The last standard is Leadership and Collaboration, one of the most significant standards in today’s time. Teachers and parents/adults need to be more connected than ever to help achieve the one goal: success for their children and student. Teachers who are actively connected to their local community and the parents/adults of their students will help create a more trusting society. Teachers can also achieve this goal by creating community relationships with their coworkers and grade-level paraprofessionals. Perspectives from other professionals and leadership will enrich a teacher’s outlook and instructional planning. Teachers who participate in professional learning conferences and training provided by their district will also gain perspectives on their county’s unique vision and goal for students.
During my time student teaching, I collaborated with other paraprofessionals and teachers within my school to help find ways to achieve student success. I also made sure to take every opportunity to speak with parents about their children. Lastly, I constantly found ways to engage the outside community with students inside of the classroom. This connection is vital for students and the community to achieve growth.
Fellow Teacher Collaborations
Teachers who collaborate can accomplish a more significant amount of educational goals than one stand-alone teacher. Different perspectives and pedagogies help differentiate instruction and create more critical thinking opportunities. I witnessed my mentor teacher and her fellow fourth-grade teachers collaborate on core subjects during my student teaching. These teachers discussed their strengths within their teaching abilities and divided lesson planning among themselves. My mentor teacher specialized in Virginia Studies and special education needs in language acquisition. Every morning the fourth-grade teachers would create one Google Slide presentation and add their goals and objectives to the presentation for that day. When planning my two-week science unit, I added my lesson plan to the daily presentation for the entire fourth grade.
Community Engagement
Community engagement is essential for both students and their community. Students need to see that they can participate in their community activities and feel connected to their community. I invited my friend, Duke Carter II, an anchor for a local news station during my student teaching. His visit was because students were studying cause and effects by creating a news report. Mr. Carter spoke to the students about his career path and why he chose to help the community. Mr. Carter also spoke about aspects and responsibilities within his career. This perspective encouraged students to be more active within their community and how they could help better the lives of their community residents.
Parent/Adult-Teacher Conferences
Parent/Adult-teacher relationship building is one of the most crucial partnerships for student success. Without one or the other, the student will not be able to live up to their most tremendous potential. Teachers help students grow academically and socially, while parents or the adults in the students’ lives reinforce what students have learned at school. If one side of the relationship falters, the child will have difficulty growing. During my student teaching, I took every opportunity to connect with the students’ adults. I attended the parent/adult-teacher conferences for the spring quarter. I observed how my mentor teacher touched on behavior inquiries and academics during these meetings. My mentor teacher created a printed document where she highlighted the students’ strengths and weaknesses. I also had the opportunity to discuss my role and how I had been working with their child. I took this time to speak about the growth I had seen and the appreciation I had for the opportunity to learn with their child during my mentorship.