NNSTOY Conference

Chicago was proud to be the site of the 2016 NNSTOY National Conference, "Teachers Leading: Bridging Theory and Practice." I was fortunate to be able to attend this weeklong event during July. Many teachers of the year and finalists were there to connect, collaborate, and celebrate. It was held at the Loews Hotel in Rosemont.

​The conference started with a service project at Mooseheart, a campus in Batavia for children in need. We set off on the bus from Rosemont to Batavia. It was nice to be able to connect with other teachers on the ride out there. Once we got to Mooseheart, we were greeted by the administration who then took us on a tour of the grounds. The place is expansive, covering many acres. We were able to tour one of the many homes on site, and then we went to the gymnasium to showcase a readers theatre of The Cat in the Hat by Pam Reilly and her crew.  

​All the teachers had brought books to donate to the Mooseheart school library, I had brought two of my students' favorites, Billy's Booger and Skippyjon Jones. We then were able to sit and read with the kids. I was fortunate to read with Ryan, a ten year old. He was really into sports and a good reader, so we were able to read several books during our time together. 

Afterwards we were able to tour the rest of the campus and see the school and the homes, and meet some of the residents. We took a group picture and played some motivational games. It was an extremely uplifting experience to be with this awesome group of kiddos!

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​For the rest of the week we were able to attend keynotes and breakout sessions. Some key people in education were there. I was fortunate to meet Beth Purvis, Illinois Secretary of Education. She had a very positive message about education, and it was a pleasure to talk with her.

I also met someone who is a guiding force in education and somewhat of a controversial person... Charlotte Danielson! She is responsible (whether she likes it or not!) for the way teacher evaluations are done. She spoke very well and had some interesting viewpoints about how her theories and programs are done.

Me and Charlotte Danielson!!!

I had the opportunity to learn a lot of strategies to use in my own classroom this week as well. The main focus was a Student Centered classroom.

​What a great week! Great to serve, great to connect, great to learn. A big thanks to NNSTOY!

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The ILSTOY Panel: Lynn Gaddis, Pam Reilly, and Rebecca Waddlesworth