Laura Nelson's Professional Portfolio

Welcome to my electronic portfolio! Here I hope to highlight my accomplishments as an educational leader. This year at Bureau Valley North has been quite exciting as new iniatives are in place and the school is energized by the teachers and staff who help make the school a great place for learning!

• Curriculum Mapping Initiative--have attended an ASCD workshop, visited Macomb School District and observed their use of The Curriculum Mapper software, attended the Raising Student Achievement Conference where Heidi Hayes Jacobs was a featured speaker, attended a workshop at the IPA Convention, and presented a powerpoint presentation to the Bureau Valley Curriculum Committee. Follow this link to view https://lnelson.pbwiki.com/f/CM%20Presentation.ppt

• BV North Computer Club--created the club to update the teacher and school web pages. The students use Macromedia Dreamweaver, Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop, and Flash to create their innovative teacher web pages. These students also take pictures of current events in the classroom. Parents and students alike love to visit the web pages. Please visit and take a tour of the Bureau Valley North web page.

• Weekly Communication and Picture Submission to Local Papers--send the latest and greatest BV North school news to the local papers. Most recently I wrote articles, captions, and sent pictures on such school events such as--100's Day, Science class exploding volcanoes, monthly reading incentive program, and the 2nd grade class celebrating the Chinese New Year.

• Weekly Memos to Teachers and BV North Google Group--communication is so vital to the success of a school. I firmly believe in making it a priority to get out and visit with the teachers, students, and staff. I also write a weekly memo and hand it out on Friday so the teachers and staff know what the week ahead holds for them. I also like to share informational tidbits such as technology news and exciting new links such as websites to create rubrics, search video clips, search news information, and mega searches.

• Weekly School Newsletter--BV North Storm Report goes out on a weekly basis to all of our K-2, 6-8 students. The newsletter communicates upcoming events and celebrates the great things we are doing in the classroom.

• Mentoring Program--weekly meetings with a paired mentor. Weekly reflections help establish a strategy for professional growth. The mentee also observes one expert teacher a semester and reflects on that experience with the mentor. This is the first year of implementation for the BV North Mentoring team.

• Honor Roll Breakfast--every quarter honor roll students and their parents are invited to a breakfast in celebration of their academic achievement. Featured speakers have included past student council president, state-bound athletes, and assistant superintendent. The breakfast is quite popular as it is standing room only.

• Web-Based Grade Reporting--teachers update to edline on a weekly basis. This web-based grade reporting program allows students and parents to get timely feedback on assignments and projects. Students find it motivational and parents like keeping current on student's progress in class. Click on the link to the powerpoint presentation to gain more insight https://lnelson.pbwiki.com/f/On-Line%20Grading.ppt

• End-Of-Year Awards Ceremony--K-2 and 6-8 teachers and administration are actively working on an awards ceremony that will highlight the accomplishments of our students throughout the year. This is a new initiative for BV North.

• Safer Bus Pick Up and New Parking Changes--all bus pick up at North occurs at the east end of the building. The impetus for the change was safety as supervision concentrates on that one area. I also went through the city to change the local ordinance so that parking was prohibited in front of the school during school hours. This made for a safer walk home from school for the students.

• Grant Writing--worked to secure a grant to attend the Raising Student Achievement Conference and send one K-2 teacher, one 6-8 teacher, the assistant superintendent, and principal to. Heidi Hayes Jacobs was a featured speaker. Her insights proved to be quite valuable as we are studying the feasibility of the Curriculum Mapping initiative at North. I have also secured Foundation Grants for new equipment such as digital cameras for the school. I also work closely with our Pre-K teachers as I am administrator of the Pre-K Grant.

• New Evaluation Instrument for District--worked with teachers and other administration to develop a new evaluation instrument for the district that is more concise and informative.

• Morning Homework Room & Big Brother/Sister Program--started a morning homework room for our junior high students that opens up bright and early at 7:20 a.m. Students are available for peer tutoring. Junior high students have also been paired up with first and second grade students to help with reading and school projects, and serve as great role models in North's Big Brother/Sister Program. Our building configuration makes this kind of collaboration a real strength for our students.

• State-Aligned Lesson Plans and Use of Board Work--lesson plans with state standards are handed in on the Friday before next week's lessons. Teachers are encouraged to use morning board work during routine attendance procedures at the start of the class period. Students are encouraged to be actively engaged from the start of the class period to the end. For example, our Math teacher starts her classes out with a "Problem of the Day".

• 6th Grade Intramural Program & Scholastic Bowl--made it possible for 6th grade intramural teams to practice at the North school. Also worked to include the sixth grade in scholastic bowl this year. I come in and work with the sixth graders at 7 a.m. in the morning to practice for upcoming tournaments. This frees the scholastic bowl coach to work with the 7th and 8th grade teams.

• New Detention Procedure--organized detention procedure allows for better communication of remediation procedures between home, school, and the students. The procedure mandates that administration talk with students and focus in on behavior modifications to lessen the likelihood that infractions occur in the future. Communication is emphasized with the students and parents alike.

Hope you enjoyed your visit! As you can see, my educational philosophy embodies the characteristics that breathe collaboration, energy, learning, and pioneering. People at work are the true foundation for excellence in any organization. Nothing comes easy--we should all strive for a second-to-none work ethic. Hard work and togetherness help us soar to the next level!

"The greatest asset of any nation is the spirit of its people, and the greatest danger that can menace any nation is the breakdown of that spirit." --George B. Courtelyou