Under the leadership of Willow Hill Elementary School Principal Mr. Damon Jordan, a Willow Hill team has been selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to participate in the 2016 Governor’s Institute, P-3 Collaboration: Working Together for Student Success, to be held this summer in Philadelphia. Teams were accepted through a competitive application process. The purpose of the P-3 Governor’s Institute is to help school districts, early learning providers, and community organizations throughout the state make the vital connections and collaborations necessary for student success from birth through grade 3. The content of the Institute focuses on Kristie Kauerz’
Framework for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Pre K-3rd ‘Grade Approaches.
The three-day institute includes teams that serve children and families in the prenatal to 5-year-old and kindergarten-through-grade-3 systems. The goal is to support high-quality early learning opportunities from prenatal through grade 3 by bringing together early education and community organization leaders to experience and share strategies to improve third grade literacy and mathematics outcomes; provide strategy-focused learning from local implementation teams to the broader statewide population; and, ultimately, help close the achievement gap for at-risk children.
When initially applying to participate in the Governor’s Institute, teams had to agree to:
- Bring a core team of no less than four educators and maximum of eight that must include at least one administrator and one K-3 teacher. (Preference was given to applicants that included the following on their teams: family member, early intervention partner, community member, librarian, curriculum specialist, higher education partner, intermediate unit representative, out-of-school time representative).
- Participate in pre-networking, light reading of P-3 research and a phone call connection to an assigned specialist
- Attend and actively participate in the three-day institute
- Engage in continuous improvement via implementation and sharing of strategies/programs that will enhance student achievement
- Maintain an active role in the Governor’s Institute cohort subsequent to the Institute.
In addition to Mr. Jordan, Willow Hill’s team includes: Elementary Curriculum Specialist Ms. Cheryl Alexion; Ms. Shalon Doctor, a third-grade teacher; Ms. Kathleen Walton, a Reading Specialist; Ms. Loretta Henry, a parent of two Willow Hill students; Dr. Kelly Doyle, Supervisor of Elementary Communication Arts; and Dr. Kathleen Fadigan, Assistant Professor of Education at Penn State, Abington.
The Willow Hill Elementary School Team will receive hotel accommodations at no cost and travel reimbursement as well as registration for the Institute. Participating teams will also have an opportunity to apply for a P-3 mini-grant; information about the grant and the application process will be announced at the Institute.