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Tabatha Rosproy works at Harmony Early Childhood Learning as an early childhood specialist and special education teacher. She is a 2022 National Teacher of the Year. She has been teaching for 12 years, preschool for a long time, and now has a coaching position.

Definition for assessment:

An accurate picture of where my students are academically or socially.

Go to assessments:

Creating some yourself. My IgDs for preschool assessment. Dial 4 for all preschoolers. APES assessment that includes family.

work smarter, not harder:

Work through the day piece by piece then build routines. Set expectations then build a routine to fit and help excel.

Story of assessment:

She assessed a student who most thought he didn’t have the skill to move into the gen ed classroom. Her data proved he did and he was able to move classrooms

First-year teacher advice:

Lean on the support of your community. With the people in your building, resources, and admin.

Books:

Easy to Love Difficult to Discipline by Dr. Becky Bailey

How to Build an Equibile Classroom

Why Education:

She has always wanted to help people. She babysat and did bible school for her church. While in highschool she got to go to the preschool to teach Spanish to the students. She loved to watch the kids learn the new information. She was inspired by the teacher and the art they created as a classroom.

Why Teach:

There is no other job that you will get the joy and fulfillment from. What is life about with no purpose? This is very purposeful work and important.

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Spencer Brown is from USD 383. He has been teaching for 10 years. He is currently the math coordinator for Olathe Schools. He has worked for Kansas MTSS in alignment where he traveled to districts to align systems to help schools match students to curriculum.

Definition for assessment:

Assessment is simply a procedure for making inferences. I am going to ask you to do something, I am going to observe that, and I am going to make an inference based on that. There is no invalid assessment there is just an invalid interpretation.

Go to assessments:

The whiteboard checks throughout the lessons with every pupil's response. With adults it is more just pausing and having conversations with each other.

work smarter, not harder:

Understand which inference you are trying to make before making your assessment. Know the difference between at-risk and proficient assessments.

Story of assessment:

The idea that when you learn something you learn one thing and continue adding on until you understand the relationships between. When he was a student in geometry he had to learn the distance formula and he didn’t want to. He found another way to do it. When he took the test he was able to realize through the help of his teacher he really did know the formula.

First-year teacher advice:

Teach to the test. Teach the skills to get there not just problems similar to the questions. By having the skills to get there they can transfer that problem-solving thinking to other areas.

Books:

The Teacher Clarity Playbook

IES Practice Guides

John Pegg Solo Taxonomy

Dylan William

How Learning Happens

Why Education:

So he could coach football. He became a high school math teacher to do that. Coaching is a blast and teaching is whatever. “You don’t get it because being a good coach is being a good coach.”

Why Teach:

You won’t know until you meet your kids and then you will.

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Working at Washington Elementary School as a 3rd grade year for 6 years.

Definition for assessment:

Getting to know what the kids know and how I’m going to use that information.

Go to assessments:

Exit Ticket!! Quick end of lesson assessment.

work smarter, not harder:

Make them do it. The kids can do it just ask. Working together and assessing each other. Using whiteboards for quick answers.

Story of assessment:

She taught at summer school and she had an exit ticket every single day. That made a big impact on her view of assessment because she was able to see where every single one of her students was every day.

First-year teacher advice:

Find connections with each student and build on them. Make routines for everything and stick to it.

Books:

Stuff You Should Know podcast

Why Education:

She got an invitation to go teach in China. So she went and had no curriculum and no teaching experience. She loved the experience and those kids.

Why Teach:

Those smiles. Being the person they need in that moment. Raising up the future of America.

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Christina Williams is in her 21st year of teaching. She started at K-State as did her parents, and grandparents.

Definition for assessment:

Assessment is constant from the moment they walk in the door. From everything in being ready to learn and how much they did learn. Her goal is for the kids to grow from where ever they are.

Go to assessments:

It is important to know your standard tool. She likes the learning continuum within MAP to group her kids and see where they are. She is pulling small groups and getting more one-on-one to get them where they need to go.

work smarter, not harder:

Collaborate with your team. Learning from your team and using it in your teacher. You will get more done.

Story of assessment:

With her small groups, she gets to build each kid up. The kids who are behind get to grow to grade level and the kids above grade level can still be moving up.

First-year teacher advice:

Do not walk alone. Have a teacher friend check emails, have them sit silently listen to a phone conversation for support, and sit in on other classrooms to learn more.

Books:

Following the right people on social media can let you have a view into their classroom. This can give you new ideas and programs to set up. Always be looking for new material.

