A Commitment to Professional Growth: Dr. Cheri Beth Fisher, Principal, Cold Harbor Elementary School

One by one, we file into the room and find a seat around the table. Within five minutes, our team is assembled, and we’re ready to do some of the most important work we’ll do all week. For the past two years, the fourth grade team, coaches and administrators have dedicated one 45 minute block of time to each other every week. In an elementary school where you only get 45 minutes without students each day, this is a sacrifice. What we’ve learned over time is that it’s also a deposit. Each time we meet, we invest in our team and our students. Based on this work, we’ve developed what educational researchers call collective teacher efficacy. Simply put, we believe that together we can and will have a positive impact on student learning. These dividends are extraordinary! In fact, a meta-analysis of educational research revealed that collective teacher efficacy has the most significant influence on student achievement-- and we’re seeing it.

Let me be clear. Collective teacher efficacy is not just saying, “Oh yeah, I know that we can get our students to learn.” It’s a belief that is built over time through trust, professional growth, shared success, shared struggles, and concrete results. It's a belief that can only develop in a collaborative team that focuses on student learning, the type of teams that comprise a school-wide professional learning community, or PLC. 

The fourth grade team at Cold Harbor- Matt Coleman, Courtney Peterson, Kim Webb and Kelsey Zeilinger- were the “guinea pigs” for our launch into establishing a professional learning community, so when asked to share what our journey toward becoming a PLC has entailed, I went to them because they can best describe how this journey feels as a teacher. Has it been smooth? No. Has it been easy? No. Have their opinions about PLCs changed over time? Yes.

Our initial meetings were awkward. Administrators and coaches would plan to lead a conversation, analyze data or lead professional learning, and the teachers would come to the meeting, participate and leave. The meetings didn’t always feel connected, and many of our tasks seemed to remain unfinished. When I asked the team how they felt at the beginning of our journey, one team member said, “I remember thinking, ‘What is this?’  We left meetings going, ‘Why did we do that?’ But, looking back on it, we started to realize why.” Once student data became the focus of our discussions, meetings became more comfortable and natural. Teachers started to talk more and trust one another, and we collectively gained professional expertise to address the needs we identified. When I asked team members to share advice for school teams who are just beginning to put structures in place to encourage more collaboration, they said, “Trust the process and be patient. Miracles don’t happen overnight. We didn’t really see the impact of our work until the end of the first year.”

As we embarked on our second year of this journey, it has been easier to establish our focus areas and see results. Every meeting is different, but they are all connected through the learning cycle of inquiry, research, development, data collection and debriefing. At the end of each meeting, our goals for the next meeting are identified so that we come prepared in order to be efficient. Unpacking standards and creating formative assessments as a team has allowed us to more effectively engage in backwards instructional design. We’ve also been able to more strategically use assessment data to guide interventions and share the responsibility for students across the grade level. 

The fourth grade teachers have found value in working with one another and now extend their collaboration beyond the collaborative team time to plan all instruction. When asked how the PLC structure has changed the way their team functions, teachers shared, “It keeps us aligned as a group and moving forward.” and “We are more cohesive with common goals.” One teacher said, “I feel like right now our team is stronger than it has been in years because we’ve had this chance every week to sit down and collaborate.”  As an administrator, the most exciting part of this process has been watching a team of teachers gain professional respect for one another and realize that they aren’t alone in their jobs. They have become attuned to their teammates’ strengths and weaknesses and aren’t afraid to have open dialogue as they problem solve. One teacher shared, “We know where each others’ gaps are, and we’ve been able to support each other. We aren’t afraid to ask, ‘What did you do to get this success with this specific skill? What are you doing differently?’” On this team where each teacher differs in their instructional approach, they came to realize that open-mindedness is critical. One teacher’s advice is, “We are all professionals. Each person has something to give. I may not match you in my style, but if we work together we create a more positive learning experience for kids.”

Our school's culture has begun shifting toward becoming a PLC-- our meetings aren’t perfect, and we have much to learn-- but the outcomes we’re already seeing make us excited to think about what lies ahead for this team, our students and our school.

Hanover Education Foundation 2019 Gala Remarks

Teacher of the Year's Remarks (Mara Lambert):

For those of you who don’t know, I teach middle school.

