Sponsor A Teacher

Teach for America has a Sponsor A Teacher program, in which community members donate $5,000 to TFA in exchange for personalized letters and updates from a teacher, as well as special events like a golfing outing or barbecue. I assume the sponsors were assigned alphabetically, because I am the only CM without one, but I have to complete the updates anyway. It's a good opportunity for me to practice my formal reflecting, but I'm a little disappointed that I don't get invited to the special events because I don't have a sponsor. Our end-of-the-year update is due this week, so I thought I'd share.


Thank your sponsor for their sponsorship. If you met with your sponsor, be specific about your meetings and conversations. IF TEACHING next year, consider expressing what you're looking forward to in the classroom next year. IF NOT TEACHING next year, consider sharing how your experience at TFA will influence your motivations, goals, and decisions for the upcoming year. 
I am looking forward to building a classroom environment correctly from the start, not slowly developing it over the year. I have plans for my classroom routines and procedures that I am comfortable with, and that will be put in place from day one. I can't wait to work on a smoothly running classroom in the first few weeks, so I can spend the following months teaching, teaching teaching. I have a better idea of what my yearlong goals will be, so I can start planning the steps students need to follow in order to accomplish them. I also have a better idea of the students' background knowledge, so I can incorporate that into my planning as well. I will make my plans better and more consistent.
Describe the differences between where your classroom culture is now from where you started in the fall. What behavior, characteristic, and social gains do you see in your students? 
I spent the first half of the school year trying to keep my kids from being terrible. I yelled a lot about them sitting down and not screaming across the room. My goals were all behavior-related, and nothing about academic achievement. I realized that kids need higher expectations. They are always challenging authority and pushing boundaries, so if they are expected only to sit quietly, they will neither sit nor be quiet. However, if they are expected to work hard and be creative and achieve greatness, they are satisfied to merely skip a homework assignment or crack a joke. When I spend time aiming to achieve 100% compliance in classwork, I don't have to spend an ounce of breath keeping the students in their seats.
Update your sponsor on the same student you spoke of in your winter update. You may also tell a new story about one of your students and their change through the year. The more character you can write into the story, the better. 
I have a difficult student in my 8th grade class. He is very smart, but halfway through the year, was failing every single one of his classes. He refused to do work, every day. He would sit through an assessment, silently staring at me for 40 minutes. He didn't cause trouble, but didn't do any work. He would just sit, rocking back in his chair until I asked him not to. Over the course of the year, Jaime started to do some work. I think it was a combination of his teachers caring so much for him, better explaining the "why" of the lessons, and his desire to make a fresh start in high school next year. He now completes all his work, and matching his intelligence, scores exceptionally on every assignment.
Update your sponsor on where you plan to conclude against the goals you set in the fall. Please be as clear as possible. 
My major goals that I set at the beginning of the year were 80% on the Final Assessment and a certain score on an Inquiry Rubric. I've since changed things around a bit, including deciding against a final assessment, but I'm really approaching the goals anyway. Although I do not have a final assessment, my chapter assessments have improved from 40-50% to 70-80%. My improvement at planning lessons, managing my classroom, and building relationships with the students have really paid off. The other goal referred to the Inquiry Rubric, an arbitrary set of standards describing competency in the Scientific Method. I made far too many assumptions about background knowledge in science (They've had science in their classrooms previously, right? No? Isn't it required? They don't test for it? Oh.), which made Science Fair a challenging mess of learning and teeth-pulling and learning, but we've gotten there. My students are comfortable asking questions and making hypotheses and writing procedures. It's not as good as I hope for next year, but it's a lot better than it was in September.
Share a Proud Moment: Have you overcome a specific obstacle or had a breakthrough with a student that you are really proud of? Briefly describe it, talk about your approach to it, and summarize the outcome and any learning experiences. 
A few months back, my classroom management skills were in need of improvement. My classes were no longer disastrous, but students were not held accountable for their learning. I made an appointment with TFA's real-time behavior management coach and had her come to my classroom immediately. I spoke to her ahead of time, planned a good lesson (which I later realized wasn't all that good), and she coached me through it. It was confusing and overwhelming, but she gave me some concrete advice on how to improve before she returned. I followed her advice, and when she came back, the class went even better. In fact, about ten minutes into the lesson, she says into my headset, "Look around. You have 100% compliance." I could have cried. It took a lot more work and a lot of practice to get that without her there, but I've done it. It's not perfect all the time, not every day in every class, but I can get there when I need to.