Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teachers and Teaching: ECET2

The second annual Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers conference, hosted by The Fund for Transforming Education, took place in Louisville on January 30-31. The invitation-only event honored Kentucky’s best and brightest teachers. 

ECET2 was born out of a desire of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide a forum where exceptional teachers can learn from each other and celebrate the teaching profession. The national conference had two primary goals: To inspire and celebrate teachers; and to help teachers become effective leaders inside and outside their schools, specifically around the kinds of instructional shifts that are needed to achieve the Common Core State Standards. 

We are taking the opportunity to showcase the staff of Daviess County Public Schools (DPCS) who were in attendance at the #ECET2KY convening and shared their weekly newsletter with us.

DCPS educators attended a ECET2KY conference in Louisville on Jan. 30-31. The statewide Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers conference was hosted by The Fund for Transforming Education. Pictured from left are Heidi Givens, itinerant teacher of the deaf and hard-of-hearing; Jana Bryant, district math staff developer; Angela Gunter, DCHS; Lisa Garner, AHS; keynote speaker Jack Andraka; Michelle Ruckdeschel, BCHS; Sara Appleby, DCMS; Olga Payne, DCMS; and David Ruckdeschel, DCMS. Diana Roberts, CHES, also attended, but is not pictured.

"Heidi Givens, DCPS itinerant teacher of the deaf and hard- of-hearing; and Michelle Ruckdeschel, math teacher at Beacon Central High School, served on the state planning committee. 

"Jana Bryant, district math staff developer; Angela Gunter, dean of liberal arts at Daviess County High School; Heidi and Michelle served as Colleague Circle Table Leaders. Colleague Circles are a small group of teachers who come together to collaborate and learn from one another. These groups share a trust with each other as they nurture, grow and engage together around topics of interest in their profession. These groups are teachers leading teachers, owning and defining their work, and transforming education. 

"Jana and Michelle also presented a session sharing their journey on becoming core advocates with Student Achievement Partners (SAP). Two key priorities of SAP are to provide excellent math and English/language arts/literacy resources to teachers and to support teachers within their instructional practices. Participants in their session learned about the tools and resources that are available to successfully implement the Common Core State Standards. 

"Heidi co-presented a session with five other Kentucky educators on the topic “What’s Next: Harnessing the Power of ECET2 at Home.” Her session shared ideas for how teachers can work together through hosting regional convenings, connecting through social media and in person, and establishing Colleague Circles at their own schools.

"Since its inception, more than 900 teachers have attended a national ECET2 convening; and nearly 10,000 teachers across the United States have attended a state or regional convening. Plans are being developed for three regional ECET2 convenings in Kentucky for the fall of 2015."