the West Virginia Teacher of the Year. I have many ideas, goals for communicating to the rest of the country all the good that occurs in our public school system. I want to be the same "go-getter" that I've been in the classroom - while still maintaining a presence in my own classroom this year.

My entire message is centered around being the difference, breaking away from the norm in order to move forward. I want to redefine, "reimagine" (my new, favorite un-word) what it means to be a representative of education. Can a 5th grade teacher do that? 

We'll find out - right after I give this grumpy, orange kitty his snack (and end his evening concert).

- Erin