engaging . Assignments often include both a uniform assessment portion as well as a personalized component , delivering enrichment or strengthening fundamentals as needed . Students are involved directly in lessons with iPads and Promethean boards , and teachers constantly strive to find new ways to engage their students .
Delivery of fresh , innovative lessons is enabled by high-level staff collaboration . Each grade level has 45 minutes each day of common planning time , and grade-level and cross-collaborative meetings are scheduled on a regular basis . Dresden administrators are present in classrooms , watching for opportunities to share strategies . Lines of communication are kept open .
“ Nobody is expected to come here and , as the old saying goes , shut their door and teach ,” Ms . Needham said . “ They plan collectively and lay out common work . Sometimes you can see the common thread from classroom to classroom . You can see where they have shared materials and resources . It makes them all stronger teachers to have a group of people they can go to for support .”
Principal Michael Laughrey regularly reminds the staff that school is , for some students , the best part of the day , and the school offers as many programs as possible to help kids connect .
This collaborative culture has ramped up in the last few years , and Ms . Cantrell sees a direct link between this development and rising school TVAAS scores .
“ Our lunches at this school are working lunches ,” Ms . Cantrell said . “ We collaborate on every single subject in every single grade . The culture of this school – it ’ s a community . I want to share what I ’ m doing with other teachers because I want to reach more students .”
Staff knowledge-sharing has been of particular help as the school has implemented technology from a state grant . Grades three and four have one iPad per student . Grades K-2 have five iPads per classroom .
Kids are “ engaged to the extreme ” when iPads are involved , Ms . Cantrell said . The NearPod app provides total class participation during lessons , and instant assessments allow teachers to see with the touch of a button how many students understood content .
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