Mobile County, Vestavia Hills and Auburn teachers win nationwide honor

Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum selects Alabama educators

MONTGOMERY —Teams from three Alabama schools have been selected for the Microsoft U.S. Innovative Teachers Forum next month in Redmond, Wash. Microsoft's Innovative Teachers Program sponsors regional forums around the world to recognize and reward outstanding educators.

Honorees will receive free trips to the Sept. 21-22 conference.

• Calcedeaver Elementary School: Felicia Myers, Rebecca Lakes and Nicole Williams.
• Vestavia Hills Elementary School East:  Christina Tucker, Jo-Ann Walsh and Charlotte Wilson.
• Wrights Mill Road Elementary School:  -- Lynda Tremaine, Shannon Brandt and Jennifer Dempsey

Calcedeaver Elementary in Mobile County, Vestavia Hills Elementary East and Wrights Mill Road Elementary in Auburn are all part of the Alabama Best Practices Center's Powerful Conversations Network.

Over the past year the three schools took part in the Best Practices Center's 21st Century Learning initiative, underwritten by a Microsoft grant. The initiative is a professional development program to help teachers use tools and strategies so students develop the skills they will need in the workplace.  Called 21st Century skills, they include digital age literacy, problem-solving, effective communication and high productivity.

"We are so excited that three Alabama schools are receiving national recognition for their hard work to improve teaching and learning in their schools," said Cathy Gassenheimer, president of the Alabama Best Practices Center. "Last year, through the 21st Century Project, we watched these schools embrace technology tools such as education blogs, wikis and other tools that can excite and encourage students to learn and excel.”

The forum's selection criteria emphasized projects that incorporate technology in the learning process. Judges also wanted evidence that teachers collaborated on planning, developing lesson plans, monitoring student progress and assessing effectiveness of instruction.

At Calcedeaver Elementary, a Mobile County school where most students are Native American, the computer education teacher created a career webquest so students can explore their interests and aptitudes as well as research professions. Students shared their findings with classmates using PowerPoint presentations, and the project was capped off by a Career Day where students met Native Americans who were succeeding in various jobs.

Second-graders at Vestavia Hills Elementary East produced a digital story on famous Americans.  Students chose historical figures, researched them online, wrote and revised narratives, selected images, and recorded themselves reading their scripts. Children dressed up as famous Americans and recited their scripts. Photos of the event were combined with the children's voice recordings to make a digital movie.

Wrights Mill Road Elementary overhauled its schedule to give each grade level a four-hour block of time each week to meet and collaborate.  Teachers can meet with the school's administration, reading coach and each other. Conferences are devoted to analyzing student data and planning intervention and enrichment activities.  Every classroom also has a SMART Board, an interactive whiteboard that displays computer images. A student can use his finger as a mouse, or write on the board using digital ink.

Microsoft chose 28 schools from around the nation to participate in the Innovative Teachers Forum. Alabama had more schools selected than any other state with the exception of Washington State, the home of Microsoft.

Some participants from the September event will be asked to represent the United States at a worldwide Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum in November.

The Alabama Best Practices Center, a part of the Montgomery-based A+ Education Foundation, promotes promising education practices in the state's public schools through professional development for teachers and administrators. The center also publishes Working Toward Excellence, a journal that chronicles evidence that all Alabama students can succeed when schools focus on teaching quality and research-based instructional methods.

Since 2002 the Microsoft Innovative Teachers program has connected a community of educators who share a common interest in enhancing teaching and learning through the use of technology. The program provides classroom learning and professional development resources, and it recognizes and rewards teachers who demonstrate exemplary use of technology in the classroom.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ MSFT) is a worldwide technology leader in software, services and solutions for businesses and individuals.

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