2025 Team Shout Outs!
Week 15: Ms. Milly
- We communicate and operate as a team and family
- We take concerns to the source / We give and receive direct feedback and hold each other accountable
- We take risks and own our challenges
- We are constantly searching for the 1%’s that will take us to the next level
- We look internally for answers when the vision isn’t being met
- We find the third way and are solution-oriented
Ms. Ms. Milly approached Hopkins and Altemose a few weeks ago after she felt like her Homeroom wasn't meeting the vision. Prior to reaching out, Ms. Milly approached her IC to practice different UTZ practices and worked to build relationships with the students. She reached out when her efforts, while improving the homeroom, still wasn't getting the class to the highest bar and vision she had for her students. She worked with her GLCs to create a HR specific plan to get her students on track and throughout the entire process held a growth mindset for herself and her students. Her solutions orientated approach, her willingness to be open about the challenges she was facing, and her persistent desire to to hold herself and her students to high expectations shows what an ideal team player she truly is. Ms. Milly's efforts have lead her homeroom to an incredible turn around. While not every day is 100% perfect, Ms. Milly recognizes her students are growing and going to make mistakes along the way and she is going to be there to support and hold them accountable as they learn and grow. And it is because of these efforts that Ms. Milly is able to get the most out of her students.
In addition to this inspiring example, Ms. Milly is also such a positive influence on on team. No challenge is ever too great and every obstacle we face is always met with a "what can I do" response. We are truly grateful to have Ms. Milly on our team and value the many ways in which she makes us all better!
Week 14: Student Shout Outs!
Jamari Williams by Rafiq Taylor
“Jamari Williams has grown a lot since the last quarter. His paychecks has improved and he also improved his class works with better work habits and focused on completing 100% of his class works. He also showed leadership by stepping up and stopping an altercation between classmates. I am looking forward to see how much Jamari can improve by quarter 4.”
Kelvon Elam by Melissa Altemose
"Kelvon started the year off on a constant quest for attention. He had a lot of energy and choose interesting times of the day to express that energy. He struggled to take feedback and constantly wanted to point out the struggles of others and rarely self-reflected on his own actions. As someone not in the classroom with Kelvon regularly, I can’t speak on how he’s been managing his energy in class, but I rarely hear from Kelvon these days. He seeks out attention in appropriate, full Pride situations and has learned to not to blame others. He’d been much more receptive to feedback and has grown into a leader of the Pride."
Xyaire Nicholas by Marcia Lindsey
“Xyaire has made tremendous growth in science class this year by stepping up his focus and urgency in class. When he comes into the room, he is one of the teammates who is always modeling the expectation of locking in and being at zero for the Do Now. He’s great at showing strong CATs to his teacher and teammates when they speak. He also holds teammates accountable when he sees that thye can improve in those same areas. He is a true representation of leading by example, even while in the classroom.”
Xavier McKnight by Tricia Morrison
“Xavier McKnight started last quarter not reading, not participating, and it was almost impossible to get him to do anything. This quarter within two weeks he earned his AR goal and he constantly participates in my class and tutoring.”
Alijah Wright by Jenni Schannauer
"Alijah is the exemplar of what it looks like to fully focus on self in the classroom and show enthusiasm in the right way."
Tranique Kearney by Jenni Schannauer
"Tranique inspires me by her bravery to have her voice heard in class."
Norii Wilson by Jenni Schannauer
Jayla Miles by Carrie Milly
“Jayla has shown incredible growth this quarter. In math on tests and quizzes, she regularly scores high 80s and 90s! This can be attributed to her hunger for feedback and accuracy in math. She asks smart questions and takes feedback well. Not only has she shown growth in terms of performance but she has a great attitude as well. She is always quick to help her teammates in any situation and is a great attribute to the team of 2025.”
Juventino Castillo-Bolanos by Melissa Altemose
Caleeya Harris by Damion Swittenberg
Week 13: The Entire 7th Grade Team
Miller: What would we do without Miller on the team?!? Miller keeps us all accountable for executing all the things at 100%. She is incredibly detailed oriented, is the master of internalization, and is a rock for both the adults and students on 2025.
