See the Light, Be the Light Ministries

DESCRIPTION

See the Light Be the Light Ministry oversees the Christian Teachers Academy which is an organization designed to provide professional staff development training to private school educators in the Tucson area. This training will include a comprehensive induction-training program (8 days) with follow-up coaching and observations, which will enable teachers to effectively implement techniques they have been taught. This program will be a citywide program located in the central part of Tucson.  Upon completion of this training course, which is designed for a minimum three-year period, teachers will be able to effectively use techniques of Essential Elements of Instruction, have a greater understanding of the history of Christian Education, Biblical World views and Christian educational systems presently used in the Tucson area.

NEED FOR COURSE:

Presently in the Tucson area there are approximately fourteen Christian Private Schools. Together these schools employ over 250 teachers and service over 3,000 students. However, many of these schools are small, servicing under 200 students and on their own, having only five to ten teachers on staff, making a formal staff development program  too expensive and not practical once the school year begins. Due to tight budgets, and overtaxed administrators, much of the staff development provided by the on sight administrator is not very effective. The extent of the most popular staff development options are workshops offered once or twice a year, normally in Phoenix, with no accountability of implementation once the teachers return to their classrooms. Research shows that at best, teachers taking these workshops, will return to implement 5% of the information they were exposed to during the workshop.

In a recent research report published in September of 2002 by the Carnegie Corporation in New York it was noted that “Right now, teachers work all alone in their classrooms; they get no coaching, no feedback and no time to hone their skills. The only feedback they get is when they are evaluated twice a year by the principal. But when the only feedback is evaluative, teachers become overly sensitive to criticism, and freak out when they are told they could have done something differently.”  In a study by Carl Glickman about teachers response to clinical supervision, 25% of the teachers evaluated took the suggestions of the evaluator  (mostly 1^st and 2^nd year teachers.) 18% did the complete opposite, and 57% did absolutely nothing to change.  In an article by Harry Wong “ There is only one way to improve student achievement” he states that creating an induction program with coaching is the only way to effectively get systemic change in the classroom. He further states that two hundred studies have shown that the only factor that can create student achievement is a knowledgeable, skillful teacher. In another study, three researchers rank ordered twenty-eight factors that govern student learning. This was based on a review of fifty years of research on student learning, encompassing 11,000 statistical findings; the number 1 factor-governing student learning is classroom management. The only way to see effective implementation of classroom management techniques is to provide follow-up coaching and observations following a workshop.

By going around to twelve of the Tucson area private Christian schools and talking to the administrators about perceived needs, staff development was identified as a great need beyond their ability to cope. They each had their own set of constraints funding, time and the expressed desire to keep their own autonomy. By holding monthly meetings designed to acquaint each of the administrators with each other, a spirit of dialog developed. After several months, each of these schools expressed a willingness to work with other area schools to solve this great need. The local administrators expressed that they did not have the time to design and manage such a program. Along with that, none had any expertise in the area of providing not only staff development workshops but creating an Induction program which also included the most important piece, coaching.

Next, in talking to several Tucson area Private school educators, they expressed a very strong desire to take part in any staff development offered. In one case the teacher expressed their frustration at not being very effective. In fact they shared that they had not had a single staff development opportunity outside of the yearly conventions, in over four years. Another teacher expressed that any teacher would be “stupid” not to want to take part in a regular staff development program. The teachers themselves recognize the great need to have ongoing training and desire such a program to be implemented. The Tucson area private school community is ready for such a program; it has the expressed support by the teachers, and administrators.

THE PROGRAM DESIGN:

The overall goal of this program is to create a “Self –sustaining staff development program with over 200 trained teachers in 3 years. To accomplish this many things must be considered. First, to get commitments and  buy in from the private school administrators. Second, where to find professional development trainers needed to provide the expertise in creating such a program. Third, how to get coaches in place for the influx of newly trained teachers.

Over the course of many months, and several meetings with each administrator, personal commitments have been signed to begin such a program. A local area staff development director who is known nationwide for the program she has developed has agreed to provide not only training but also continued consulting in the years to come.

In the summer of 2004, the local area private school administrators will identify 30 master teachers, split between the participating schools. These teachers will begin the Induction training. In the fall of that same year, these teachers will be involved in follow-up observations (2) which will include pre and post conferencing, they will be evaluated on their use of the Essential Elements of Instruction in their classrooms. The coaching aspect will identify areas needing refinements. In the spring of 2005, these teachers will participate in a four-day Cognitive Coaching workshop designed to identify ten of the thirty to become future coaches for the program. They all will also receive two more rounds of pre and post conferences as well as two more observations. In the summer of 2005 the administrators will select 100-120 candidates to begin phase one of EEI new teacher induction, which includes a 5-day workshop with four follow-up observations, including four pre and post conferences performed by the ten coaches selected from the first group of 30.

In keeping with the self-sustaining vision of the goal, five future trainers will need to be identified to conduct future workshops for the future Christian Schools Staff Development program. These trainers will be coached in organizing and conducting the Induction workshops in the upcoming summer of 2006. In the summer of 2006 an additional 100 –120 teachers will be participating in the EEI induction program, while the first group will be participating in refresher courses based on the techniques learned and practiced over the past year.

By the beginning of the Summer of 2007 there should be 200-280 teachers involved in some form of staff development that otherwise would have had none. Coaches will be in place to perform all pre-post conferences and observations and new advanced staff development programs will be included in the choices offered. Also, during this summer, only NEW HIRES will be participating in the Induction Program, all experienced teachers will move on to intermediate teacher training. By 2008 the program should also be ready to offer a new technology based staff development component helping teachers and administrators to gain valuable experience in computer technology which can be used to enhance their teaching lessons at their home sites.

Beyond the stated program, this ministry will also provide trained substitutes which will be needed for the tremendous amount of release time for coaches. It is also a desire of this ministry to provide opportunities to the administrators to acquire up to date information and training by attending seminars and workshops across the United States.

This is NOT a quick fix, and has been developed to provide systemic change not a band-aid to a desperately needed area of concern. Each administrator has been shown the long-term goals and has expressed a desire to go forward and to begin the process of change.

To help create such a program the following individuals have been consulted for their opinions and expertise.

Dr. Phil Corkill, Former Superintendent of Flowing Wells Schools, present acting superintendent of Pusch Ridge Christian Academy who’s vision it was to begin just such a program in the Flowing Wells School district 19 years ago.

Susie Heintz, Staff development director in the Flowing Wells School District.

Dr. Tom Askew, Expert in Christian Staff development programs, current principal of a local Christian private school.

Dave Rhodes, Rocky Mountain regional director of the Association of Christian Schools International, former Principal of Grace Christian School  for 25 years.

[Home] [Christian Academy] [Registration] [Courses & Cost] [Teacher's Bios] [Lesson Hints] [Educational Links] [Tucson Churches] [Christian Schools] [Upcoming Events]

Copyright © 2004. See The Light, Be The Light Ministries. All Rights Reserved. Site and all contents are the sole property of and copyrighted by See The Light, Be The Light Ministries, Tucson AZ  USA. No part of this site may be copied or used without the express written permission of the owner. PRIVACY STATEMENT.