Teachers attend Arkansas Leadership Academy and are recognized by board

GRAVETTE — Five educators from Glenn Duffy Elementary School were recognized at the recent meeting of the Gravette School Board for their attendance at the Arkansas Leadership Academy, training institute.

Stephanie Foster (second grade), Jennifer Davis (kindergarten), Andrea Nall (first grade) and Faith Hendricks (library media specialist), along with Pat Hastings (district special programs coordinator) participated in the institute where they learned student achievement strategies. The sessions, held at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean Mountain near Morrilton, were a followup from a session they attended earlier this year.

The focus at the academy was on five performance areas which the “Duffy Teacher Team” will share with other staff and faculty members in developing an action plan based on student data and practices.

This includes Leading and Management Change; Developing Knowledge about Teaching and Learning; Building and Maintaining Collaborative Relationships; Building and Sustaining Accountability Systems; and Living the Vision and Mission.

By sharing and working together, the school-wide process will enable the monitoring of student progress and making adjustments to meet student academic needs.

The Team Leadership Institute seeks to build capacity to create learning environments; move the work of the district, school and organization forward by improving systemswithin the district; and provide tools and skills to work as a team. The work of the team should significantly move the work of the system.

Zane Vanderpool, principal of the school, who selected the team members, said, “The team of teachers developed a sense of ownership in the school-wide processes to increase student achievement opportunities. Teachers work together more now than ever to monitor student progress and make adjustments to meet student academic needs. The Team Institute has provided our team of teachers with the tools and inspiration to motivate other school personnel and take ownership in our school programs and performance.”