Sweet Success

Last May, I accepted a job as a 3rd grade teacher (in an inclusion classroom, meaning it's a mixed group with special ed and regular ed students) in Newport News Public Schools. This is a different school division than the one I worked in the last four years. Different in demographic, expectations, and scores. I was really nervous that I may not be able to perform in such a fast-moving, forward-minded, score driven school district. I didn't know what I was getting myself into...I had an idea, but definitely not to the fullest capacity. The school division I taught in last had an incredible reputation, with incredible schools, and accreditation. The teachers were awesome, but the students were going to learn regardless of the teacher. Most students in that division have supportive, educated parents. Once again...I was in for a HUGE change! It was totally part of God's plan for me!

The school that I currently teach at is an AWESOME school, but we are 'under the microscope' so to speak because of continual poor scores. There's a lot of boring details about accreditation, government funding, and blah, blah, blah...

Like I said- a HUGE change from where I had been, but God's always teaching me that change is o-k-a-y! It's been a challenge for me- getting used to a new school, new administrators, new colleagues, new students, and SUPER new expectations.

I don't think I've ever had such a heart for a class before- I absolutely adore my students! I'd definitely loved my kids before, but this is different. Because my kids are from such a poor, and rough demographic and background, they have needed every ounce of me I could give...which can be exhausting at times!!

Our school division gives Quarterly Assessments every nine weeks, which are tests in each subject area that just assess what the students have learned over the nine weeks. There is a lot of pressure on the students, but way more on the teachers to perform well on these tests. Because of these tests every nine weeks, our schedule is SO tight, to ensure we get everything in by test day. There's not a lot of room for taking things slow, which is really hard to manage in a class of regular ed and special ed students. These tests don't count towards accreditation, but they do offer a lot of data as to what type of scores we can expect at the end of the year when they take their SOL (Standards of Learning) tests.

I'm always proud to say that my students BLOW ME AWAY with their Quarterly Assessments scores! A 75% is passing, and I always give rewards for kids who not only pass, but make an 85% or higher on their tests. They have done so well, and my administration couldn't be more proud of them!!

I love when my students work hard at something, and see their hard work pay off! It's not frequent that these students have success, and academic success is so sweet!