Making Learning Personal
Winter 2022
Welcome to Cohort 6!
Tyler Ausherman, Catoctin High School
Sarah Baker, West Frederick Middle School
Lori Bartolomeo, Carroll Manor Elementary School
Kimberly Baugher, Wolfsville Elementary School
Erica Bickel, Middletown Middle School
Kelsie Bittle, Urbana High School
Sara Bugler, Walkersville Elementary School
Molly Canning, Tuscarora Elementary School
Erin Coffey, Butterfly Ridge Elementary School
Ali Cummings, Brunswick Middle School
Renee Damskey, Middletown Elementary School
Janet Dill, Wolfsville Elementary School
Dana Doggett, West Frederick Middle School
Tracy Eckenrode, Blended Virtual Program
Katherine Engelstatter, Catoctin High School
Andrea Fogle, Monocacy Elementary School
Lynda Forman, Heather Ridge School
Jackie Grimm, Middletown Primary School
Dane Grossnickle, Linganore High School
Harold Hanna, Thurmont Elementary School
Greta Harrison, Accelerated Achievement and Equity
Jessica Haupt, Butterfly Ridge Elementary School
Logan Hendershot, Windsor Knolls Middle School
Megan Hill, Accelerated Achievement and Equity
Meghan Holtz, Butterfly Ridge Elementary School
Mary Hood, Butterfly Ridge Elementary School
Sarah Hudson, Waverley Elementary School
Kimberly Imboden, New Market Elementary School
Nita Jackson, Blended Virtual Program
Melissa Kaehny, Gov. Thomas Johnson Middle School
Alaine Keimig, Green Valley Elementary School
Caroline Kinsey, Blended Virtual Program
Erin Lebois, Middletown Middle School
Sarah Lipchock, Tuscarora High School
Lisa Long, Butterfly Ridge Elementary School
Shannon Matthews, Tuscarora Elementary School
Teresa Meggitt, Glade Elementary School
Martha Moore, Monocacy Elementary School
Molly Murphy, Middletown Primary School
Melissa Pfaltzgraff, Brunswick High School
Hannah Rouzee, Myersville Elementary School
Karey Schuckers, Middletown Middle School
Amanda Sinclair, Monocacy Elementary School
Emily Sinton, Glade Elementary School
Jasmine Spring, Butterfly Ridge Elementary School
Karly Strauch, Gov. Thomas Johnson High School
Megan Sutherland, System Accountability and School Administration
Kelsey Van Hook, Middletown Primary School
Brittney Wantz, Blue Heron Elementary School
Sarah Weeks, Oakdale Middle School
Erin Williams, Walkersville Elementary School
Heidi Wurzberger, Urbana Middle School
Bobbi Yusko, Brunswick Elementary School
vanguard speaker series
We are excited to continue the 2021-2022 Vanguard Speaker Series with Thomas C. Murray. Tom is the Director of Innovation for Future Ready Schools in Washington, D.C.; co-author of Learning Transformed: 8 Keys to Designing Tomorrow's Schools, Today; and more recently he authored Personal & Authentic: Designing Learning Experiences that Impact a Lifetime. Tom will be speaking on April 26, 4:30-6:00 at FHS. All FCPS employees are invited to attend. Please check out the Speaker Series page on the Vanguard website for more information.
Simplification with Technology
@FCPS_NMESMedia
“Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify!” When Henry David Thoreau penned those words, he would not have been able to envision the active, technology-rich world in which we teach today. As we support learners in recovering both academically and emotionally from the pandemic, the word “simplify” has taken on even more significance.
At its root, simplify means to reduce something in complexity. However, Webster’s dictionary also defines it as meaning “to make more intelligible.” I love this definition because it reminds me that simplifying concepts and procedures provides clarity to others. As I reintroduce blended learning in a classroom setting, I find that simplifying my blended learning resources provides my learners with more independence and a better understanding of our learning.
Power Up on Blended Learning
@ehoodWES_FCPS
Mary Geasey, Middletown Primary School
@MaryGeasey
There’s probably not a school improvement plan around that doesn’t include the use of retrieval practice as an effective educational strategy. To many, this may feel like yet another unfamiliar buzz word being added to their plate. We aim to show you how easy and effective adding these “Power Tools” to your classroom can be, and how technology can make this an even easier lift.
