Big Event!
Yes I have conferences coming up, yes the new Florida TOY will be announced, and yes I will be at Space Camp the end of July. But the biggest news is that I will be throwing out the first pitch at the Tampa Rays home game on July 7th. They play the Kansas City Royals and I just want to get the throw across the plate! I've been practicing, my shoulder is sore and I have a 50/50 chance of really messing up. Joining me on the field will be my wife, Susan; our best friends, Jim and Linda Lange; and our great friends, principal, Ellen and Andy Taylor. Andy is my former principal and a former PE coach. Updates to follow.
Upcoming Events
The next few weeks will be quite busy. I thought I would take a moment to update:
Next week I fly to Austin, Texas to attend the Education Commission of the States' 2008 National Forum on Education Policy. I will be joining many of my fellow state Teachers of the Year as guests of the ECS and will be participating in an invitation-only discussion forum to address the topic: " How Should We Define a Highly Effective Teacher?". Also in attendance will be ECS commissioners, state policy advisors, state school executive officers and other education leaders. The three day conference should give me incredible information to process and share with others in Florida.
The 2009 Florida Teacher of the Year Roundtable and announcement of the new 2009 Florida Department of Education/Macy's Teacher of the Year will take place July 8 - 11th. The actual announcement event (at the Orlando Hard Rock Center) will take place the evening of July 10th. This should be a great week! All of the Florida district TOYs will get together for workshops, fellowship and excitement at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando. I can't wait to turn this over to one of the incredible finalists I have earlier spoken of.
July 16th I will be the keynote speaker at the National Staff Development Council Conference being held at the Orlando World Center Marriott. The theme of this year's conference is "Creating a World of Wonder through School-based Professional Learning". As a new member of Pi Lambda Theta I also look forward to seeing other members at this event.
Next week I fly to Austin, Texas to attend the Education Commission of the States' 2008 National Forum on Education Policy. I will be joining many of my fellow state Teachers of the Year as guests of the ECS and will be participating in an invitation-only discussion forum to address the topic: " How Should We Define a Highly Effective Teacher?". Also in attendance will be ECS commissioners, state policy advisors, state school executive officers and other education leaders. The three day conference should give me incredible information to process and share with others in Florida.
The 2009 Florida Teacher of the Year Roundtable and announcement of the new 2009 Florida Department of Education/Macy's Teacher of the Year will take place July 8 - 11th. The actual announcement event (at the Orlando Hard Rock Center) will take place the evening of July 10th. This should be a great week! All of the Florida district TOYs will get together for workshops, fellowship and excitement at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando. I can't wait to turn this over to one of the incredible finalists I have earlier spoken of.
July 16th I will be the keynote speaker at the National Staff Development Council Conference being held at the Orlando World Center Marriott. The theme of this year's conference is "Creating a World of Wonder through School-based Professional Learning". As a new member of Pi Lambda Theta I also look forward to seeing other members at this event.
Transitioning Home
Yes!!!! I am getting back into my lab, cleaning up, reorganizing, unpacking, overseeing the installation of my new SMART Board and beginning to rebuild my garden.
I attended my last OCPS Foundation function as a board member last week; I spent an afternoon visiting Tools for Teaching (look for more about this great place in the future); I have been in week long district training with our district elementary lab teachers; and I was part of our OCPS District Retirement Celebration (which was a fantastic chance to see old friends). I am officially back in my element and can't wait for school to begin.
I have been asked if I would miss the excitement of representing Florida teachers as this year's Teacher of the Year. My answer is that I am replacing it with the excitement of science with my elementary students. It's a great trade!
As my year as Florida Teacher of the Year winds down I am trying to decide the fate of this website. Part of me thinks I will continue to blog, but gradually transform this into a teacher resource site. Next school year I will be a part time district science trainer for our new state science standards and I can see the value of keeping a site. On the other hand, maybe it has run it's course. let me know.
I attended my last OCPS Foundation function as a board member last week; I spent an afternoon visiting Tools for Teaching (look for more about this great place in the future); I have been in week long district training with our district elementary lab teachers; and I was part of our OCPS District Retirement Celebration (which was a fantastic chance to see old friends). I am officially back in my element and can't wait for school to begin.
