McKenrick and Parrish enjoy Literacy conference thanks to Teacher Training Grant from FCEF!

The Falls Church Education Foundation funded a grant for TJ Reading Teachers, Alexa McKenrick and Sarah Parrish, to attend the Literacy for All Conference in Providence, RI at the end of October.  Sarah and Alexa had the opportunity to learn from experts like Irene Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell, Nell Duke, Dorothy Barnhouse, and Lucy Calkins.  
Workshop topics included responsive teaching in guided reading, complex thinking in complex texts, writing in response to reading, guided writing, literacy coaching (relationship awareness, structures for collaborative learning), literacy as inquiry, and using literature to support social-emotional development of students.
Sarah and Alexa plan to share the knowledge they gained by attending this conference through differentiated professional learning workshops at Thomas Jefferson. TJ teachers have selected one area to develop their own professional knowledge. Sarah and Alexa have scheduled job-embedded professional learning, including: Supporting English Learners with Decoding & Fluency, Comprehension Strategies, Guided Writing, and an Introduction to Guided Reading.

They greatly appreciate the opportunity to grow their professional knowledge and share it with others.