Reflect

Reflection

• Overarching Competency # 1 Personal Effectiveness

Before Project: Emerging

After Project: Performing

Before the Story Stroll, I had not taken on any big leadership tasks within my district aside from Union Member Co-President. The Story Stroll project required me to tap into my own leadership style and strengths. Reflectively, I know I have creative ideas, I am an organized person, have a positive outlook and personality that helps to collaborate with multiple groups of people. These traits helped me connect first with our Director of Dillon Public Library, and then UMWestern and first grade teachers to get the Story Stroll project up on its feet. Organization, a plan and end-goal in mind, also helped, along with lots of positive communication and keeping everyone invested and active participants in the project. This project had me balancing the roles of teacher and teacher leader throughout the entire year of its making while keeping up with meaningful work in the classroom as a teacher. This project continued to keep me excited for my own love of learning, and to showcase to students what their work can do for others at its publication.

• Overarching Competency # 2 Technological Facility. (See Figure 1)

Before Project: Emerging

After Project: Developing

I feel like in the world we live in today, there is no way to master technology as a tool, as it is always ever-changing. However, I felt like this project allowed me to use new tools to support my project and be a valuable and important component of the Story Stroll and what it could offer the community. The Story Stroll project in its published print form and as community signs have QR codes on each poster that once accessed provides those participating to hear the voices of our first grade students reading aloud the story. To make this a reality, we had to design time in the school year for first graders and eighth graders to assign certain sections of the story to each student, practice their lines together, record, and then convert recordings to QR codes (along with editing). This was a pretty extensive element of our project that gave the Story Stroll an audible element that is so important in literacy. Because of this element of my project, I learned a great deal!

• Foundational Competency: Collaborate Purposefully. (See Figure 2)

Before Project: Emerging

After Project: Developing

The Story Stroll project was centered around collaboration between community groups. This literacy project allowed me to develop and exhibit a way for many people, especially families, a way to connect through reading. The Story Stroll is meant to bring people together and celebrate all groups. The Story Stroll creates an environment that welcomes all through interactive reading.

• Pathway:Leadership Pathway. (See Figure 3)

Competency:Community, Awareness, Engagement, and Advocacy

Before Project Level: Emerging

After Project Level: Performing

The Story Stroll literacy project allowed me to facilitate partnerships between many groups in my community to make it a success. This included colleagues in the middle and elementary school, UMWestern college professor and her students, Dillon Public Library director, and the students and families of our first grade and eighth graders. This project allowed me to create something for my community that was inspirational and would add valuable family and reading time in an interactive way. This project allows for growth year to year for both sets of students as they see themselves become contributors to their community in the form of writing and reading for families. This project also reflects a positive light on what teachers can do with their students.

What was the most valuable part of the TLI process for you?

It was nice to have a program of other teacher leaders to collaborate with, along with a support system to check-in on progress and ask questions. I also enjoyed that this allowed a place to document my learning and growth during this year for new projects I took on.

Educational Philosophy Past & Present:

Before beginning the TLI process and these leadership projects, my educational philosophy was student-focused. I came in as a teacher who was looking at how my classroom would look and what content I was teaching my students: diversity of perspectives in the books we read, creative thinking and writing, engaged, deep reading and writing, and an active, engaged teaching style. After taking on these leadership projects and the reflective process of TLI, my educational philosophy is now encompassed by "bigger" thinking. I now believe and have the mindset of "What am I doing to improve the environment around me for students and teachers?" I now believe that the education of my students correlates to the experience of my fellow teachers/paras/staff are having. My philosophy has spread to think about community, the adults in the building, and being a much more active, empathetic listener.

What are your next steps to continue your growth as a teacher leader?

The Story Stroll project will continue each year with a new group of first graders and eighth graders! The format/genre/style of writing will change, but new elements, like adding Spanish to our project or music, will be incorporated to change different groups within the school, and outside the school, will continue to develop. I also took on running a Mentorship program for my school, and that will be implemented this coming Fall 2022.

Figure 1(above): Organizing collaboration between UMWestern college students, 8th graders and 1st graders for recording sessions to use Synth recording app and QR codes for the story stroll project.

Figure 2(above): Collaborate Purposefully! Multiple groups coming together for diverse settings to bring the story stroll project together. Seen in these photos Dillon Public Library director, UMWestern college students, 1st grade students and teachers, and 8th graders.

Figure 3(above): Leadership Pathway with Community Awareness and Engagement. Students, teachers, families and community have access to participate in the Story Stroll for entire Summer 2022 and into Fall 2022.