Why Education:

Her mom was a teacher and 3 of her 4 grandparents were teachers and that had a big influence on her. She is happy with them and loves being there.

Why Teach:

This is the career that makes the biggest impact. You are a support for these kids for the rest of their lives.

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Brandi has been teaching since 2007 and she is an elementary resource. She is k-12 certified. She has an undergraduate degree in special education and has her masters in autism and got an admin certification as well.

Definition for assessment:

Assessment is anything from observation to formal assessments.

Go to assessments:

Brandi loves to use behavior checklists for her special education kiddos. For reading she uses FMPs and running records. Listening to students read.

work smarter, not harder:

Knowing the curriculum helps. Knowing the resources available to you. Ask for help from veteran teachers.

Story of assessment:

One of her students whom she has had for a few years came from a rough background. He was able to shock everyone with his amazing scores because no one gave him a chance but her.

First-year teacher advice:

Be careful with who you surround yourself with. Be careful with what information you absorb as in media and negative people.

Books:

Filter out the bad stuff. Focus on building yourself up and your classroom. Reflecting on your ‘why.’ Use behavior snap for quick data on children.

Why Education:

She wanted to help people. Working in special education helped her decide where she wanted to be. She wanted to make an impact.

Why Teach:

Because the kids need you. They need a positive light in their life. Be the person they need in that moment.

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Kelly Tines is a coaching coordinator. She has been teaching since 1992 she taught language arts for 7 years before coming to Olathe.

Definition for assessment:

Any time of your life when you have a goal or objective and you have to assess to see if you are making progress or completed your goal.

Go to assessments:

Using an educator rubric for the teachers. Using a rubric keeps you more objective and on track with the standard. Don’t just pick up a rubric from someone else create it yourself.

work smarter, not harder:

Create a rubric to take out the guessing game. You don’t have to have a massive amount of homework or in-class work to do formative assessment. This cuts down the amount needed to grade but still moves instruction in the right direction.

Story of assessment:

Letting the students have the rubric in advance for their work to be up to par. Doing peer conferences allowed relationships to grow. This helped build relationships with not only the teacher but also with learning.

First-year teacher advice:

Have set routines. Do not wing it at the beginning of the year. Build the habits from the beginning to have a smooth day.

Books:

Learning by Doing “bible of teaching”

Excellence in Every Classroom

The Cult of Pedagogy

Anything by Adam Grant

Why Education:

She knew she wanted to teach from 5 years old. She was trying to learn from her teachers in school to be a teacher.

Why Teach:

I teach for kids. Love your content area. Care deeply. Give students an opportunity to show their strengths. It is a privilege to have that much of an impact on kids.

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Marsha Reeves has been a kindergarten teacher for 27 years. She did one year of 4th grade. A little bit in preschool. In Olathe for 14 years.

Definition for assessment:

Assessment is necessary. It is a tool to find what students know and what they are ready to learn next.

Go to assessments:

Hands-on, fast, and easy assessments. Doing a lot of show me things.

work smarter, not harder:

Build routines from the first month over and over. Create a good work-life balance. Setting boundaries with yourself while still getting your work done. Work ahead for the next day so you don't get overwhelmed. Work with your team to create time to work together.

Story of assessment:

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First-year teacher advice:

Be extra nice to the secretary and to the custodian. They truly run the school. Listen to your team and coworkers. Take risks and try things. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Stay off your phone. Don’t take yourself to seriously you will mess up. Laugh with your kids. Leave your home problems at the door.

Books:

Out of My Mind by Sharron Draper

Why Education:

Education was not her plan. She didn’t want to be a teacher. For 2 years she went to college for accounting. But she decided she wasn’t happy with it. She switched to teaching and she knew it was right for her. She met her husband the first day of class.

Why Teach:

Teaching is not for everyone. But for some, it is a fun job. Helps you leave a good impact on others.

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TJ has been teaching for 23 years. He taught 5th grade, 8th, and 9th grade science, AVID, and has been an assistant principal.

Definition for assessment:

Can students apply their knowledge? He doesn’t care how they show it but as long as they understand.

Go to assessments:

Planning lessons and weeks out by standards. Look at standards as what do they actually need. He breaks that down into questions into around 5 ideas. The assessment the students take was their choice. They could write, talk, create, etc.

work smarter, not harder:

Go slow to start with. It will be hard to take in at first but you will grow into it. What is the smallest thing you can do to make the biggest impact?

