The ART of TEACHING orientation, which falls annually in the month of June, was designed to build community among new mentors and fellows and to inform them of the work that will be achieved during the two-year fellowship program.
This year the orientation was held on June 2nd at The Centre at Sycamore Plaza in Lakewood, California. The event was led by the foundation’s Program Officers: Angela Bae, Lyndon Catayong, Dianne Glinos and the Associate Director, Barbara Golding. The Executive Director, Jerry Harris, opened up the day up with a few welcoming words.
“We are so thrilled to have you here with us this morning,” Jerry said. “I want to welcome you and thank you for coming. This program is one that our Founding Director, Lloyd Cotsen, had a vision about in 2001, and it was all about transforming teachers from good to great. That’s our motto and our vision and that’s what we’re going to do with you.”
Among the many topics discussed were: the ART of TEACHING mentor-fellow pedagogy, the fundamentals behind the Lenses for Classroom Observation, and the Professional Development Calendar for the 2018-2019 academic year.
At the orientation, fellows finalized the content area they wished to focus upon. Incoming fellow Eunmee Kim from Third Street Elementary School in the Los Angeles Unified School District, decided on CGI Math as her focus for development. At the orientation, fellows finalized the content area which they will concentrate their study for the next two years of the fellowship.
“Today was very encouraging for me,” Eunmee said. “I’m so excited to learn more about CGI Math and what I can do to help my kids grow in their understanding.”
Third Street Elementary initiated CGI last year. Eunmee considers herself new to CGI, but has seen the growth in her students comprehension just after implementing it into her curriculum this year. Eunmee plans to use this opportunity to attend more professional development training in CGI to be more effective in the classroom.
Raul Almada, an alumni fellow from 2011, was excited to be back in the ART of TEACHING this year as a mentor for a new group of fellows at Phelan Elementary School in Whittier City School District.
“I feel very fortunate to be here today,” Raul said. “I learned so much from my two-years in the fellowship that I still put in practice today. It’s been incredibly influential in my career and I’m so excited to have this chance to go deeper again.”
Prior to this, Raul was an instructional coach at Phelan. Raul added that when working with his teachers, he would often mimic the same mentor-fellow structure he experienced during his fellowship with the ART of TEACHING.
“I never thought I would get to be a mentor for the ART of TEACHING,” Raul said. “I feel pretty honored in that way.”