But first, what are the “Power Tools” we speak of? If you haven’t read Pooja Agarwal and Patrice Bain’s book Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning, it is a must. We will offer you the cliff notes here, but encourage you to add it to your summer reading list. In the book, Agarwal and Bain explain the science of learning providing evidence-based recommendations to empower teachers to move beyond the current teaching fads and embrace the science of learning in their classrooms. Four powerful teaching strategies (retrieval practice, spaced practice, interleaving and feedback-driven metacognition) can significantly shift the learning in your classroom, with very little impact on your time. Our goal is to guide you in utilizing these strategies to make them actionable in the most optimal ways in a blended classroom.
Time to Rethink How We Spend Our Time
Kelly Forsythe, Kemptown Elementary School
@MrsForsytheFCPS
Two years ago, I read and took copious notes on Catlin Tucker’s Balance with Blended Learning. I had read her previous two books and anxiously awaited the release of this one, having preordered it so I could start working on achieving the balance she described. Not surprisingly, I was inspired and ready to implement impactful changes in my classroom. There was only one problem … finding the TIME to make it happen.
As Steve Jobs once said, “The most precious resource we all have is time.” And all teachers know there’s never enough. According to a recent study done by Forbes, “Teachers work an average of 47 hours a week, with a quarter working 60 hours a week or more and one in 10 working more than 65 hours a week.” Most teachers dedicate those hours beyond the instructional day to planning lessons and grading. What results are overwhelmed and exhausted teachers. In her book, Catlin writes, “This exhaustion makes it challenging to physically or mentally take on anything new.” This was my experience despite having the desire to try many new things. That is, until the pandemic hit.
Think Big, Start Small: Blended Learning Best Practices Transcend the Classroom
Beth Sands, Frederick High School
@SandsBg
In August of 2016, I walked hesitantly into my new classroom, sat down into a nearly broken chair in a doorless room whose walls were made out of bending partitions, and took a long look around. This was a change from my previous school--the most recent new building in Frederick County. Not only was the building an adjustment and a change, so were the students. It was immediately clear to me that while the room was falling apart, it would be up to me to build myself and my teaching practices up to meet the diverse needs of my students. Even though I was more than a decade into my career, I needed to evolve.
Over the next two years and as I transitioned along with these students into an extremely innovative new building, together with my colleagues at Frederick High School, I started learning and experimenting more and more with Blended Learning Models in my English Language Arts classroom. I dabbled with station rotation, I designed some “menus” and playlists, and I was learning new ways to “flip” the classroom while also adding to my instructional tech-toolbox!
The Journey Into the Unknown
@MrsWolen_FCPS
Amanda Fishel, Brunswick Elementary School
@AFishelMusic
Jackie Finley, Valley Elementary School
@Valley_PE_FCPS
“Congratulations, Welcome To Vanguard! We can’t wait to see how you grow in your journey with us.” After these words were spoken to us a slew of emotions went through our minds. How in the world were we, as applied academics teachers in an elementary school setting, going to accomplish a Blended Learning experience for our students when a quick Google search showed only secondary articles and examples? Where were the music, art, media, and physical education teacher leaders to help guide us in this journey? As we close in on our final year in the Vanguard Program, we want to pause, reflect, and celebrate how much we accomplished and maybe encourage a few of our colleagues to join the blended learning journey as well.
#FCPSVanguard
Upcoming Dates and Reminders
Mar. 1, 8, & 29, 4:30-6:30 - Vanguard Forums (Cohorts 3-5)
Mar. 22, 4:30-6:30 - Cohort 6 Vanguard Launch at Hood College
Apr. 26, 4:30-6:00 - Vanguard Speaker Series: Tom Murray (All Cohorts)
Apr. 27, 8:00-3:00 - Workshop with Tom Murray (Lead Year)
June 14 & 15, 8:00-4:00 - Vanguard Summer Academy (Cohort 6)
Vanguard Teacher Program
Email: eric.haines@fcps.org
Website: vanguard.fcps.org
Phone: 301-644-5182
Twitter: @EHaines24