At the beginning of the year, she had extreme anxiety about reading aloud and asked to not be put in the spotlight to read aloud in class. She talked about her past reading experiences.

“I would always ask for help and give up before even trying.”

She lacked the confidence to try things on her own. On the day of her first Diagnostic Reading Assessment (DRA), she was in tears with embarrassment of her reading skills.

“I didn’t feel like I knew how to read because last year I didn’t learn much. I [would] get shy and freeze up a lot because I have stage fright and don’t know the words.”

She could not complete the assessment at an end of kindergarten level.

Things began to change for Mya right before Christmas.

“Ms. Spiciarich started tutoring me during my support classes and then we had the Christmas program. Once I got on stage, at first I was frustrated, but then my friends encouraged me to keep breathing and to not give up on myself. Once we got off stage, we got so excited, Ms. Spiciarich told me to get a hold of myself, and that’s when I started to feel happy about speaking aloud.”

The Christmas Program included a project based learning unit for each grade that focused on different cultural holidays. Third grade concentrated on Hanukkah, rapping about the history of the holiday and dancing through the aisles as they told the story of Hanukkah. Mya was one of the rappers and dancers and this had a profound impact on the way she felt about public speaking and reading aloud.

“Since we perform at Corning and Ms. Spiciarich has us practice reading all the time I feel more excited now to read.”

When asked what was the biggest contributing factor to the change in her feelings about reading, she said,

“The biggest reason I am better at reading is because I am reading a lot of books this year and [I] didn’t give up on myself. Ms. Spiciarich’s small groups helped me by giving me more chances to answer questions and to know when I wasn’t right and to get it right.”

She also appreciated the additional support she received this year.

“There are a lot of people who can help me this year but last year there weren’t as many people helping me read. Now when Dr. Pepper (school social worker) asks me what level I’m on, I can say that I’m almost at a third grade level. Then she helps me learn new hard words.”

Mya’s support didn’t stop at 4:30pm, her mom was constantly pushing her to grow at home, too, purchasing additional reading materials (iPad, books, and grammar books) so that Mya could practice at home.

“Ms. Spiciarich gives me books to read at home and my mom and brother give me books, too, so I can practice.”

Some students in our class rose to as high as three years of growth across the board in reading comprehension and fluency. On the day that she completed her final Diagnostic Reading Assessment, she beamed as she read aloud. She had increased her words per minute from 44 words per minute at a late kindergarten level to 80 words per minute at a late 2nd grade level. At the end of the year, rather than students looking forward to end of year parties, the whole school is buzzing with talk of getting “DRA’d,” and students clamoring to be next.

Mya and other students at Corning Achievement Elementary School are working hard every day to catch up to grade level until they get ahead. Once they get ahead, I’m pretty sure there will be no stopping them. These kids are hungry for the knowledge to succeed in this world, and they’re already learning some of the most difficult lessons: It’s always hardest at the beginning, but with practice, hard work, and some grit, you’re going to get it. It’s a great day to be a coyote.

WATCH MYA TALK ABOUT HER PROGRESS IN THIS VIDEO.

It takes a special person to do this work.  Our teachers are deeply committed to their work.  They have the grit and persistence necessary to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.  They never make excuses.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman shares an example in the Memphis Commercial Appeal of a teacher who is making a profound impact in the lives of her students.  Fortunately, for our students, Katrina Armor teaches at Corning Achievement Elementary School.  Check out an excerpt below and READ THE FULL POST HERE.

Every day, in Memphis and across Tennessee, we see teachers who work with students in poverty making a profound difference in the lives of children and families. Let me introduce you to two of them.

Katrina Armor and Casie Jones are both proud Memphians who teach at schools with high poverty and historically low overall achievement.

Armor has been teaching for five years and is in her first year at Corning Achievement Elementary School. Jones, a fellow in the Teach Plus program, is an 11-year veteran teacher and is in her fourth year at Martin Luther King Jr. Student Academy.

Despite the challenges in their daily work, Armor and Jones are committed to holding themselves, their students and their colleagues to high standards.

WATCH KATRINA’S CLASSROOM IN ACTION.

BE REWARDED FOR BUILDING THE POSSIBLE.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR.

APPLY NOW.

Starting now, the state will fund $7,000 signing bonuses for every new Level 5 teacher that joins an Achievement School!

They are also offering a $5,000 retention bonus for every existing Level 5 teacher that decides to stay at that school for another year.

Building the possible isn’t easy. Our goal is to make it the toughest job you’ll ever love, and we greatly appreciate the State making these resources available for the remarkable educators who will be the builders of the possible.

APPLY TO TEACH IN THE ASD.

This quarter, several of our homeroom classes have been taking performing arts class through Watoto. They’ve had the opportunity to perform at Frayser Elementary, at Channel 5 for their Saturday morning live news show, and now will be performing at Westside. Make plans now to come see “The Best is Yet to Come” – our Watoto concert and art exhibit – this Saturday, May 18 at 2:00 pm.

