HOLLYWOOD!

I have been away for the last week in Hollywood, CA for the America's Choice National Conference. Many exciting things happened at the conference. Below are some of my reflections from a Kindergarten prospective:

• Maria Mallon and Haley Alvarado videoed a live kindergarten lesson as it was happening from the East Coast in Jacksonville, FL to the West Coast of Hollywood, CA! Wow! Not only was the technology amazing but Maria's kindergartners were working on deciding when a narrative piece is good enough by using a class-written rubric! How much I admire these teachers who were willing to take a risk and teach a lesson for the very people that wrote the Design!
• Debbie Harbour presented our kindergarten work with vocabulary. She explained the professional learning community that had formed around the need to deepen our vocabulary work. She explained how we studied the work of Beck and McKeown and then wrote a vocabulary unit around 12 well known kindergarten read alouds  She showed some of the data results as we prepare to revisit and edit this "work-in-progress" over the summer.
• Debbie Cothern and Michelle Ellis, looping K-1 teachers, shared our journey as we have raised the level of our standard-based bulletin board work.
• As a Special Education teacher I presented on the intensity of my interventions as I was reminded of the small window of opportunity that we have with our young at-risk learners to make the most difference. This continues to noodle around in my head as I try to figure out how to make the most of the rest of this year with the childen that I teach.

Most of all I was reminded of the incredible people that I work with every day - people who were willing to blog this conference live - even though none of us had ever done it before - people who were willing to come together and discuss new ideas over dinner - people who believe in and embrace the possibilities! I have always believed that I have the best job in the whole world, so this was just a reminder that it really is true! This is the place where dreams really do come true!