Extraordinary Educators: Class of 2020

Class of 2020

 

Cathy Anderson, Grade 4 Math Teacher, Thames Elementary School, MS

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Safe, Creative, Respectful
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
I am a firm believer that it is vital for students to own their data. Getting students to own their data occurs by having data chats and viewing their weekly progress. Students earn points at the end of the week for having their time (45 mins. and above) and making 100.

 

Rose Becker, Grade 4 Teacher, Neinas Dual Language Learning Academy, MI

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Positive, Goal-driven, Fun
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
The i‑Ready Mathematics 80 and Up club: During the week, students who score an 80% or higher write their name on an anchor chart in the classroom. On Friday, they receive one raffle ticket for each time they wrote their name.

 

Anna Bone, Teacher, Boaz Elementary School, AL

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Focused, Supportive, Energetic
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
I use Tier 1, Tier 2, and intervention small group instruction depending on need, daily Online Instruction in reading and mathematics, and student data chats regarding progress, growth, performance, and goal setting.

 

Megan Boyter, High Ability Teacher, Grades 4–6, Knapp Elementary School, IN

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Motivated, Innovative, Collaborative
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
I create a motivational system in which I have a garden of sunflowers under my front chalk board. Each flower stands for five lessons passed. The students each decorate a bee and a butterfly. As they pass their Reading and Mathematics i‑Ready lessons, they get to move their bees and butterflies through the flowers.

 

Kyle Cantrell, Grade 5 Math and Science Teacher, John Pittard Elementary School, TN

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Teamwork, Growth, Purpose
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
I have a data wall that I use to display Online Instruction data and total lessons passed for each class and to shout out students who are reaching their goal of 45 minutes on i‑Ready and at least one lesson passed. This empowers students to take ownership of their data.

 

Cynthia Chapman, Grade 5 Teacher, Elsie C. Johnson Elementary School, IL

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Kind, Determined, Supportive
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
i‑Ready growth folders; class goals; Friday celebrations for passing online lessons; certificates of 100%

 

Carrie Claypool, i‑Ready Incentives Coordinator and Math Teacher, Lakeside Middle School, CA

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Supportive, Persistent, Collaborative
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
I have taken the lead role in coordinating and organizing the i‑Ready incentives program. Our incentives program engages students with i‑Ready by rewarding progress and achievement.

 

Heather DeJordy, Grade 2 Teacher, Brophy Elementary School, MA

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Growth
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
i‑Ready bucks: Classroom incentive program that allows students to not only gain praise for a job well done, but is also tangible motivation that can be exchanged for rewards. We have red i‑Ready bucks that are earned through achieving 100% on a lesson and yellow i‑Ready bucks that are earned through achieving an 80%–99% on a lesson.

 

Larry Edward Duncan, Teacher, Hawkins Elementary School, MS

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
supportive, student-centered, interactive
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
I use the Teacher Toolbox to pull up the FUNNY interactive videos that go with each lesson. I LOVE how I can pull up their Standards Mastery test and go over it on the board with common misconceptions. I can sum this up by saying three words: i‑Ready learning paths!

 

Curriculum Associates Inspire Award
Cari Stanley, Special Education Program Specialist, Etiwanda, CA

Cari was selected as an exemplar of the strong bonds with school-based visionaries who take i‑Ready to its highest heights in their work.

How did you take your work in the classroom and apply it to your district role?
I have been continuing the work in a different capacity—ensuring we have specialized programs for our students. We could not do the work that we are doing here without the use of the i‑Ready Diagnostic. Our teachers feel empowered to adequately target instruction due to frequent reporting with data that aligns with every student’s individual needs. Therefore, we have seen a significant improvement in academic performance and self-efficacy.

 

Megan Ford, Teacher, Flat Rock Middle School, NC, Flat Rock Middle School, NC

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Data-driven, Differentiated
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
Personalized seating based on needs in the classroom; Discussions about growth and goal setting; Small group instruction during classroom lessons

 

Blakely Fore, Teacher, Popp's Ferry Elementary, MS

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Safe, Fun, Interactive
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
They are engaged through classroom competitions (between each of my classes on who scored the highest on their Standards Mastery) and with growth stickers (students have these on their desks to show their growth goal for their next Diagnostic).

 

Tricia Goodyear, Teacher, Farmersville Elementary School, IN

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Flexible, Engaging, Student-centered
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
My students participate in i‑Ready incentive programs to help encourage them to achieve 80% or higher on lessons. For example, with i‑Ready Madness, the students were put into brackets and competed for the highest growth percentage on the end-of-year Diagnostic.

 

Sachiko Green, Teacher

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Safe, Diverse, Supportive
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
We utilize the PowerPoint® in each session within the Teacher Toolbox in whole group (some parts are with a partner) or in small group (Try–Discuss–Connect). I use the reports to monitor progression and growth and/or to adjust my instruction.

 

Sandra Humphreys, Grade 7 Math Teacher, Haywood Middle School, TN

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Motivated, Goal-oriented
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
I begin each lesson with students working through the activities in the prerequisite videos. This is accomplished in whole group. Based on the students’ performance with the prerequisite videos, I either move into the lesson or check the progression chart to identify which lessons will help build students’ capacity for new learning and group students accordingly.

 

Amanda Jane Kipnis, Specialized Academic Instruction Teacher, San Altos Elementary School, CA

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
dynamic, meaningful, fun
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
I use independent practice, one-on-one instruction, and whole group instruction/ discussion for certain lessons that tend to stump the whole class.

