This is the main part of Bush's speech:
"
The Teacher of the Year, Kim Oliver, teaches Kindergarten at Broad Acres Elementary School, in Silver Spring, Maryland. Broad Acres is Montgomery County's highest poverty school, a place where 90 percent of the children qualify for federally-subsidized meals, and about 75 percent have parents who do not speak English at home.
It's a school filled with the kind of students that inspired Kim Oliver to become a teacher. Kim decided to become a teacher at a young age. It's really interesting for teachers to hear what she said. She said, "As a young child, I loved and admired my day care teacher, Mrs. Chandler. I wanted to be just like her. Mrs. Chandler made me feel special, as if I were the only child in her class."
Kim Oliver had many friends growing up who came from unstable and impoverished homes. She says, "I watched so many of my friends live up to the low expectations that were set for
them. To this day, I find myself wondering, what if my disadvantaged friends had 12 years worth of Mrs. Chandlers in their lives?" Kim went on to say, "I chose to become a teacher to motivate and inspire the neediest students, who many have written off, and let them know they can achieve and succeed in life regardless of what the statistics may show."
I love that attitude. I think you're beginning to get the drift of why she's the teacher of the year. When Kim Oliver arrived at Broad Acres in 2000, the school was threatened with forced restructuring by the state as a result of poor academic performance. Ms. Oliver took a leadership role at the school. That's what good teachers do, they take the lead. She became a teacher leader, and helped lead a collaborative effort to improve the curriculum, instruction and assessment. She helped establish instructional planning sessions and formal procedures to examine student work and improve student performance.
She
noticed that many parents at the school lacked the language skills to be able to read to their children and to be able to help with their school work. And so she and her colleagues purchased cassette players and recorded books on tape for the students to take home and share with their families, which made it a lot easier for parents who struggle with English to help their children.
Kim Oliver also organized a regular "Books and Supper Night," where families could check out books from the library and read together before sharing a dinner, which fostered learning and family involvement in their children's education. She knows what good teachers know, if you can get the parents involved in the child's education, you have a much better chance of succeeding. She set high expectations. Good teachers set high expectations. She provided needed assistance. She involved families, and she helped turn that school around.
Within two years of her arrival, kindergarten
students at Broad Acres were mastering early reading skills at higher rates than other schools in the district. After three years, Broad Acres students were meeting or exceeding all requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. There were dramatic increases in reading and math scores for the school's 2nd graders.
The Superintendent of Schools in Montgomery County says this about the impact Kim Oliver has had: She has a rare gift for touching hearts and minds, inspiring in her students to aim high and believe in their potential. A Broad Acres parent says she knows how to talk to the children so they will listen. And all her students know that she cares about them. She made them all feel like they were smart and could learn anything. One of her colleagues says, "When you walk into Ms. Oliver's classroom, one cannot help but notice that this is a special place." She is dedicated to her school community and committed to excellence, and she has been an instrumental force
in improving student achievement at her school.
Kim says the reason her students are achieving is simple: "I have high expectations for each of them. I teach them that they can accomplish anything with hard work and persistence." Kim Oliver understands that the key to helping children succeed is fighting the soft bigotry of low expectations. When a teacher believes that a child can learn, it's amazing what happens -- a student believes that he or she can learn. "
Umesh
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------umesh sharma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
umesh sharma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Thankfully the govt officials insisted today that parents (while picking their kids after school) also fill the questionairre regarding the after school program (Supplemental Educational Services - SES) . They would be more reasonable certainly. Even the govt officials thought so.Tomorrow is our last day - closing ceremony - food paid for by us teachers and brought from home by some parents -unlike the Black History month one - where the program office paid for the sumptious repast for all.Check out this funky computer game on the Net:Umesh
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A truly challenging task - as faced by this teacher. I can relate to her becos I teach in Silver Spring, Maryland too- to students of similar demographics.
The children themselves have mood swings - a few openly declared to the school authorities yesterday in their annula survey that they did not like the teacher and the program -thats me. a few others wrote in support of me in the survey. I had planned to give them chocolates at the end of the class - and lo today those very ones were singing praises and fighting for me - against those who were at fault today and angry with my censure.
Even among all the SES After School students I think mine are the most challenging - the last teacher was really fired - an unprecedented step by top management - becos she was always partying with tem and teaching little. The children have fond memories of her though - and never hesistate to mention how good she was - and how mean I am (mostly after someone has had to change a card for incorrect behavior).
Change is difficult also becos those whom have to change don;t like change either. Thats part of the game.
is it?
Umesh
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Umesh Sharma
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Ed.M. - International Education Policy
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Class of 2005
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Umesh Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park, MD 20740
1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
Win tickets to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany with Yahoo! Messenger._______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
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