All Good Things :)

All good things change.....life is not static! I am busy finishing up all the programs I have been involved with during my sabbatical. I have websites to publish, newsletters to get done and out, tutors to thank and finish up with, last AMPed classes to teach. This sabbatical has been a lot of work and a blast! What a gift this has all been. What will happen next year is a mystery.

Tutors

As the tutoring component of my AMPed program ends I have asked for feedback from my tutors. I am so happy to find how much they have enjoyed tutoring. One tutor has gone so far as to suggest that cross-age tutoring become a regular part of our math curriculum and expanded so that kids who struggle in math get extra help from high school tutors, as well. As I have written before, I have been amazed and touched by how much has come of the tutor-tutee relationships. It is something I look forward to being able to develop more next year.

School Number 3!

So, I am finally at our third elementary school in my school district. So far I have only worked in 2 schools. I had e-mailed the third school but never heard back so assumed they were busy. Turns out there was an e-mail glitch and the principal never got my e-mails! So, late tho it may be, I am in the third school and it is interesting for me. First, I have begun already in two schools so start-up is easier. Second, I am learning all the time how to train the high school tutors. What worked well today was for me to run the first session with the tutor. I think I need to be more hands-on so they can model after me. I am already looking forward to next year and wonder what will be. At the least I'd like to see the tutoring continue and be able to manage that somehow. Most of it is after school so that is a real possibility :) This sabbatical has been, not to sound trite and I hate trite but my sabbatical has really been a....gift! I have felt creative, inspired, I have had fun and have helped others learn and have fun. All the way around it's been a positive and extremely worthwhile experience. As it comes to an end I feel like things have just begun :)

Out Sick Again!

Oh my. I just knew when I was kissing my drooling grand daughter at my step son's graduation that I was going to get sick. I seem to pick up every cold and flu that little girl gets! So....I am sick. Took my temperature hourly, not the swine flu...whew! It's not so bad, tho. Time to lay around and rest up. Next week lots to do to finish up.

Everything Begins and then it Ends

Wow, I cannot believe that I am coming to the end of some of my sabbatical activities. I had a nice conversation last week with the superintendent of our school district. I thanked him for being so supportive of my sabbatical. He was supportive all 3 times I applied! He commented that he was sure it had all gone by quickly but I told him it hadn't. Fortunately, I have kept this blog and tried to enjoy the whole process so it is a wonderful memory of a time in which I have been creative and pretty much my own boss. And the result has been a really great program! So, thanks to all of those who supported me along the way....and particularly to my colleague and friend, Celine who has taken on more than her share of our after school program :)

We have ended the after school program at NF. The kids were all sad, which is good! We look forward to starting up earlier next year. This week is the end of tutors at LH. I have photos I am giving them, in a big frame, with kids' signatures all around them. They will enjoy that, I'm sure. Next week my NF tutors have their last sessions. So, I will do my baking and get pictures of them ready for kids to sign, as well. I will miss my tall tutors! I have become very fond of all of them. I am thrilled they are wanting to return next year, all of them, except Morgan, who we will miss as she graduates and moves onto college.

I have a presentation to make to the school board in early June so am working on that. Part of that is looking at all the pre and post-tests I have done with the kids. I know they have all learned a lot in math, that have all grown in their ability to work well with others, and most of them have learned how to persist when math is hard.

So....it begins and it ends...what will the future hold? Who knows!

We're News!

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090508-NEWS-905080388



Here's the link to the news article. Thank you Tara for the article and Scott for the photos! It's now all about how to carry the program on :)

The Story Runs!

This Friday, I have been told, the story about our AMPed program runs in the local paper. Hope it's positive! Today I had a great meeting with a 3rd grade teacher at one of the schools I work in. Starting next week both she and I will be teaching AMPed groups during the school day! What's exciting about this is that I now have another excited teacher and she will be using the M3 curriculum during the day! She will do her regular curriculum (Everyday Math) 3 days a week and teach the Project M3 program 2 days a week. We have thoughts of her continuing next year. I'd love to see grades 4 and 5 do the same thing. And, I'd love to see this at all our elementary schools. I have a meeting with a school board member and our assistant superintendent tomorrow. We're looking at how to carry on these programs next year. I think with a little teacher excitement, principal support, lots of parent volunteers, returning high school tutors, and somebody to manage the program (and a chunk of money....I'm starting to look for that!) we may have the beginnings of a really fine accelerated math program (well, at least at 2 elementary schools!). I say, in a district (and state) where there is no money to teach our most capable math students......a program can exist, anyway!