My 2016 Teaching Goals

Welcome 2016!  I've had an awesome Christmas break relaxing with family.  Today I'm getting back into the school groove and planning ahead for the month.


Now that I'm midway through the year, I'm happy to report that my Teacher Anchor from C. Jayne Teach is one of the best investments I've made in my classroom!  One of the many things I love about it, is that on each monthly calendar page, there is a little something to think about to get focused for the upcoming month.

For January, the question is "What are your 2016 personal and professional goals?  Hang them where you can see them."  I thought a lot about personal goals for myself, but realized I didn't set any professional goals yet.  So, I'm "hanging" my professional goals here in an attempt to keep me accountable this year!

Professional goals for 2016: 

*Improve parent contact and communication techniques.
*Why: I'm so fortunate to work at a school where, for the first time in my teaching career, most parents are there, involved, and willing to take an active role in their student's education.  Sometimes I take this for granted.  My also typically-introverted self is sometimes a little shy about reaching outside of my classroom and involving parents.
*How: More positive contacts home.  More "spotlighting" of individual students, whether that's an assigned weekly sharing, or student of the week.  I'm also considering a weekly or monthly classroom newsletter.

*GET MY MASTER'S DEGREE!!
*Why: For the past five years, I've slowly been pursuing a masters degree in ESOL Literacy.
* How: With only 9 credits/3 classes left, 2016 is going to be the year to make it happen!!

*Improve planning.
*Why: My kindergarten team co-plans every week.  This is awesome.  I walk out of planning every Wednesday with a skeleton plan in place for the next week.  However, I'm also relying on my teammates a lot in the process, simply because I'm new to the school, curriculum, resources, and just the overall way things are done.  In addition, the past fall has held several major family events.  I've really tried to achieve balance in my life, including leaving the teacher bag home and minimizing time spent on the weekends instead of running myself ragged during my first few months at my new job.  As I get my head above water a little bit over the next few months, now that the first half of kindergarten is almost over, I want to be more intentional about where I'm taking my class and what I want my classroom to look like.  This goal will take "good enough" to the next level: great!

What are your professional goals for 2016?