Notes
Allyson Atchity and I met for the first coaching session on Thursday, January 29, at 4:00 PM. We are in the Verify Perspective section of the Vector model and so the primary purpose of the meeting was to build relationships and to begin thinking about a goal for this course. To build relationships we used the central focus and potential strategic questions listed on the Verify Perspective document of the Vector Model.
I learned that Alyson is has been teaching for about 26 years, including 21 years as a 1st grade teacher and now she is in her 5th year as a 5th grade teacher. She is taking the course to gain her Literacy Seal, but also to deepen her knowledge of best practices in literacy instruction. Alyson is a graduate of KU, and was a part of the 5 year program which allowed students to begin work on their Masters program during their student teaching which occurred in the 5th year of their program.
In her personal life, Allyson is mother of 2 daughters, one who is a Senior, and the other a Freshman (I believe!). She is kept busy with their activities, including dance and work schedules. Allyson’s major challenge or worry with this class is the work load. She is concerned about balancing it all, but yet is very enthusiastic about learning.
Allyson’s classroom includes a variety of levels of learners, from a student is autistic with personality disorders who reads at a 1st grade level, to students who are proficient in reading. She is concerned about their ability to decode multisyllabic words, but also has concerns about their levels of comprehension. Her district uses the Wit and Wisdom reading curriculum and she is fortunate that in her PLCs, they are discussing various assessments and question sets that might assist students in their ability to comprehend.
At our next meeting we will define the goal that she will be pursuing, which will probably be centered on increasing the comprehension levels of her students.