Introductions

[Scott Habeeb]

Please tell the other members of the network a little about yourself. Nothing is too short and nothing is too long. Just let us know who we are so we can turn this network into a true community.

[Kelly Koper]

I'm Kelly, a teacher at the Raider Academy at Hart County High School in Munfordville, Kentucky. This is our first year with a freshman academy, and while things aren't perfect, I think it's pretty clear that this team approach is a great thing for our students. And for us teachers.

I was excited about the idea of a freshman academy when I first heard it was being considered at our school, and the Freshman Transition Conference we attended in Nashville last spring made it seem like the only way to teach freshmen, especially since our students go straight from elementary school (pre-K to 8th grade) to high school.

[Scott Habeeb]

Thanks for joining, Kelly. Glad to hear that things are going well at Hart County and that you're finding teaming to be worthwhile. Remember, that if you all handle this the right way things can keep getting better each year. If you all create a website for your transition program send me a link and I'll post it for you.

[Scott Habeeb]

Awesome. I'm sure your experience will be a big help. Green River, Wyoming - sounds like it would be a great place to be. Great name!

[Dr. Ronald G. Shapiro]

Welcome, Robert....

[Chris Gray]

Hello everyone,

I am very pleased to be a part of this network. My name is Chris Gray and I represent a new resource for students called Track Ahead.com. We just launched in September with the goal of providing a focused social network for students, parents, educators and community organizations to connect and share information in an environment that was safe for all members. We have included many resources for students and parents: over 300 videos, 125 articles (written by Track Ahead staff and dozens of contributing experts) as well as blogs, discussion forums and groups. We were just recently featured in an article on Examiner.com. We've started partnerships with community organizations such as the Indianapolis Urban League, Boys and Girls Club of Nashua, an Indiana University Latino organization called PATHE (Providing Access to Higher Education and partnered with them at an on campus event for 140 Latino high school students across the state of Indiana. We're just getting started and we hope to partner with many more educators, businesses and community partners across the country. As our student membership grows, we will begin partnering with colleges and universities to connect directly with students and review their profiles and portfolios. I hope many of you will check out TrackAhead.com. It is on a Ning platform so if you would like to sign up and check it out, you can use the same user name and passowrd. I look forward to meeting many of you and look forward to your feedback. Please let me know if I can be of assistance to anyone on this network as well. Thanks

Chris

[Scott Habeeb]

Chris

Thanks for joining and I like your Track Ahead site.

Please feel free to re-post any good blogs on this site as well. It will benefit our members and will probably bring more members your way.

[Chris Gray]

Thanks Scott. I appreciate it.

[Alondra K. Poindexter]

Hi Everyone,

It is truly a pleasure to be a member of a sight in which we all share the same concern, Freshmen Transition. I have been in the field of education going on 15 years. I started in the business world and then made a career change. I currently work specificaly with 9th graders and 8th graders, I am the 9th grade academic/attendance facilitator on my campus. I am inbetween a counselor and administrator. I like to call myself a 9th grade academic/attendance coach. I am the person who encourages, advises, guides and sometimes disciplines the 9th graders on our campus. I also go to our feeder junior high schools, once a month, and speak with them on various topics with my team, the Intervention Specialist and the District Truancy Officer. We are making strides and hopefully with a full year of the new ideas implemented we will begin to see a change in our Freshman.

I have my masters in Curricuum and Instruction, my principal certification and plan to begin my doctorate in the Fall of 2010. I am currently employed in the Arlington ISD at Sam Houston High School in Arlington, Texas.

[Scott Habeeb]

Sounds like you probably have a lot to offer this site. Please feel free to add posts, comments, discussions, etc. about your experiences. What are doing that works? We'd love to try it. What have you tried that didn't work? We'd love to avoid it! :)

Thanks for joining!

[Stacie Wood]

Hello Everyone!
My name is Stacie Wood and I have been a Special Education Teacher since 1999. I grew up in Christiansburg, VA, thus where I met Scott... I attended Virginia Tech and obtained my undergrad degree in Education and went on to obtain my Masters Degree at Radford University in Special Education. I have taught in both the Elementary and Middle School areas, and have learned that my heart is with the younger population. I have taught in VA, NC, PA, and now back in NC due to my husband being in the Marines and we moved around a lot.
I enjoy spending time with my husband of nine years and with our 6-year-old twin’s, Cooper and Mackenzie as well as with our two-year-old son, Cade.
My philosophy for learning is that every child CAN learn, each child is unique, and each child learns in a different way. I believe that we were all created with gifts galore to share with everyone. One of my jobs as a teacher is to help children discover his or her individuality and work alongside with them to maximize it. I believe in hands-on experiences, learning creatively and learning though social interaction. Although I am a teacher in the Elementary World, I am really looking forward to gaining more ideas from this group of educators! We can never start working with kids too young... they begin learning early and that's where I come in to help before they get to being a Freshman!
Also, please visit our class website on the Harnett County Schools Webpage, http://www.harnett.k12.nc.us.
You can click on School Information and then LaFayette Elementary School, then search by classrooms… we are under Exceptional Children.

[Scott Habeeb]

Thanks for joining, Stacie. I like your classroom website. Nice Packers/Steelers picture!

Please feel free to add your elementary perspective to this site. As a high school educator who runs his church's elementary program and who speaks regularly to groups of adults, I am always amazed at how the same principles and ideas work for all ages.

[Stacie Wood]

Thanks Scott! I am a HUGE Football fan! Love Brett Favre for sure!
As for principles, it is amazing how the same things can work for all ages... even ideas that work in the secondary setting can be "watered down" per say and used at a younger age as well. I appreciate this site that you have created and am looking forward to the adventure for sure!