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.

[Sandra Duncan]

Hi everyone,
I am a Curriculum Specialist/Instructional Coach for Secdonary Schools working from the Cabell County Board of Ed, Huntington, WV.
A large part of my job is to mentor new and struggling teachers. Our County has recently won an Innovation Zone grant, and part of that grant is a project for scaffolding teachers in both planning and execution of lessons.
We piloted our project with teachers from the 9th Grade Academy at one of our large high schools, and it has been very successful.
This mentoring project is now mandatory in our county for all one-to-five-year teachers.
I am very excited to hear from other educators on this forum, as I think that a group of teachers sharing wisdom can only be beneficial to our students!
Onward and Upward!
Sandi Duncan

[Scott Habeeb]

Thanks for joining. We look forward to hearing from you as well. Feel free to share all about your division's experiences with the Innovation Grant. Blog away and keep us posted - I'm sure it will benefit the other members.

[James Wagner]

I am a World History teacher and a 9th grade team member at Mitchell High School in Memphis, TN. This is my first year teaching at an urban public school, and I began teaching at this school mid-year. I have a wonderful set of experienced teachers on my team, which is a blessing, and a solid support system in administration. Every day is a challenge at our school, but my goal is to remain positive every day, because I've seen that some of my students have very few positive role models in their life. I am 37 years old, happily married with two rambuctious boys, ages 3 and 4 months. I look forward to any insight that can be provided to me, and possibly provide more positive feedback as well.

[Scott Habeeb]

James - thanks for joining! It's good to have another World History teacher on board. (I'm actually an administrator now but still a World History teacher at heart.)

I'm glad you have a strong team - that makes a world of difference and is one of the reasons I so strongly advocate teaming.

Keep staying positive and don't lose sight of the goal of being a role model. Embrace and actively structure your class in a way that allows you to teach your students lessons about life. I bet you'll find some of the videos on here helpful for that.

Look forward to hearing from you on The Network!

[Mimi Williams]

I am an asst. principal at Heritage High School in Tennessee and have been working with the Freshman Academy for 4 years now. I am in my 23rd as an educator and 14th as an admnistrator at Heritage. Working with 9th graders has been a new challenge that I needed in my career. We continue to look for innovative ideas and ways to make our Academy better and help our students reach their full potential.

[Scott Habeeb]

It's good to hear an experienced educator use the phrasing you did - "has been a new challenge that I needed in my career" - not as common a view as it should be!

[Jenny Thompson]

My name is Jenny Thompson and I am a school counselor at a title I middle school in Brighton, CO. I was hired on Colorado's counselor corps grant which was founded on the premise that by adding counselor's to schools will help decrease the drop-out rate. It has been working! This is only a three year grant, and I have one more year and want to start an 8th - 9th grade transitions workshop for our exiting 8th graders, starting this summer. I only want to start with 25 students for the first year and am thinking this could take place in the summer and possibly last a week or 3 full days.

[Scott Habeeb]

Welcome, Jenny. Sounds exciting what you're doing in Brighton. Here's a link to a discussion on here that might be useful for you.

Be sure to add blog posts about what you're doing. I'm sure that your experiences would benefit the other members.

[Kristen Monty]

I am a counselor from J I Case High School in Racine, WI. We are the only comprehensive high school in our city that implements a Freshman Mentoring Program. A lot of work has gone into the introduction of this program and I am happy to say it will expand. It is my job to decide how and where it will grow.

[Scott Habeeb]

Welcome, Kristen. Glad to have you here. We'd love for you to share about your school's Freshman Mentoring Program. Feel free to blog about it.

[Bernard Hansrote]

Iam a 9th grade world history teacher and am proud to say I enjoy my career because I am permitted to teach with enthusiasm and include a daily dose of "life" lessons in each and every class regardless of the academic levels
and I have had many students from all walks of life.
I consistently remind that no student is invisible and one size does not fit all.
I teach and learn from and with the student not the content. Enthusiasm works for me because I am me in the classroom.Mutual respect breeds good discipline and leadership.
Scott, I am fortunate to have attended two of your seminars, they are rewarding.

Bernie Hansrote
Swansboro High School
Swansboro,N.C.
I am 63 years old with 10and 1/2 years
of learning under my belt and don"t plan
on going anywhere. Where else could I associate myself with such good company.

[Scott Habeeb]

Great introduction, Bernie! Glad you're here. Feel free to blog about things going on in your school and your classroom. We'd love to hear about the life lessons and enthusiasm of your classroom!