Taylor: Mr. Taylor is the light and life of the team. No matter the challenge or request, Mr. Taylor steps up joyfully to help out in whatever role is needed. He is also building incredible relationships with some of our boys who most need someone to motivate and encourage them.
Morrison: Morrison is our backbone of our team. She is driving the AR culture in our GL and our students are invested and breaking records for the school. She is also the master sponge, hungry to learn and grow from every opportunity -- and it shows. The growth she has made already this year, curricular-ly and culturally is incredible and inspiring to watch.
Switts: Our rock. Both the adult and student team appreciate Switts for his calm and cool demeanor. We also appreciate Switts for his ability to ask tough questions and work to find solutions that push us to the next level. AND he is so invested in relationships, both with the adults and students on the team -- pushing us all to take a minute to know each other as people, no matter how crazy things get.
Lindsey: In the short time she has been on our team, Lindsey has already stepped up to the plate in so many ways. She has jumped right into the classroom and all the systems and routines with a much shorter runway than most rookies. And while this must be overwhelming, she dives in, asks great questions and then executes. She is also rapidly developing her presence and leadership on the team -- already earning a shout out from other leadership team members for her quiet power and all in mindset during Pride Time. We are so grateful to have you join us!
We are grateful to each and every member of Team 2025.
Love, Melissa and Alex
Week 13: Ms. Milly
Ms. Milly embodies the mindset of constantly striving to do what's best for the team. This no-hesitation mindset is truly an asset to our team and one that we cannot forget to celebrate each and every day. With the constant changing and adapting our team seems to go through each week, this type of mindset really drives the success of our team. Thank you for all that you do Ms. Milly!
Week 12: Morrison
Oh and I forgot to mention, she is the ultimate Team 2025 event planner. Constantly looking for new opportunities for us to bond as a team. She even got a dog just for us to play with!
Week 11: Switts
This week's shout out goes to Swifts for having a lens for strong social intelligence and culture within the Pride. This demonstrates the operating norm of Getting $*it Done by looking internally for answers when the vision isn't met. He then showed Smarts by seeking the help of multiple leaders to determine how to best handle the situation and was hungry to add to his repertoire by observing a tough conversation that helped a teammate get better. It's clear that Switts has really strong relationships with kids in the Pride that's even more evident by his ability to hold kids accountable with the relationships he has with them.
Week 10: Marcia
Marcia has demonstrated numerous Operating Norms in her short time with us for far. Since day one, Marcia has Gone ALL In by being focused and present, internalizing an incredible amount of information in a very short period of time. Never once has she complained or expressed concern, instead she asks thoughtful questions and seeks clarity to ensure she is fully understanding all of the many HC ways.
She has also taken risks and owned challenges and has allowed herself to be vulnerable in order to get better. I threw her into a group Observation/Feedback meeting this week with veteran teachers as a result of my tight schedule and Marcia jumped right in to practice in what could be perceived as an intimidating situation and she didn't hesitate for a second. She jumped into her model, received feedback from the group and practiced again until reaching mastery. It was really humbling and inspiring to watch. Then she turned around and went all in again in the full staff practice clinic immediately follow the group session.
In our GL meeting this week, Marcia helped us as a team search for the 1%'s when a concern was noted in our schedule for Tuesday. Marcia, without hesitation, agreed to own a zone and math excellence block solo in order to allow us to build planning time into the schedule.
Finally (at least for now), Marcia demonstrated the Operating Norm of Getting $*it Done by creating an incredible class theme, that is already living throughout the science CWs for next week, and she has made it live throughout her classroom. It is really impressive and everyone should stop by to see if you haven't already.
Marcia has truly stepped up and stepped into the 7th grade team and I know I speak for everyone when we say how impressed and excited we are to have you join our family!
Week 8: Rafiq
It would be easy for someone to feel overwhelmed and be counting the days until this situation changes, but Rafiq has leaned into this challenge whole-heartedly. So much so that he has requested to stay with our team even after we fill the 7th Science position. Rafiq adds incredible value to our team and I am eternally grateful for what he has done for this team and am happy that he feels at home with us. I love seeing his growth and can't wait to see how he grows and continues to push our students and team to the next level of greatness!
