Rose D’Alessio: A Teacher Leader at Montevallo High
To be a leader, a teacher must think as leaders do. Rather than asking , “What am I going to do?” leaders ask, “What is it I am trying to get others to do, and what reasons might they have for doing those things?” (Schlechty, 2002).
This thinking model describes Montevallo High School’s October Teacher-of-the-Month, Rose D’Alessio. French teacher and reading intervention teacher are her “official roles,” yet she exercises considerable influence beyond these classes making an indelible impact on her colleagues, the school-at-large, and the community.
According to the Alabama Professional Standards, a teacher leader exhibits excellence within the following categories: content knowledge, teaching and learning, literacy, diversity, and professionalism (Morton, 2010). When Montevallo High lost the reading coach due to budget cuts, Rose assumed this leadership role outlining the words-of-the week to cover an entire school year for the student body and teaching staff. Since that time, every summer she selects the words and creates posters so that each week during the school year all classrooms will have a colorful word-of-the-week poster. At the end of all grading periods, she writes a word-of-the-week vocabulary quiz and sends them to be administered during test week. This is only one way she …show more content…
She exemplifies the Alabama Quality Teaching Standards and is a true leader who thinks outside the box, passionately modeling what is means to be a professional educator. Now that Alabama education reform is moving away from No child Left Behind mandates, other teachers like Rose should be more willing to analyze, adapt, and revise, and explore new ways for genuine intellectual growth, moral commitment, and democratic citizenship. (Noddings,
To be a leader, a teacher must think as leaders do. Rather than asking , “What am I going to do?” leaders ask, “What is it I am trying to get others to do, and what reasons might they have for doing those things?” (Schlechty, 2002).
This thinking model describes Montevallo High School’s October Teacher-of-the-Month, Rose D’Alessio. French teacher and reading intervention teacher are her “official roles,” yet she exercises considerable influence beyond these classes making an indelible impact on her colleagues, the school-at-large, and the community.
According to the Alabama Professional Standards, a teacher leader exhibits excellence within the following categories: content knowledge, teaching and learning, literacy, diversity, and professionalism (Morton, 2010). When Montevallo High lost the reading coach due to budget cuts, Rose assumed this leadership role outlining the words-of-the week to cover an entire school year for the student body and teaching staff. Since that time, every summer she selects the words and creates posters so that each week during the school year all classrooms will have a colorful word-of-the-week poster. At the end of all grading periods, she writes a word-of-the-week vocabulary quiz and sends them to be administered during test week. This is only one way she …show more content…
She exemplifies the Alabama Quality Teaching Standards and is a true leader who thinks outside the box, passionately modeling what is means to be a professional educator. Now that Alabama education reform is moving away from No child Left Behind mandates, other teachers like Rose should be more willing to analyze, adapt, and revise, and explore new ways for genuine intellectual growth, moral commitment, and democratic citizenship. (Noddings,