 

Meghan Mayer, English Language Arts Teacher

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Nurturing, Energized, Creative
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
We have weekly incentives where students receive school currency “paw cards” for each lesson they pass, as well as a 100s club where students receive special prizes when they pass at least five lessons with a 100% pass rate. We also have class parties that are leveled, so every week students earn a different part of their party.

 

Christi Moore, i‑Ready Reading Skills Plus Interventionist, Harold E. Winkler Middle School, NC

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
supportive, structured, student-driven
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
Have students use the i‑Ready tracker I have created to show the difference between completion and mastery. I also use i‑Ready conferences to compare completed lessons to passed lessons, see the data, and have conversations with students.

 

Mindy Newell, Grade 6 English Language Arts Teacher, Union Middle School, OH

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
safe, engaging, rigorous
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
Setting and tracking i‑Ready goals; Completing i‑Ready intervention lessons; Using Teacher Toolbox for instruction

 

Kathy Nguyen, Teacher, Outley Elementary School, TX

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Inviting, Safe, Understanding
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
Students have a schedule during the math block period they get on i‑Ready so they can reach their week’s goal of 30 minutes. Classroom incentives are given when students pass lessons. If the class passes a certain number of lessons, they are rewarded with a small class incentive.

 

Nelida Pagan, Teacher, P.S. 160—The Walt Disney Magnet STEAM School, NY

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
engaging, student-centered, collaborative
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
Individual goal setting using i‑Ready punch cards; Race to 100 lessons passed with 100% class challenge; Allowing students to complete i‑Ready lessons for homework instead of traditional homework options

 

Lorraine Pascarella, Grade 6 Teacher, Elmcrest Elementary School, NY

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Safe
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
Utilizing the Think–Share–Compare routine for students to explore new and unique strategies of mathematical thinking. This is the most beneficial time, as I love to highlight student mistakes as a learning experience and in a safe environment for students to understand common misconceptions in the mathematical world.

 

Rebecca Ray, Grade 4 Teacher, Elbert County Elementary School, GA

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Structured, Friendly, Consistent
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
Individual lessons: Students who keep a 70% average and have good time each week get to play the Learning Games; Whole group: Work together on Teacher-Assigned Lessons with a watch, stop and discuss, apply technique.

 

Anna Redding, Grade 4 Teacher, George Welch Elementary School, LA

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Positive, Trusting, Engaging
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
Using the Guided Math approach in my classroom, I teach a small group of students with the Ready Instruction book along with the slides on the Teacher Toolbox, while the other group is engaged in an i‑Ready lesson. When I am working with my small group, my students are engaged in productive math talk by using the Math Discourse Cards.

 

Alicia Renaud, Grade 3 Math Teacher, Drew Elementary School, LA

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Engaged, Intentional, Energetic
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
The instructional routine, Think–Share– Compare, supports student engagement through whole group, small group, and independent activities. The Math Discourse Cards initiate student discussion, debate, and deeper mathematical thinking and reasoning. The online Interactive Tutorials are a fun and engaging way to give students additional support during free time or center time.

 

Caitlin Robbie, Grade 3 Teacher, Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School, MA

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Engaging, Encouraging, Rigorous
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
I like to use i‑Ready lessons to push students who are above grade level by giving them a fourth grade lesson on whatever third grade topic I am teaching. Differentiation is so much easier with i‑Ready, and it certainly helps push students who are ready for a challenge.

 

Kimberly Robinson, Teacher, Literacy Leadership Technology Academy, FL

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Interactive, Engaging, Mindful
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
Positive affirmations, step-by-step engagement with each lesson passed and failed, weekly reward systems (visit from Snargg), pictures with the i‑Ready data board, and moving your stars as you pass your lessons

 

Olivia Ruggirello, Grade K Teacher, Johnston Elementary School, GA

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
welcoming, exciting, nurturing
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
I encourage students to meet the recommended 45 minutes a week with i‑Ready. I eat lunch on Fridays with anyone who meets this goal. It has helped my students not only challenge themselves on i‑Ready, but also build relationships in my classroom between myself and students and relationships between themselves.

 

Adam Schuch, Grade K Teacher, Columbus Africentric Early College, OH

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
Differentiated, Independent, Fun
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
Students compete in the classroom and display their passed lessons on a sticker chart; Using i‑Ready data, students are given mini-lessons to reinforce struggling areas; After a group has finished their weekly i‑Ready time, the whole class celebrates each sticker earned together!

 

Tina Skukan, Grade 1 Teacher, St. Hilary School, IL

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
engaging, safe, fun
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
I use i‑Ready during both reading and math centers. We also go to the computer lab once a week in order to work on some lessons. Whenever we have extra time throughout the days, I allow the students to go on i‑Ready.

 

Brook Marie Veldkamp, Grade K Teacher, Challenger Elementary School, MI

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
gritty, communal, empowering
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
I motivate students with fun and engaging i‑Ready competitions. An i‑Ready Rockstar chart is displayed in our classroom. Students who earn this award get their picture posted on the board. We choose a variety of ways our students can receive this recognition to celebrate all learners.

 

Amy Wright, Teacher, Gus Garcia Young Men's Leadership Academy, TX

Describe your classroom culture in three words.
respectful, connected, focused
How do you engage students with i‑Ready and/or Ready in your classroom?
Identify and remediate gaps in mathematical understanding that is foundational to the current year’s instruction. Refresh and extend students’ prior knowledge about a concept before beginning instruction.