We’re partnering with Watoto next year to provide performing arts classes for all of our students every day with a vision of transforming the Westside Auditorium into the Frayser equivalent of the Germantown Performing Arts Center. Saturday’s show promises to be an incredible show – don’t miss it.

I’d like to talk about the Memphis Grizzlies for a moment. Citizens of Memphis (I am guilty) have caught Grizzlies fever. The Grizzlies have unequivocally united a city which, on non-game days, can be as divided as ever. But have you noticed when folks mention the Grizzlies they all say the same thing? Here are some phrases: Grit and Grind. Grind House. The Grindfather. We Built this City on Grit. The list goes on. Make no mistake about it, the Grizzlies have Grit. They have positioned themselves in a place where a deep run in the NBA playoffs will be expected every year.

How did they do it? I remember when the Grizzlies were not very good. They struggled against other teams because they wanted to be LIKE other teams. The Lakers, Mavericks, Nuggets and others ran fancy, quick-paced offensive sets that suited their style. However, the Grizzlies could not beat them because they did not have the right talent to fit this type of scheme. Finally, when they hired the right leader in Lionel Hollins, they found their identity and the Grit and Grind style was born. The key was getting the right folks on the team. It started with players. Conley, Zbo, Gasol and Tony Allen are the core of the team. Each has his own distinctive style of leadership and know their lanes. They are really good at playing their role, but each one of them can take over the game and do other things if another guy is down.

That’s the ultimate definition of team for the Grizzlies. TEAM is first. Individuals are second. They traded Pau Gasol and Rudy Gay, two perennial All-Stars because they did not have a TEAM first mind-set. This has put them in a position to be a championship caliber team for years to come.

So how do our schools remind me of the Grizzlies? Just like the Grizzlies, we have had to grind it out this year. We have had highs and we have had lows. We’ve made trades and we’ve brought in free agents. We say we look for Grit in our people, but do we model it ourselves? As leaders, we have to model Grit and Grind every day, just like Coach Hollins does for his team. He lets them know it’s okay to fail, but he lets them know he expects them to fail fast and make adjustments to get better. Yes, we get punched in the mouth at times, but we have to use that lesson to get better. As we finalize our staffing for next year, make sure those we have hired have enough Grit to Grind to make it our version of the championship—top 25% schools!

WANT TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING SPECIAL?  APPLY TO TEACH.

Last week, Ms. Keller Ann Bumgardner pushed her students in an inquiry-based project that forced students to think scientifically.  In her words, “Students were given a week to complete a challenge: design a container that would protect a egg from a drop of 6 feet. They used their knowledge of the engineering design process to research, design, and build their project completely out of recycled materials. On Wednesday, students dropped their egg containers. Two groups from Ms. Lipford’s homeroom had the highest drop without a broken egg. They made not only a 16 ft drop, but also a drop from my class window! It was a great project, complete with a lab report, where students analyzed their design flaws and successes.” 

APPLY NOW.

We are looking for individuals who are committed to their community and the students therein and who are willing to have conversations about the needs of neighborhood schools and potential change to come.

In their roles, the AAC will serve as “Match Makers,” identifying high potential matches between approved charter operators and Priority List schools, helping us decide which ASD charter partners are best-suited to serve their neighborhood’s students (based on student interest, student needs, etc.).

The new AAC will be comprised of a wide range of individuals with differing backgrounds and perspectives. The ASD is looking for parents, community leaders, current students, businesspeople, and community members that are passionate about creating great education options for Memphis’ students and excited about the opportunity to work with others in achieving this task.

Many members from the first AAC will serve as Advisors again this year, building on their experiences from recommending the matches for this upcoming 2013 school year. Their mission, “to connect great communities with great schools, ensuring high quality educational options for the students and families of Memphis,” will continue as they continue their efforts to help parents and community members be informed, engaged, and empowered in conversations about improving neighborhood schools. The AAC engaged with over 1000 parents, teachers, and community members to help arrive at last year’s recommendations.

To apply, please complete read the Role Description and complete the AAC Application.

Completed applications are due on May 17th, group interviews will take place the following week, and the final group will be selected and announced June 3rd. If you have any questions about the process, please email AAC@tnasd.org.

Starting now, the state is giving a $7,000 signing bonus to every new Level 5 teacher from a non-Priority school who joins an Achievement School!

And if you’re already a great teacher in an Achievement School, Tennessee wants you to keep building the possible. They are offering a $5,000 retention bonus for every existing Level 5 teacher that decides to stay at his/her Achievement school for another year.

Building the possible isn’t easy. Our goal is to make it the toughest job you’ll ever love, and we greatly appreciate our state’s education leaders making these resources available for the remarkable educators who are seizing the opportunity to move the bottom 5% of schools to the top 25%.

Thank you Tennessee, and thank you, teachers! Are you a Builder of the Possible? APPLY NOW!