The Valley Way: Doing Well, Getting Better

 Celebrate Success! 

GREAT COMMUNITY BUILDING:

 Pursue High Standards! 

 GOAL SETTING in action (click the name to see details):  

CHRIS DORFF, first-year Special Ed teacher, plans goals for student behavior and performance.

BEN BALDUS uses pre-tests and reflective journals to adjust instruction.

TIM MILLER ties his goals to the building goals and district professional goals

 Find a Way-  Exhaust Your Resources! 

Here are some great places for ideas and support materials:

1. Edutopia, the George Lucas Educational Foundation's site that offers teaching tips and successful approaches through articles, blogs and videos, which can be sorted by grade level and content.
2. The Teaching Channel: "a thriving online community where teachers can watch, share, and learn diverse techniques to help every student grow." Like Edutopia, many successful resources, especially the videos."
3. OpenEd: K-12 Formative Assessments, Homework, Videos, Lesson Plans.

Glad to Be Back!

It's always great to be at Valley, and we hope that your endeavors from June to the present put you in the same mindset. As for the coaches, we've decided to take on our version of the Growth Mindset and make some changes to the presentation of the blog:
1.   First, we are going to offer more "quick strike" resources and helpful insights. There should be little to no need to scroll down the page to view the extent of the offerings; extensions of ideas will be offered through hyperlinks.
2.   Next, the information will be categorized in the four key aspects of "The Valley Way":

Celebrate Success

Pictures, videos, interviews, and anecdotes of classroom advancements 

and achievements will be posted in this segment, always at the top 

Pursue High Standards

(Themes for Professional Focus) 

insights into our collaboration efforts (e.g. goal 

setting, instructional strategies, assessment etc.) 

Exhaust One's Resources 

links to relevant resources on The Valley Harvester

Find a Way!

basic tips, questions to consider, and inspirational stories regarding the persistence 

and perseverance needed to be a successful teacher driving student achievement

3.   Last, we will offer varied voices and insights from the five coaches. In an effort to reach more people, we will vary the offerings from week to week. 

We look forward to working with you as much as we have enjoyed the work we have already done in our first year. May you start off well and keep getting better!