Yes, Middle school!

My students have energy.  

They are passionate.  

They are loving.

They are kind.

They are emotional at times.

They are moody.  

Some of them have such a positive attitude that they soar into the building.

Some of them are just overwhelmed with each day that their steps are heavy. 

They are upset over a lost pet.

They are sad because of a lost love.

They are emotional over a friendship situation.

They worry about the test coming.

They worry about passing.

They worry about deadlines.

They giggle at inappropriate things and during inappropriate times. 

They bicker with their peers.

They talk while I’m teaching and sneak peeks at their phones.

They can disagree.

The can be loud.

They can be withdrawn.

They can be frustrated.

They can be joyful.

They can be creative.

They collaborate.

They compete fiercely.

They support each other.

They have life problems that not everyone can see or even  know about.

They have another whole world of activities and adventures when they leave school. 

They laugh.

They cry.

Yes, I teach middle school, and I love it.

I love it when you can see when connections are made with the content they are learning and then actually apply their learning.  

There is nothing better than to see them succeed and I have a sense of pride in their accomplishments.

My students  get excited about their learning and then share it with others. It is then that  I feel that I am making a difference in their lives.  

I love my job.

I teach at a middle school.

And I teach the teachers.

As an instructional technology resource teacher, my goal every day is to let my teachers know that they are loved, that they are heard and that they are supported.  I spend many days troubleshooting their problems, teaching at the point of error, and helping them plan lessons.  The largest part of my job as their coach is helping them to develop professionally.  What I have seen over the last decade is that we as teachers, don’t always take the time or are given the time to take care of our own professional needs. 

Would you ever want your own students to stop being curious?  To stop searching for answers?  To stop trying and take a risk?  But yet, as adults we do that.  We become bogged down with the day to day chores of our job that we forget the love of learning that brought us here. 

GOOD professional development helps YOU, the teachers take your learning and apply it, not next school year, not next summer when you are revamping their lesson plans, but today. You may have learning that doesn’t fit your needs, you may have learning that isn’t content specific, but I encourage you to look for that learning, ask for that learning, advocate for the learning that will make you teachers of the year, not just this year, but every year. 

Do you remember when you were young?  That excitement of going to school? I can remember some specific thoughts.

What will I learn today? 

I wonder if I am going to take care of the class bunny this week.

I can’t wait to finish that book we started yesterday.

Will I get to finish that science project on the solar system?

Will it be my day to play Oregon trail and will I die of dysentery?

I am so excited to see my teacher.  

What are your happy learning memories?  Think about them for a moment.  Do you have a memory in your mind.  Now, do me a favor and hold those thoughts and excitement  in your heart  when you are told that “tomorrow will be a professional development day.” Remind your colleagues of the same feelings and skip happily to the library for your learning with your teammates.  Remember what it means to be a lifelong learner. 

When you hear people say, “I don’t have the money for a class”, then introduce them to Twitter.  Show them how a simple hashtag can give them quick and easy things to learn each day that are content specific.  Introduce them to a community of people who will support them and help them along their way.

When you hear people say, “ I don’t have the time for this.”  Remind them that they would hate to hear their students say that to them in their own classrooms.  Remind them of why they became a teacher in the first place. Don’t forget your own love of learning that brought you here. 

What is best for students is what is best for us. Learn online with free webinars, Learn with your peers and create your own professional learning network, read books that engage your mind and expand your thinking.  Don’t forget your own love of learning that brought you here.

Advocate for yourself with your administration.  Ask for opportunities instead of assuming they may not “let you go” Advocate for your teams to have time to collaborate, to share ideas, and most importantly reflect upon what worked and what didn’t.  

I always hear that education isn’t the same as it was 20 + years ago when some of us first started out. It’s better.  I know more.  I’m a teacher which means I know more.  I’m a lifelong learner. The children haven’t changed. They are still here to learn.  The schools haven’t changed.  They are still a safe haven for our children.  Teachers haven’t changed.  We are still here to shape and mold young thinkers to be better than we are, to reach further than we did, and to change the world. 

Hold on to what you believe in, continue learning for your own growth and the growth of your students.  You are NEVER too old to learn something new and don’t forget your own love of learning that has brought you here.

