Region One teacher mentorship program fosters idea-sharing

FALLS VILLAGE – First-year teachers in Region One have been working alongside veteran educators as part of the Teacher Excellence and Mentorship (TEAM) program, a statewide program required for teachers with an initial educator certificate. Local participating educators presented on how those collaborations translated into classroom practice on Tuesday, March 31.

Kevin Papacs, a new physical education teacher at Salisbury Central School, worked with longtime music teacher Rob Nellson.

Papacs said his initial tactic of using direct instruction on stretching and warm-ups worked well at first, but after the holidays he noticed less enthusiasm.

Working with Nellson and doing research, he came up with a strategy of allowing the students to design their own five- to seven-minute warmup plan.

Papacs said the tactic worked at first, “but then it faded a bit.”

To keep the ball rolling, he and Nellson had the students keep a journal, recording how much time and how many repetitions they spent on each exercise.

Four of the six classes showed improvement.

“So I brainstormed with my colleagues,” Papacs said.

Papacs had students lead the warm-ups, and instruct their peers. “So it wasn’t just me walking around, it was the kids saying ‘good job,’” he said.

Papacs said the new method allowed him to spend more time with students who needed additional support.

Papacs said he meets with Nellson once a week.

He was philosophical about what worked and what didn’t.

“Failure is information too,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be a home run every time.”

Asked if he is more confident than at the beginning of the year, he said “Oh, absolutely.”

Emily Piescki is the art teacher at Kent Center School. She worked with second grade teacher Ane Starr.

Piescki said she realized that the students needed a gradual approach, “instead of throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks.”

In a watercolor class, the children were “having a great time, but not focused.”

So she developed a template and took the students through it, step by step.

Once the students knew the names of specific techniques, they could ask specific questions rather than general ones.

The moment of truth came with hand-made ceramic bells.

“They all fired correctly,” Piescki said. “If you’ve ever worked with clay you know that’s a huge win.”

Starr and Piescki meet once a week.

Starr said “I think I’m learning as much as Emily. She’s a rock star. She doesn’t need me.”