Riverwood Educators Attend Teaching For Excellence Training

SANDY SPRINGS, GA - From Riverwood International Charter School Foundation: With generous support from the Riverwood International Charter School Foundation, eight teachers attended the Summer 2017 Teach for Excellence (T4E) training in Colorado. Paul Ankerich, Jodi Davis, Laura Guill, Lucia James, Lorena Lupas, Monica Olier-Toloza, Jeanne Urban, and Greg Sanchez participated in the Performance Excellence for All Kids (PEAK) summer institute in June. The conference supplied them with an arsenal of T4E tools which will make an immediate impact on their classrooms this year.

T4E, a week-long hands-on summer training, helps teachers move their classrooms to a student-centered model that is teacher-led. Teachers become coaches, mentors, and guides to the learning process, and students become more active participants responsible for their learning by working closely with peers. This creates opportunities to encourage problem-solving and critical thinking, and better prepares students for the independent learning model required in higher education.

Suzanne Caruthers, RICS Foundation Past President, says “Every Riverwood teacher reaches over 100 students, and one of the best investments we can make as a school, as parents, and as the broader community is to support our teachers.”

“One powerful concept I learned was how to ask for participation from my students without calling on unprepared students. A small change in my practice allows everyone to feel better prepared,” said Spanish teacher Greg Sanchez.

Literature teacher Lorena Lupas added, “I found the TFE strategies to help build and strengthen my students' skills regarding vocabulary, writing, and comprehension.”

Match teacher Jodi Davis gave this summary of her experience. “Attending the Teaching for Excellence conference changed the way that I teach. We learned different ways to add, worked on memorization skills, collaborated with our ‘neighbors’ at our table to solve a problem, and actually had fun doing it. I have implemented the use of music in my classroom, as well as launch buttons, the 28/3 format of learning with past, present, and future concepts to increase the student's retention of knowledge.”

The RICS Leadership team thanks the Riverwood Foundation for funding T4E. The Riverwood Foundation is a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to support long-term strategic initiatives that impact every student at Riverwood International Charter School. The Foundation is a nonprofit organization through which fundraising and partnership development are fostered to ensure that the long-term strategic academic objectives of the Riverwood administration are achieved.

Image via Riverwood International Charter School