Summer Institute

I began my summer institute training last Wednesday at South Division High School. This was my first time meeting many of the other cohort members. Immediately I was impressed by the qualifications, ideals, and attitudes of everyone else. I feel fortunate to be immersed in a group of over 50 people who are working together to close the achievement gap within Milwaukee's high need schools.

Let me walk you through my typical day of summer institute, although bear in mind that there really is no 'typical' day, each day is packed with different activities and lessons. I arrive at Hamilton high school at around 8:00 for summer school where I have been observing my CT (cooperating teacher) and will soon be teaching short lessons and eventually teaching full classes by the end of the term. I am very fortunate to be placed with a highly motivated, energetic English teacher who has been extremely helpful, to say the least, in accomodating our requirements for training and in genuily caring about our preparation for the fall.

The bell rings at 12:30 and I usually stick around to talk with my CT about lesson plans for the next week. Then we have until 1:30 to travel back to South Division and eat lunch.


At 1:30 we break into small groups. Since I am teaching Special Education next year, 17 of the SPED Fellows are grouped together with an FA for instruction. So far our FAs (fellow advisers) have began to provide us with the basic tools we will need to begin creating lesson plans and understanding how to implement IEPs (Individualized Education Plans.) We spend about 2 1/2 hours in small groups per day with our FAs under their direction, participating in group work, problem solving, and discussions all directly related towards raising student achievement.

The final part of the day may consist of an all corhort meeting, a group panel discussion, or individual check in time with our FAs. Today we had a panel discussion with three special education teachers who teach in MRP (most restrictive placement...I know...lots of acronyms!) classrooms. Their advice and experience gave me lots of ideas on how to set up my classroom, how to add variety to the school day, and some basic ideas on classroom management.

So far the experience has been terrific. I am excited to continue my summer training and learn more about the techniques involved in closing the achievement gap and raising student achievement.

First Post

This blog will be dedicated to documenting my journey into my new career in education. I will be writing about my training with the Milwaukee Teaching Fellows program beginning on June 24th and will continue to record my experiences into my first year of teaching. Thanks for reading, and I'm looking forward to sharing my progress with you!