I have been asked if I would miss the excitement of representing Florida teachers as this year's Teacher of the Year. My answer is that I am replacing it with the excitement of science with my elementary students. It's a great trade!
As my year as Florida Teacher of the Year winds down I am trying to decide the fate of this website. Part of me thinks I will continue to blog, but gradually transform this into a teacher resource site. Next school year I will be a part time district science trainer for our new state science standards and I can see the value of keeping a site. On the other hand, maybe it has run it's course. let me know.
North East Florida Educational Consortium - SUMS Academy
This morning I had the pleasure of being part of the kick off for a group of North Florida school districts coming together to learn more about more effective math and science instruction. On this hot Monday at Fort White High School teachers from Baker, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Putnam, Suwannee, Union and Taylor Counties came together after just finishing their school years.
These teachers will spend the week exploring inquiry science and effective math strategies that will be taken back to their classrooms in August to better meet the needs of students. The SUMS Academy will take place for the next three weeks with new groups being trained each week. This is an incredible undertaking by a group of small school districts that have found the effectiveness of partnership. Thanks to Paula Hollingsworth, Anna Meetze and Nancy Thompson for allowing me to be a part of this great experience.
These teachers will spend the week exploring inquiry science and effective math strategies that will be taken back to their classrooms in August to better meet the needs of students. The SUMS Academy will take place for the next three weeks with new groups being trained each week. This is an incredible undertaking by a group of small school districts that have found the effectiveness of partnership. Thanks to Paula Hollingsworth, Anna Meetze and Nancy Thompson for allowing me to be a part of this great experience.
Air and Space Museum
I seem to get photos on a daily basis highlighting this year. I even got my letter from President Bush last week! And I was extremely excited to get pictures from my training as a Smithsonian Ambassador while I was in Washington, DC. While visiting the Air and Space Museum I have previously shared my excitement with learning so much about the Wright Brothers and the Wright Flyer. Here are a couple of pictures from the visit.
A Special Dinner
Sunday I drove back up to Tallahassee to host a special dinner. This was my opportunity to honor our 2009 Florida Department of Education/Macy's Teacher of the Year finalists. All five came to Tallahassee to be interviewed by Commissioner Smith and a selection committee tasked with choosing our next Florida Teacher of the Year. When I came up last year with my fellow finalists it was a special time. We got to know each other, we bonded and we became friends. It is my hope this new group shared a similar experience. The only thing missing for us last year was the opportunity to have many of our questions answered by the only person who could answer them. So this year I decided that a new tradition should begin and I set this dinner up as a get together and an opportunity for each of the finalists to ask their questions. It is my hope that the next Florida TOY will think this was a valuable experience and will continue the tradition.Meanwhile I headed home this morning while they each enjoyed a day of interviews.
So, congratulations to each of the finalists:
Jean Lamar from Callahan Middle School in Nassau County
Jennifer Bohn from Evans High School in Orange County
Danny Whittenton from Kathleen High School in Polk County
Kevin Holland from Pace High School in Santa Rosa County
Jeanne Wright from Cypress Creek Elementary School in Volusia County
You are each incredible representatives of teaching in Florida and I will be honored to have any of you representing us as the next 2009 Florida Department of Education/Macy's Teacher of the Year. It was a pleasure to meet each of you and have the opportunity to spend the evening getting to know you all better. The Florida Teacher of the Year Roundtable is just around the corner and I'm just glad it isn't me waiting this year!
So, congratulations to each of the finalists:
Jean Lamar from Callahan Middle School in Nassau County
Jennifer Bohn from Evans High School in Orange County
Danny Whittenton from Kathleen High School in Polk County
Kevin Holland from Pace High School in Santa Rosa County
Jeanne Wright from Cypress Creek Elementary School in Volusia County
You are each incredible representatives of teaching in Florida and I will be honored to have any of you representing us as the next 2009 Florida Department of Education/Macy's Teacher of the Year. It was a pleasure to meet each of you and have the opportunity to spend the evening getting to know you all better. The Florida Teacher of the Year Roundtable is just around the corner and I'm just glad it isn't me waiting this year!
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