Power of K Teacher Leader Initiative Kicks Off

Thanks to the generosity of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is embarking on a two-year professional development initiative designed to enhance the leadership skills of a selected group of kindergarten teachers. It’s being called the “WS/FCS Power of K Teacher Leader Initiative.”

The kick-off began last week with the teachers spending Monday Aug. 10 and Tuesday, Aug. 11 together, said Eva C. Phillips, the school system’s Ready Schools Coordinator, “getting to know each other, talking about the successes and the challenges of teaching kindergarten, learning about what it means to be a teacher, reflecting on what it means to have a growth mindset,  and beginning to dig in to the uniqueness of the kindergarten year and how to balance what we know about how young children grow, develop and learn as we focus on the necessary content and assessment expectations and how it all works together to support our district goals/priorities.”  

On Monday and on Tuesday morning, they met in the offices of Kaplan Early Learning Co. in Lewisville. They then headed to Diggs-Latham Elementary School for lunch with principals and an afternoon session. Brian Kennedy and Chris Gerblick of Kaplan providing meeting spaces, supplies and snacks as well as the lunch on Tuesday, “ Phillips said. “We are extremely grateful for their continued support of this work.”  

Later in the week, the teachers attended one of the days of the Collaborative Learning Conference for some special kindergarten sessions related to kindergarten effective practices and implementation of the Kindergarten Entry Assessment Process (KEA).

According to a release about the initiative, the Power of K is “about balancing what we know about how young children grow, develop and learn (the how) with standards and other expectations of teachers and children (the what). There is not one POK way...it is individual...it is based not only on children's needs and interests, but also reflects each teacher's unique style...it is about implementing the ideals behind developmentally appropriate practices...it is about keeping children at the forefront of your teaching and making sure that each and every child's needs are met in the most effective and appropriate way.

“It is utilizing a variety of effective instructional tools and contexts, including but not limited to play-based experiences and learning centers, to scaffold and support children's learning and development. It is about taking children from where they are to where they can go...all the while knowing the learning standards and other curricular goals and embedding them into meaningful experiences in engaging ways for the particular children in your classroom.”