Week 7: Milly
I know I speak for our entire team when I say how grateful we are to have her join us and continue to grow and support our Pride!
Week 6: Tricia
In addition to going all in on her own instructional growth, Tricia is also constantly searching for the 1%'s that will take us to the next level as a team. I have observed this hunger to make us great in many ways throughout the last few weeks. From deciding to own establishing our grade level mailbox system after noticing the gap to designing, maintaining, and facilitating a highly engaging and thoughtful AR reading challenge/competition. Tricia is constantly reflecting and designing solutions to help promote and advance our grade level, truly embodying what it means to be a school teacher.
Week 5: Switts
Week 4: Entire 7th Grade Team
- Switts, Tricia, Rafiq, and Alex for stepping up to fill science gaps this week and moving forward.
- Switts, stepped up to get students back on track with the science fair timeline by agreeing, without hesitation, to complete science fair research days in his class this week.
- Tricia, stepped up to cover a coverage gap on Friday, and also agreed, without hesitation, to cover a block of science, without much warning, on Friday.
- Rafiq, for jumping right in and CRUSHING science instruction all last week and continuing to support our coverage plan.
- Alex, for jumping in to cover a block of science moving forward as a part of our next phase of coverage plan. Not only did Alex agree without hesitation, but also got really excited for the opportunity to jump into his old content. :)
- Miller and Garcia (and entire team): Also get a shout out for making my "Shadow D'marcus" day joyful.
- Garcia went all in by holding me accountable for meeting the high behavioral expectations we hold for our students.
- Miller facilitated a joyful history battle during a transition, with myself, Frank, Switts and the students that was joyful and fun and really brightened the mood of students at a time when students could have begun to make poor choices during the transition.
We have truly embodied the norm of Getting $*it Done this week by constantly looking for a third way and being solutions orientated. I cannot express enough how honored I am to be a part of this team and the all in mentality exhibited by each and every one of you at a time it would have been easy to get down and distraught. Instead, we modeled each and every one of the HC norms and modeled what it truly means to be a team, to be team players, and to do whatever it takes to be the constancy our students needed to not feel the change.
I am excited to see what the rest of the year brings based on strength we have shown already.
Week 3: Tricia and Zach!
- Coaching ZACH has been such an awesome experience. Zach is so HUNGRY to receive feedback and seeks out as many learning experiences of his own as he can. From observing Celeste in the high school to watching and then immediately implementing moves he can steal from other teachers, it is clear how intentional he is to learn and grow this year. Zach is constantly observing every moment of the day and is incredibly thoughtful and reflective so that he can implement as much as possible into his own classroom. I feel so fortunate to work with Zach not only as an IC but as his GLC as he has such a positive attitude and relationships with 2025 and starts every day with a make it happen mindset :)
- I honestly think our team hit the jackpot with rookies this year. Like Zach, TRICIA is also a sponge for learning and growth. I heard a RUMOR that while she was observing Katie teach summer session, she would often record key takeaways and learning and overnight create engaging and helpful anchor charts for students and Katie to use and reference in class the next day. This clear level of thoughtful observation and reflection from both Zach and Tricia is truly impressive and inspiring. Tricia is also crushing the AR visioning. She is constantly thinking of ways to inspire and engage our students in reading and I can't wait to see the roll out of her plan this week. Tricia has such a mindset for growth and improvement and I am so grateful to have her on our team this year!
Week 2: Garcia
Week 1 (August 8th, 2019)
I wanted to shout out Jessica Miller for modeling our norms of being " 'all in' by being focused and present and disciplined in our thought process and proactive in our planning."It has been awesome to work with Miller this year and it has been evident in every practice session, grade level meeting, and full staff PD just how much Miller is thoughtful and reflective about not only her practice but ways to make the team and school better. I was especially impressed with her during New Student Orientation when she owned the front of Quadrant B and went all in the entire time. She had a bright smile on her face, modeled the expectations for students with joy, and never once lost any steam in scanning and moving to addressing students for the smallest corrections. In team meetings she won't settle for an easy or quick answer, but instead pushes me and the team to plan of the smallest details and think through any challenges we may face!
Click here to see Miller in action!