Context

My name is Erna Gallagher. I graduated with my bachelor's degree in Elementary Education K-8 from NOVA Southeastern University in Las Vegas, Nevada. Quickly after completion of my bachelor's degree, I completed my master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Literacy from Lesley University. I am in my 15th year in Elementary Education.

I have had the privilege of teaching kindergarten, 3rd grade, 6th grade, and just completed my 10th year teaching 1st grade in Butte School District #1. I have coached Track, Cross Country, and Volleyball. I have taught after school and summer programs to help struggling students with Reading and Math. I have spent summers teaching students entering Kindergarten in the fall. I have even run talent shows, Family Math Nights, and put on music/theatric productions with my students. I work at Whittier Elementary School, a suburban and centrally located school in Butte, Montana. I have also worked at West Elementary School and Emerson Elementary School, both are also located in Butte, Montana. I belong to Butte Teacher's Union Local 332.

In this next chapter of my professional career, I am eager to help strengthen and support the education system and current/future professional educators.

I have always thought of myself as open to new ideas, ready to accept any human, and tolerant... I was mistaken.

Am I open to new ideas? Yes.

Do I believe I am accepting of who a person is? Yes.

Am I tolerant? Yes.

But what I have come to know is that what is in my heart, and what I put out there are two very different things. I am very capable of being all of the above, as long as it is on my terms. I love and appreciate all of my colleagues, but I am not great about taking the time to connect and collaborate. I like my personal cave, my classroom. It is the introvert in me.

Growing is the foundation to becoming a Great Teacher. We teach so that our students can find success and joy in learning. As a teacher we must be able to adapt, reflect, and learn not only from our students and their needs, but from our colleagues. Collaboration is not possible without the ability to work as a team to create a shared vision. I have learned that I cannot be successful on my own. I must be willing to listen and reflect from those around me. The learning process can never end when you are an educator.

My first Overarching Competency is Interspersal Effectiveness and am beginning my capstone project in the Emerging Stage. I am very proud of the relationship I have with my partner teachers, but I do know that there is always room for improvement. I have worked with one of my partner teachers for 10 years now, and the other for 7. We are in a rhythm. We know how to work together and have a system. The only time I collaborate with other teachers, is when I am directed to by my administration. Since COVID, situations of collaboration with other colleagues, other than my partner teachers, are rare.

The second Overarching Competency I am focused on is Continued Learning and Education. I began this stage at the Pre-Emerging Stage. I finished my master's degree in 2008 and have not pursued any further education since that time. I do participate in all teacher trainings that are directed by my administration and meet criteria for recertification, but I have not independently sought professional growth until this project. In order to create my capstone project I will need to research behavior systems in other schools around the country that are already in place. I will need to look back at management systems that our school/district utilized in the past, to see where we have been, and use that information along with collaboration and research to guide where this project will go.

My Capstone Project must come from a team of teachers, working together, with a shared vision. I am in the Collaborate Purposefully Foundational Competency-Emerging.

My Instructional Leadership Pathway will be Facilitating Collaborative Relationships, I am starting at the Emerging Stage. The goal for my Capstone Project is to get myself out of my classroom and working with colleagues from different backgrounds within my school. I want to empower other teachers to take ownership in the project, while also growing myself, reaching outside of my comfort zone.

In my 15 years of teaching, I have had opportunities to work with teachers, administrators, students, and parents from many diverse backgrounds. I know I have picked up many valuable assets along the way, but I have not been applying them as well as I feel I could. This project is an opportunity to relearn many of the skills I have forgotten to use, as well as develop new abilities to grow as a teacher leader, a role that is very new to me.