10/16 - Teacher of the Year 2011
Congratulations to Ms. Donnica Martin for winning Global Outreach Charter Academy's 2011 Teacher of the Year nomination!
Ms. Martin, 4th Grade:
“My educational philosophy is that in order for students to achieve a quality education, no matter their circumstances, they must be taught and developed from a younger age. This is the reason why I have decided to teach elementary age children. I feel that by reaching out to children at this age level, I can develop them to be better prepared for the challenges and rigors of higher education.
In my classroom, I practice this philosophy by helping my students to discover their talents at an early age while helping them to strengthen their abilities in all of their other academic areas. My philosophy has a direct impact on my students as they have shown great gains in the classroom. For example, my students had the highest overall math gains last school year at Global Outreach.
I also believe that parents must have an active part in their child’s education. Therefore, it is important to me that I keep constant communication with parents throughout the school year. In addition to consistent parental communication, I also incorporate instructional strategies as well; such as differentiated instruction, hands-on active participation, and modeling/teacher demonstration in the classroom.
I am constantly seeking better ways to improve upon my teaching strategies in the classroom, by researching effective changes that I can use for my instructional practices; whether it is through the use of the internet, attending professional development training, or seeking effective mentors in my current field. However, the most important way that I am able to aid in improving students’ scores is by continually considering the teaching context and always giving special consideration to the types of students I teach.
Lastly, I consider classroom management to be the foundation of setting a positive and efficient academic environment for my students. This builds positive student relationships among their peers, teachers, and other adults. My behavioral and academic expectations for my students are clearly explained from the beginning to the end of the school year.
This year our school’s theme is “We’re On Track for an A with our triple A Plan: Attitude, Action, and Achievement.” I decided to implement this theme into my classroom as well, but taking it a step further by challenging my students to get a 95% achievement of a level 3 or above on this year’s math FCAT. Although I know that this goal will be challenging to meet and take a lot of effort, I want them to know that my expectations for them are beyond measures and their belief in themselves and their academic achievements should constantly be set high as well!”
Ms. Martin is a third year teacher at Global Outreach Charter Academy.