Story of assessment:

Use assessment as a compass, not a map. Tell the students where they are expected to be but not demanding they take a certain way there.

First-year teacher advice:

Parents care about if you know and care about their kids. Building relationships is important.

Books:

The Culture Code

Small Bets

Why Education:

His father was a teacher. He saw the impact his father made on students. He fought for the underdog.

Why Teach:

People are scared. Being the person in their life who is stable, caring, and supportive. Making an impact for them.

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Dena works in Olathe as a 3rd grade teacher.

Definition for assessment:

The biggest thing is observations. It is not paper pencil to her.

Go to assessments:

Small groups. Even the kids that are on target or above need to go in a small group. Make that connection.

work smarter, not harder:

Be a team. To be successful find your strengths and weaknesses and fill each other in.

Story of assessment:

She had two students with dyslexia. She didn’t know much about it because it was new. She researched how to help them. She found tools to help them and they became successful readers. Josh and Macy told the class they had dyslexia and they thanked them for helping them through their struggles.

First-year teacher advice:

Make relationships. With students, families, and staff. Take the time in the beginning to build. FInd out what your kids love and connect with that.

Books:

The Gift of Dyslexia

The Morning Meeting Book

Despite the Best Intentions

Why Education:

She didn’t feel fulfilled in her current job. She went into education and she was able to come home proud every day.

Why Teach:

It's the impact. This job is important. You are there to support those kids into their future.

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Andy has been the special service coordinator for 5 years and was a school psychologist for 10 years. He works with kids aged 3 to 21.

Definition for assessment:

Assessment is an estimation. It is a snapshot of a kid of that day in that environment. There are no valid assessments just valid interpretations.

Go to assessments:

MTSS assessment is the starter. Exit tickets and things like that.

work smarter, not harder:

Have a process. That all team members are on the same page with. Have a framework for how you will do everything. Stay consistent.

Story of assessment:

He had a child who had a foster care journey and was assumed 5-grade levels behind. With the use of proper assessments and seeing the whole child they were able to see he was successful and even above in some things.

First-year teacher advice:

Respect your impact. Students are going to look to you for relationship and you need to know your impact.

Books:

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Learning Disabilities

When I Am Little Again and the Child’s Right to Respect

Why Education:

Growing up he enjoyed working with kids. He wanted to be an eye doctor for kids. In college, he found he liked psychology so he became a school psychologist.

Why Teach:

You need to teach because the kids need you. You are investing in the future by teaching kids. Kids are the people of today and the people of tomorrow. You get the honor of being a positive person in that kid's life.

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1. What did you notice about their ADVICE?

1. They all said something about impact at least one time in their videos. It was all so similar but each person gave you a different piece of the puzzle from their perspective. None of them had the same background but they are still all great educators.

2. What are the strategies that you heard about most often?

1. I heard over and over that observation is your best friend. Just watch your kids and they will show you what they know and what they are struggling with. Let them choose. Kids are way more willing to put in effort when they get a say in the matter.

3. What lessons will you add to your toolbox from listening to these mentors?

1. That you do not have to be some big flashy teacher to be a good educator. All you need to do is build meanfuling connections with your kids and let them know you will be a positive person in their life. Using whiteboards for quick assessments is a good way to gage a classes understanding and using exit tickets.

4. Which Mentor did you connect with? Explain why!

1. I felt like I connected with Mentor 8, Dena Steen. I don’t know how else to explain it other than I could feel her passion through the screen. It made me excited to become a teacher.

5. What surprised you about any of the Mentors?

1. I was surprised there wasn’t one definition for all of them. Looking back through my notes there is not a duplicate within the definitions. They are all tied to the same idea but they go about it in different ways and I thought that was very cool and showed how creative teaching is.

6. What are 5 of the suggested books/podcats you are drawn to? Why?

1. The Morning Meeting Book. I think this would be so fun to dig in to. I am always looking for new fun idaes in the classroom and this one was my top book to read.

2. Out of My Mind by Sharron Draper. I have read this before and I loved it. I would like to get my own copy and annotate it because I think it has so many good lessons.

3. Stuff you should know podcast. I think this one would just be fun. To be able to show up with random facts to get my kids more curious about things.

4. Dylan William. I heard several people mention him so I would like to look into his books.

5. Easy to Love Difficult to Discipline by Dr. Becky Bailey. I feel like this book just would have so many good ideas.

7. What are one or two questions you would like to pose to a Mentor Educartor?

1. How do you find balance between work and your life? I feel like I have to be a teacher and working 24/7 to be successful.