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Teach100 Mentors on School Year Wrap-Up

June 25, 2015 by Cathy Vandewater

Congratulations teachers and administrators on surviving another school year!
 

With the end of the year drawing nigh, we asked our Teach100 Mentors what their most--and least--favorite parts of the school-year wrap up are.

Managing restless students, final grades/report cards/paperwork, and year end assessments top the list of "most dreaded end-of-year tasks," but our survey-takers are also looking forward to some much-needed time to do some learning themselves.

end of year wrap up

To be exact, 68% of our survey responders are planning on reading a job-related book this summer, 58% will attend a job-related conference, and 32% are going to take a class of their own this summer. Teach100 Mentors are a very dedicated bunch! Of course, 11% report that they'll still be working (womp womp), while another 11% report "taking a break from all things education" as their main vacation event. Hey, it's your summer--do what you want with it!

Before we all kick up our feet with a glass of iced tea, though, let's take a minute to reflect on the things that went well this past year--as well as things we'd like to work on. We're sure everyone accomplished something important during their year, so we asked our survey-takers: "What's the achievement you're most proud of from this past school year?"

Here's how Teach100 Mentors responded.

What's an on-the-job accomplishment you're proud of from this past year?

I brought the joy of reading to my classroom:

  • “My proudest moments this year were always the ones that involved students enjoying a book more than they thought they would. When those students went on to read more and more, it took conscious effort to play it cool and casual and hand them another book when on the inside I was jumping for joy.” Jen Roberts, Lit and Tech

  • “Teaching reading skills using Scratch JR, learning through programming, in Kindergarten!” Sam Patterson, My Paperless Classroom

  • “Managing to provide new books for the library even though my budget was just $300.00. (Fund raising and creativity go a long way).” Julie Greller, A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet

I worked on a special project of my own:

  • “Writing curriculum for a national company for a course I am not allowed to teach due to politics in my own campus.” Chuck Schallhorn, Teaching High School Psychology

  • “Free Learning! https://rossparker.org/free-learning. The idea was born over Christmas, by Easter the software and units were in place, and in Term 3 I have done a pilot. It is approved to run next year as 50% of my curriculum. Did not see this coming, but it is revolutionising learning in my classroom.” Ross Parker, rossparker.org

I made technology gains:

  • “I am most proud of the forward progress I made with colleagues in their continued integration of technology -- specifically Google Forms and Flubaroo for designing assessments.” Christopher J. Nesi, House of #EdTech / chrisnesi.com

  • “I really did some fun things with technology. Students made interactive personality quizzes, info-graphics, crowdfunded online, and made quizzes on audiobooks! Next year we go 1:1, so I look forward to being able to do this with a bit more ease.” Carissa Peck, mELTing Activities

  • “I was able to spend some time volunteering in local school districts to help teachers with their technology professional development.” Mike Karlin, EdTech Roundup

  • “Technological integration throughout all classes that is relevant to students.” Jim Pappas, Mr. Pappas Teach

I helped my students develop autonomy:

  • “Students are now able to reflect and self-assess meaningfully.” Starr Sackstein, StarrSackstein.com

  • “The gift of learning and discovery... Teaching my students how to learn, engaging families.” Sharon Davison, Kindergarten Life

  • “My students are better humans than they were in September.” Jeff Bradbury, Teachercast

I made learning more fun:

  • “Developing more outside time, like a feasible kickball game where every student finds success and fun.” Melanie Link Taylor, MzTeachuh

  • “Students engaged with our global, national, and local communities through social media, field trips, volunteering, and face to faith. We also reflected on our own school relating to race relations through a civil rights unit that ran through out the year.” Jen Hitchcock, LovGov

I made a difference for my colleagues:

  • “Mentoring our youth professional and seeing him find such significant success that we have secured a grant to employ him full-time for the next two years.” Lisa Friedman, Removing the Stumbling Block

  • “Making the transition from half-day to full day kindergarten. Fulfilling the vision and planning of the Superintendent's Task Force for Middle Level Education's STEM/Science lab renovation project for all middle school science lab classroom learning spaces.” Michael Lubelfeld, Superintendent's Office DPS109

  • “Seeking help from colleagues. Working with colleagues to find good solutions to difficult problems.” Peter Cincotta, What's So Good About Public Education

Anything you'd like to do differently next year?

  • “I would like to take advantage of more professional learning opportunities and attend more conferences and continue to network with more educators.” Christopher J. Nesi, House of #EdTech / chrisnesi.com

  • “Spend more time really focusing differentiation and putting more control into student hands. Better communication with students and parents about this.” Starr Sackstein, StarrSackstein.com

  • “I am so excited to meet my students next year. My team is revamping our curriculum this summer to add more multimedia, more projects, and more student driven choice.” Jen Roberts, Lit and Tech

  • “Professional development for teachers. We don't do nearly enough as they are all part-time, hourly employees.” Lisa Friedman, Removing the Stumbling Block

  • “Offer more opportunities for parents earlier in the year for sessions on "how to" engage and connect with the platforms and digital tools I use, monthly celebrations of learning for families, reaching out more to my PLN for collaborations and learning opportunities that inspire growth.” Sharon Davison, Kindergarten Life

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