Congratulations to Mr. Sterling Willford, a teacher of grades 3-8 students in the gifted/talented program of the Sugar-Salem School District, in Sugar City, ID.  Mr. Willford was recently awarded a $500 Classroom Grant from Northwest Professional Educators (NWPE), the state’s only non-union professional teacher association. 

Mr. Willford will use the funds to purchase math manipulatives to increase hands-on math education.  During a six-week period, students who qualify for gifted services in mathematics will be introduced to the math manipulatives (i.e. color tiles, base 10 blocks, fraction bars, fraction circles, pattern blocks, 10-sided dice, and wireless weather station) and demonstrate grade-level standards according to Common Core State Standards.  At the end of the six-week course, the materials will be available for check-out to all teachers and most teachers will have at least one student trained in their use. Thus, all students are able to receive help, and the school’s gifted students have an opportunity to teach math content.

Mr. Willford advocates for teacher professionalism and gives an interesting perspective on what he believes would enhance the professionalism of educators:

"I work in a rural district, which I realize is a commonality of many teachers in the Northwest. In my town, the school is the center of social life for the community. Citizens gather for athletic events, plays, school carnivals—even parent-teacher conference would rank high in a list of community social opportunities. It’s not a challenge for teachers to become well-known in the community. The challenge is for teachers to find ways to be involved in the community outside of their own classrooms. We should be present in city council meetings, 4-H events, and maybe even our own school board meetings—not just when we’re upset. As we get to know our community, we’ll find we have resources in the way of guest speakers and volunteers who may not have entered a classroom since they were students. By recognizing them as professionals in their fields, we can bridge gaps; thus helping them see us as professionals in our field. It’s really an issue of mutual respect and perspective taking. If I were to sit down and list teachers who diminish the professional standing of the career (which I don’t intend to do), I would top my list with those who constantly feel mistreated and misunderstood, but don’t seem to understand their own constituents."

We think Sterling's suggestion is great idea!  How are you connecting with and involving members of your community in your classroom?

email to friend

Print

comment

Permalink

Comments (0)