I teach middle school and I love it.

Thank you again, each of you for your time and dedication to our children of Hanover county.  Thank you Hanover Educational Foundation and everyone there for your hard work on this amazing evening.  We all are grateful for everything you do for all of us in Hanover Schools.  

Happiest of Holidays and a restful break for each of you. May you all find time to rejuvenate and renew for the coming year ahead.

Superintendent's Remarks:

Last month, former President, George W. Bush, and television personality, Ellen DeGeneres, were seen on camera in the owner’s box at a Dallas Cowboys game laughing and joking with one another.  Bush, of course, has a conservative perspective and DeGeneres has a more liberal perspective.  In the hours and days that followed, both were criticized by their respective supporters on how they could possibly stand to be in the same place with one another, much less get along so well.  As is unfortunately the nature of dialogue via social media, some of the comments were quite harsh in reference to both individuals, to put it mildly.  So, did either buckle under the negative pressure?  Absolutely not.  Ellen responded, "Here’s the thing, I’m friends with George Bush. In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. We’re all different and I think that we've forgotten that that’s okay."  She went on to explain that kindness is not something that should only be given to those with whom you agree.  For President Bush’s part, he wholeheartedly agreed, supporting Ellen’s statements.

At our commencement ceremony this past June, we celebrated those who have made kindness, like the type that DeGeneres described, a priority.  Through the efforts of those like Gini Bonnell, who crafts all of the Be Kind signs that are seen throughout our schools and community, by hand, or our own ITRT, Tamara Letter, author of A Passion for Kindness and one who lives by the motto that the time is always right to be kind, acts of kindness and entire kindness themed initiatives have become pervasive throughout Hanover County Public Schools.

Those that we celebrate here tonight are recognized for being among the very best educators that Hanover County has to offer.  They shape young minds and prepare students for the world in which they will live and work.  In the process, they ensure the very economic security of our community.  But…they do more than that.  As we are in the business of education, it is easy to equate the work that goes inside of our school buildings with academic pursuits.  The truth is though that the best educators know that it is the whole child who must be developed, not simply tests that must be passed.

The teachers here this evening do not teach Geometry or English, Physical Education or 4^th grade.  Yes, those subjects may be covered in their classrooms, but they do not define the limitations of their professional capabilities.  They teach students—they teach human beings.  They teach kindness, both intentionally and in the natural way they approach their daily interactions. They provide for the development of the whole child and model for our students that the way in which we treat one another will always be just as important, and perhaps much more so, than the learning that any textbook can provide.

In doing so, our students are not taught to compromise their own values, rather to not shy away from dialogue from those who appear different than ourselves.  Students often find that they have many things in common, and often those things far outweigh the perceived differences.  For instance, in the case of DeGeneres and President Bush, they both have equally terrible taste in NFL teams (Hail to the Redskins!).  All jokes aside, in the most human-centric of all professions, it should warm all of our hearts that we have so many who concentrate on human qualities.

If you ever doubted the importance of these skills, just ask our local business leaders.  I recently met with my Business Advisory Council who routinely provides me with helpful insights on workforce trends, as well as how we might use these trends to better prepare our students.  At our last meeting, a presentation highlighted the projected effects of artificial intelligence on future employment opportunities.  While fascinating, and often scary, the largest take-away that our group had was that whether in school or in business, we must have a laser-like focus on developing the so-called “soft-skills,” or rather human only skills, because if an algorithm can be written for a job, it may soon be converted to automated production.  However, qualities like empathy, collaboration, innovation, and kindness are hard if not impossible to replicate by a machine.

Those we celebrate here tonight recognize that and are doing yeoman’s work on behalf of our students, but really on behalf of our entire community.  They know that there is absolutely nothing soft about soft skills.  They know that developing students outside of the academic isn’t just a nice thing to do, it’s the right thing to do, and while a single individual may benefit from an act of kindness, in the end we all benefit when the world becomes a kinder place.

I offer my sincere congratulations and gratitude to all whom we celebrate tonight, and congratulations as well to those of you who are here in support of their efforts.  This support helps Hanover maintain our celebrated Tradition of Excellence.

I wish you all very safe and enjoyable holiday season.  Enjoy the rest of your evening!