NEA Learning and Leadership Grant

Applicant Information Contact Type Lead Applicant

Salutation

Mrs.

*First Name *Last Name *Job Category Librarian

Stacey Dunlap

*Home Address Home Address - Line 2 *Home City *Home State

4494 Marchbolt Ct.

Peachtree Corners Georgia

*Home Zip *Work Telephone *NEA Membership NEA Membership Number

30092 770-417-2407 No

NEA Member SSN *School/Institution *Work Address *Work City *Work State Simpson Elementary School 4525 E JONES BRIDGE RD NORCROSS Georgia

*Work Zip *Work Title *Home Telephone *Work Fax *E-mail Address *Grades Taught Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade

30092 1203 Media Specialist 678-802-2607 770-417-2406 stacey_dunlap@gwinnett.k12.ga.us

*Subjects Taught Media Arts Language Arts Social Studies Science Technology

*Percentage of Free and Reduced Lunch Students *American Federation of Teachers Membership *Work Experience in Education Fiscal Agent *Fiscal Agent Name *Address *City *State

6 No 7

Simpson Elementary School 4525 E JONES BRIDGE RD NORCROSS Georgia

*Zip Fiscal Agent Agreement

30092 1203

*Signature of Authorized Representative Proposal Information *Application Type Individual

Stacey Dunlap

*Project Title *Requested Amount

The Reading and Writing Project Summer Reading Institute $2,000

*Proposal Budget

NEA Grant Line Item Budget.xlsx (11.31 K, uploaded by Stacey Dunlap on 03/06/2013)

*Students Benefited *Educators Benefited Additional Support None

934 82

*Summary As media specialist, I offer guidance, resources, and teaching as we strive to meet the needs of 21st century learners. I provide vertical cohesion and communication to develop literacy throughout the elementary years. I also purchase books and electronic resources to enhance teaching and learning. Finally, through collaboration, I model and learn from my teachers strategies for literacy success. By attending The Reading Institute, I will learn and redeliver how to make classrooms richly literate through curriculum planning, reading units, comprehension strategies, assessment-based instruction, student accountability, and classroom structures that support inquiry and collaboration. *Describe the professional development plan. What are your goals in this learning? What learning resources do you plan to use? Goals: My goal in attending The Reading Institute is multi-faceted. First, on behalf of my teachers and students, I want to become more familiar with the Common Core literacy standards and how to best meet them in elementary school. At The Reading Institute, I will be able to learn from the experts what successful 21st century reading instruction looks like. I will then be equipped to assist my teachers by redelivering this instruction through professional development classes, purchasing books and electronic resources to enhance teaching and learning, and to collaborate and team-teach to model the strategies I learn from The Institute. Learning Resources: Perhaps the most important learning resources of The Reading Institute will be the speakers. Reading and writing leaders such as Lucy Calkins, David Adler, Christopher Paul Curtis, etc. will be speaking during The Institute. The other important learning resource will be the other attendees. I find I get many of my best ideas from my colleagues.

*How, when, and where will the learning be accomplished? How? The learning will be accomplished through The Reading Institute, part of The Reading and Writing Project. When? The Institute takes place July 6, 2013. Where? The Institute takes place at The Teachers College in New York City.

*How does the proposed professional development advance your professional goals? How does it advance your workplace goals? My professional goals include becoming an exemplary 21st Century media specialist. In order to reach this goal, I want to become a reading and writing expert, particularly in light of the new Common Core standards. I think media specialists are in a unique position to the provide cohesion and communication across grade-levels that will be necessary for success in teaching and learning literacy. With an emphasis on technology integration, I want to learn the most effective teaching strategies to advance reading skills in my students. I want to teach my teachers and my students how to think critically. My major goal is to enhance my knowledge and skills in literacy instruction. As my school undertakes this new challenge of meeting the Common Core standards, I want to become a leader by offering professional development, teaching, and resource support to teachers. I want to change the culture in my school from one of reluctance and tradition to one of ambition and innovation. I want to equip my teachers and students with the tools and knowledge necessary for success in the 21st century. *What is the need for this professional development? How did you and your colleagues assess the need? Please define need in terms of both student need and professional need by the applicant(s). The media specialists in our county participated in a book study on Pathways to the Common Core by Lucy Calkins. In this book, we were encouraged to do an assessment of our current reading program as compared to the standards set forth in the Common Core. My assessment revealed some areas of weakness. Our reading instruction ranges from traditional basal/anthology direct instruction to reading workshop instruction with a focus on text to self, text to text, and text to world connections. We are heavily skewed in the fiction text direction, with little instruction on informational text outside of the content areas of science and social studies. We also spend little time on assessment-based instruction. We conduct regular assessments, however, we are not skilled at using the data to inform our instruction. This book also stressed the importance of students reading challenging texts based on their abilities. We do not have a good system in place for continually measuring and monitoring reading levels. My hope is to gain the knowledge and tools necessary through The Reading Institute that our school will need to move forward in meeting the Common Core standards. *How will this project continue beyond the grand period? How will you continue sharing the knowledge gained in this project? Describe sharing in relation to your colleagues, students, and administrators. As with any professional development, my first step upon my return will be to discuss what I learn with my administrators. We can then develop a plan of action for sharing and implementing new teaching strategies. I will be creating a professional development unit for our teachers to redeliver the instruction I receive during The Reading Institute. In addition, I plan to purchase books and electronic resources based on what I learn at The Institute to support meeting the Common Core standards that students will use for years to come. These resources will support both teachers and students in teaching and learning. Also, I plan to develop a wiki devoted to the Common Core and literacy instruction. This wiki will provide resources, databases, articles, and websites to enhance reading and writing teaching and learning. It will

also be a collaborative tool where teachers and students can add and edit content. Finally, I am hopeful that I can establish a network of experts and colleagues that I will get to know during the conference. We can collaborate and share lessons online. Required Signatures *Lead Applicant Signature *Lead Applicant Signature Date *Principal or Dean Signature *Principal or Dean Signature Date Stacey Dunlap 03/06/2013 Bron Gayna Schmit 03/06/2013