Strengthening Our Core

Wouldn’t it be great if we could all have the same starting point every day? As a Core French Teacher I am collaborating and working with my colleagues every single day. It makes sense as we teach the same children, and it is always a good way to reflect on my day and make the next day better.  The one teacher I wasn’t collaborating enough with was the SERT, which didn’t make much sense since we share all the neediest kids in the school. When Lisa came to me with the idea of supporting Core French with support from SERT, we did some digging. There are current documents about supporting children in second language learning but we found no evidence of teams putting this into practice at the school level. One of my frustrations has always been the minimal input the Core French Teacher has in the IEP writing process, other than the modified French pages, especially when the IEPs are printed out and my mailbox is full from top to bottom with every IEP in the school. There had to t...

I wanted to do a collaborative project with a colleague. Reflecting on my SERT practice I came to a disheartening realization - despite the fact that Paul was literally teaching with all of the IEPs in my school, other than collaborating on the modified French pages and handing him his stack of IEPs when they were done with a "There ya go buddy, have at 'er!" I was providing zero support to Core French. I clearly needed to learn more about current research-based strategies to support the unique challenges of working with students with IEPs in an FSL program and Paul was willing to work with me. Our proposal for a TLC grant focused on teacher and student well-being was accepted and our partnership was born! Itinerant Core French Teachers face a number of stressors and barriers that directly impact their well-being and that of their students - especially those with special needs. Some stressors include: - scheduling - travelling between classrooms with all...