Brittany BeaumontProfessional Knowledge

Teacher KeysPerformance Standard 1

Flexible GroupingBrittany conducts small group instruction in each subject area every day. These groups are formed based on student needs. Ongoing formal and informal assessment provides Brittany with insightto the strengths, weaknesses, and learning modalities of each student. This information is used to make decisions about how best to group students, what skills will be targeted, and what instructional strategies will be most effective. Group composition changes on a weekly basis and from subject to subject.

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Brittany provides opportunities for enrichment to all students multiple times throughout each week. She integrates activities and resources into her instruction that encourage students to stretch their thinking about the Common Core Standards and apply higher level thinking skills. All students participate in this challenging learning, regardless of their skill level. In this way, both high and low performing students have opportunities tomaximize their learning.

Enrichment for All

ContinuedEnrichment for All

Standards DisplayBrittany has created a set of posters that display each of the Common Core standards and the related essential questions and enduring understandings. Posting these helps to focus instruction, and they are referred to throughout each lesson. These are used by all of the 1st grade teachers at SPARK as well as teachers at 7 other APS schools whose teachers Brittany has worked with to model standards-based planning and instruction.

Posters

Brittany seeks to expand her professional knowledge by taking advantage of learning opportunities. She is currently part of an APS cohort working to earn a reading endorsement. She has also completed multiple online courses over the past year through APS’s collaboration with ASCD.

Ongoing professional learning

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LifelongLearner

In preparation for the current school year, Brittany traveled to Chicago in July 2013 to attend the Conference for Extraordinary Educators, presented by SDE (Staff Development for Educators). During the 4 day conference, Brittany attended sessions that were specifically selected to meet her instructional needs and the learning needs of students at SPARK.

STEM InstructionAs planning for the 2013/14 school year got under way, Brittany proposed to her 1st grade team that they plan for monthly STEM instruction. Her teammates were quick to get on board with the idea and Brittany led the way for planning activities and collecting needed materials. 1st grade students love our STEM weeks and have been applying cross-curricular knowledge to real world scenarios.

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Intervention StrategiesBrittany applies intervention strategies that target the needs of struggling learners in all subject areas. She meets with students in small groups or 1-on-1 on a daily basis to apply interventions with fidelity. Data is collected on the effectiveness of these intervention strategies. This data is used to measure student growth, make changes to the intervention plan as appropriate, and/or adjust learning goals.

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A student works on a Words Their Way activity. Assessment data showed that this particular student was having difficulty with phonics skills such as identifying onsets and rimes, and phoneme segmentation and blending. Analyzing the data led to Words Their Way being selected as an appropriate intervention for the student. Followup formative assessments have shown that the student has made great improvements with the program.

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Anchor ChartsBrittany displays anchor charts throughout her classroom to showcase learning in all subject areas. These anchor charts are often created with the students and serve as important instructional aids that are frequently referenced by students.

Book RoomBrittany has been responsible for creating and maintaining SPARK’s Common Core book room. The collection features leveled texts for each grade level to incorporate literacy standards into instruction across the curriculum. Brittany was responsible for setting up the physical space, working with each grade team to select texts, ordering and communicating with the vendor, working with the PTO to designate and raise funds, and spending time each week to maintain the organization and accessibility of the collection for all SPARK teachers.

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Timely Intervention and EnrichmentBrittany frequently uses a grid like the one on the next page during instruction. Each students’ name is in a box. While teaching, Brittany can make quick notes about students responses or performance on tasks. Collecting this informal data on the spot allows her to make immediate decisions about student grouping and assignments for independent work selections of that day’s lesson. This also allows for immediate interventions to occur when needed.

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Brittany maintains content specific word walls that display current vocabulary. These word walls include terms, definitions, and key pictures. Word walls aid students in developing their schema of new content, making connections to previously learned concepts, and encouraging students to utilize academic language.

Word Walls

Grade Appropriate Instructional MaterialsBrittany shows a deep understanding of the age-group with which she works by being able to create and adapt materials to be “first-grade friendly.” These young learners are most successful when content and activities are presented in an inviting manner, with simple, clear organization. Brittany works to ensure that she provides her students with instructional materials that fit their developmental needs and tastes.

Teacher LeadershipBrittany serves as a teacher leader at Springdale Park Elementary School and throughout Atlanta Public Schools. Examples of her leadership include...

✤Serving on Spark’s SILT team.

✤Serving as a member of Spark’s Lead the Learning Cadre, charged with planning for and implementing school-wide professional development.

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✤Providing modeling and mentorship for teachers that are new to APS.(Brittany meets with these teachers to determine their needs, then models appropriate strategies and shares relevant resources. The mentoring relationship is continued through debriefing sessions, follow-up email correspondences, and future site visits.

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✤Participating in the Atlanta Families Winner’s Circle(This group of previous winners works throughout the district to support and promote high caliber teaching. They have a close partnership with the Superintendent and are called upon to address needs throughout Atlanta Public Schools.)

Brittany is a former AFAEE winner and is currently an active member of the foundation’s Winners’ Circle.

✤Brittany has participated on teacher advisory panels for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

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✤Brittany has participated on teacher advisory panels for Atlanta Public Schools.

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✤Brittany has been involved in leading district-wide training sessions. Most recently, she led a session in August 2013 for kindergarten teachers on the topic of integrating Common Core literacy instruction with Georgia Performance Standards for Social Studies.

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✤Brittany creates instructional materials that are shared with other teachers across the world. She maintains a blog (http://www.peachy-teaching.com) that she uses as a platform to share ideas and resources with other teachers, and many of the materials that she creates are available for free on her Teachers Pay Teachers website (http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Brittany-Beaumont)