Mountain View Elementary School Teachers Heidi Garten and Kelsey Nicely pose with well-known principal and motivational speaker Gerry Brooks at the 2024 Elevate conference for primary grade teachers.
Thanks to hard work with their principal Mallory Thompson, Mountain View Elementary School teachers Heidi Garten and Kelsey Nicely were able to plan creatively and attend the national Elevate conference for preschool through grade 2 teachers.
The event was held in Nashville, Tenn., and it featured prominent educators including Principal Gerry Brooks, a well-known motivational speaker. Sessions included information about the science of reading. The Virginia Literacy Act, a new law emphasizing improvements in reading instruction, requires teachers to be adept at a variety of teaching strategies that are proven effective.
Conference sessions included information on sound-to-spelling teaching strategies and multisensory phonics instruction.
“This conference was jam packed with amazing speakers and teachers supporting teachers,” shared Kelsey Nicely. “It was such an amazing experience and we learned so much [about] different ways to approach our students’ learning needs and make every day fun and rewarding.”
Many teachers completed professional development in association with Mountain Gateway Community College. The college offered short courses on several topics including teaching math concepts, forestry, and Spanish for classroom instructors.
AHPS also worked with The Alleghany Foundation to offer training on changes to the Virginia Standards of Learning in June.
“We are fortunate to have many quality professional development events in our area, and we are fortunate we are able to attend some special events outside of our area as well,” said Kim Halterman and Melinda Snead-Johnson, leaders of AHPS. Conference topics include instruction, school operations, and school safety.
State agencies including the Virginia Department of Education and the Department of Criminal Justice Services Center for School and Campus Safety frequently provide training events. Some training is provided at traditional conferences and meetings, and some training occurs via webinar.
Halterman and Snead-Johnson also attended summer conferences, presenting at events in Richmond and in Hampton at which they were invited to speak about student safety.
Conference opportunities also afford staff valuable time to learn from others.
“We very much enjoyed the opportunity to be present with educators and others from around the state so that we could learn from their experiences, and the conference material was presented efficiently, letting us return quickly to the Alleghany Highlands and implement new ideas,” Halterman and Snead-Johnson said.
“We want our school division to be among the best, and this requires everyone to stay up-to-date on best practices that support kids,” they said.
With approximately 2,700 students, the school division is jointly funded by Alleghany County and the City of Covington.
AHPS news and events are regularly updated on Facebook at AHPublicSchools and Instagram at ahpublicschools. Information is also available at www.ahps.k12.va.us.