Context

Hi! My name is Nicholas Ottoy. I go by Nick for short. This TLI journey has been good for me so far. I have taught Special Education for 10 years at all levels K-8. I have also coached track and field, basketball, and football all at the Middle School level during my 10 years of teaching. I am currently teaching resource students grades 7th-8th at Medicine Crow Middle School in Billings, MT. Our school is mostly low income students. We have 640 students in our school grades 6-8. We are fortunate to have a nice, new school building only in its third year now. I just finished my Administrative Masters degree from Montana State University-Bozeman this past May 2018. I was working on various micro-credentials offered through our district in Billings Public Schools and came in contact with Shelly Stanton. She informed me of the Teacher Leadership Program (TLI) and that I should apply. So, here I am. I was excited to continue my leadership skills and training after completing my administration work.

My three year goal is to finish up my teaching with special education 6th-8th at my current middle school. I will have 6th graders next school year and will loop with them for the following two years. After this, my plans are to use my leadership skills and training to pursue an administrative position as a dean at a high school or college level. If this doesn't work out for me, I will continue to pursue my sole dream of teaching health and physical education to middle or high school students along with various coaching duties.

I have used and implemented various teaching methods and strategies with my students over my ten years of teaching. I have utilized many resources along the way with the help of my colleagues. I have taught multiple curriculum programs at the elementary level and supported my resource students in the content areas. I am striving for this school year to start using a more Student-Centered learning approach via research and teaching methods. I truly believe that this will transform my teaching methods, instruction, and increase student engagement and motivation in my classroom.

I have been fascinated by the amount of teacher leaders that I have met through my Masters program and the TLI program. After unpacking the first set of overarching competencies and with further thought, I decided to choose Group Processes and Adult Learning for my two areas of focus. I will discuss my formulated plan and details through the four components learned in each term of TLI (Learn, Design, Do, and Reflect).

• For my overarching competency, I started TLI at the Developing stage with Group Processes. This is because I haven't yet taken that next step to manage, mediate, and mentor other teachers. My focus for this competency is to grow into a PLC leader for my Special Education department team.
• For my overarching competency, I started TLI at the Emerging stage with Adult Learning. This is because I haven't had any experience with leading and developing professional learning with adult learners or audiences.
• For my pathway competency, I started at the end of the Emerging stage/beginning of developing with Coaching/Mentoring. I have always coached other colleagues on key education issues/principles. This is evident in my collegial interactions with staff and trustworthy environment that I have established with Reg. Ed. colleagues.
• For my Foundational competency (DECC), I started at the Developing stage with Collaborate Purposefully. This is because I can sense differences among cultural groups, am flexible, and can adapt my communication skills. I involve all stakeholders to create activities that celebrate cultural differences.

• My awareness of my own biases, personal values, and privilege allow me to bring unique and interesting ideas to the discussion table with my colleagues. I believe that my own biases and personal values will always be a part of who I am as a professional teacher leader. I need to be aware of these biases when confronting important leadership issues. My core values will enable me to stay authentic and show integrity in all leadership situations. My personal values are directly aligned to my professional goals and growth.
• I am continuously collaborating with diverse stakeholders (Reg. Ed. teachers, administrators, counselors, behavior teams, etc.), specifically when I am designing and writing IEP's for my resource students. I share instructional strategies, academic and social/emotional/behavioral goals, and ah ha moments of my students with them. I will continue to collaborate and discuss current issues regarding Special Education practices with my diverse stakeholders.
• My awareness of colleagues from different cultures and backgrounds allows me to look at collaborating and instructing our students with a different lens. We must embrace all cultural ideas and backgrounds. Everyone has something unique to share and we must involve ALL staff in order to Collaborate Purposefully and successfully.