Meet the Teaching Team...
"One of the biggest advantages to working on a team is just the support you get from the other team teachers. . . in terms of ideas about how to make your curriculum more meaningful." --Meile Harris
Meile, Theresa, and Jill all began their careers in environments that included teams. Their evolution into a high functioning instructional team is a story of professional development and dedication to learning.
Creating a learning environment where synergy occurs is their first priority when designing curriculum for this team. Deciding on the "what" comes first, and begins with looking at the district curriculum and state standards and aligning concepts between content areas.
They firmly believe that curriculum should be student-generated as much as possible within the guidelines of established standards. They would rather introduce fewer concepts and explore the depth of each concept than teach more concepts with less exploration. Their approach to the learning process is decidedly process-oriented. Connecting what students are learning to their immediate environment is emphasized through the "community" strand in each unit.
"We always seek to answer the infamous questions, "When are we ever going to use this?" by connecting what they are learning in math and applying the concepts in the science world. Situations are created in our classrooms where students are required to investigate long-term problems using a group process to accomplish what they cannot do alone." --Theresa Maves
All teachers have one planning block period each day. The team has 3rd block planning time on Red Day and 8th block planning time on White Day. They have C lunch every day.
Daily Schedule
Primetime 8:20-8:37
Block 1 8:41-10:06
Block 2 10:10-11:35
Block 3 11:39-1:31
(Planning Time - Red Days)
Block 4 1:35-3:00
Primetime 8:20-8:37
Block 5 8:41-10:06
Block 6 10:10-11:35
Block 7 11:39-1:31
Block 8 1:35-3:00
(Planning Time - White Days)
A Lunch 11:35-12:05
B Lunch 12:05-12:35
C Lunch 12:35-1:05
D Lunch 1:05-1:35