Erie teachers test new methods

Students may not notice the changes, but enthusiasm is a positive response.

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — Karin Ryan used to teach kindergarten. Now she’ll be teaching her peers.

She’s in training this summer to be part of the Erie School District’s new “coaching” staff, part of a revamped version of summer school labeled the Summer Academy.

“It’s great just having the option to continue training and share it with other teachers,” Ryan said.

Students and teachers are now learning side by side — with students studying reading and literacy skills, and teachers learning new methods of teaching, said Diane Sutton, the district’s literacy coordinator.

Kindergarten and first-grade teachers and students, districtwide, are the first group to test the new approach to teaching based on the results of literacy skill tests and observance and rating of student achievement.

“We had to start somewhere,” Sutton said, “but it’s also about early intervention. We need to build these behaviors from the start.”

The most noticeable changes, for students and teachers, are name changes. In the new “Summer Academy,” students are “learners” and teachers are “faculty.”

The new terms change the feel of the summer school classroom, officials said, which is sometimes thought of as a summer punishment. They would rather have students look forward to attending classes.

“Students say they are at the ‘academy’ today,” Sutton said. “They’re excited about it. It’s special.”

The academy’s new curriculum was designed around the existing district requirements, but incorporates new collaborative work between teachers throughout the district.

Ryan and two others were chosen through an interview process and are now training under the guidance of an educational consultant as mentors for teaching staff.

Coaches will be available for mentoring and guidance for all elementary school staff on an optional basis. Teachers are encouraged to participate, but not required, the district said.

Cathy Feldman, the educational consultant hired by the district, said the goals of the academy are to increase early literacy skills, self-confidence, motivation and productive learning behaviors in students.

Sutton said students might not notice the change in teaching style, but their attitudes and enthusiasm show they are responding positively.

Mikel Ott is a first-grade summer student at Perry Elementary School.

“I like the summer academy because you can read,” the 7-year-old said. “We read ‘Green Eggs and Ham,’ and that’s fun.”

District officials said teachers’ attitudes toward summer teaching have also changed.

“The faculty members have shifted from thinking ‘It’s only 20 days of teaching’ to ‘We have 20 whole days to work with these kids,’” Sutton said.

There isn’t anything wrong with the former curriculum, or that being used for the other grade levels, but the district wanted to try a more innovative approach to teaching, Sutton said.

The district holds weekly faculty reflection meetings where faculty and coaches meet to discuss the progress of their students and the success of their teaching methods. They examine student work, discuss classroom anecdotes and work with Feldman to bring research-based teaching strategies into the classroom.