Meeting Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley at ECET2mi
For the ECET2MI conference we had the extreme honor of having Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley be our KeyNote Speaker during lunch. I was lucky enough to take advantage of a photo op but also exchange contact information and he will be visiting my class January 7th to discuss special education issues.
With k-3 resource teacher @heathergauck and 2015 Teacher of the Year @melodyarabo at #ECET2MI today. pic.twitter.com/gaaKvw7mo5
— Lt Gov Brian Calley (@briancalley) December 7, 2015
Lieutenant Governor Calley Visits Me at School!
During our brief introduction at the ECET2Mi conference, contact information was exchanged and I had high hopes that I would be able to speak further with him regarding my experience with teaching special education for 2o+years. I was so pleased and excited when Lieutenant Governor Calley said he wanted to come visit me to see how I provide services to my students. This was beyond my hopes and wishes! After some emailing back and forth with his staff, January 7th was picked as the date for his visit. I could not wait to show him a pull out lesson in my resource room and then most importantly the way I push into general education classes. I bring a cart of iPads and provide support to my resource students while including all general education students in the classroom in a lesson connected to what they are learning that week.
I prepared for the visit and the document below can show the agenda for the morning.
I prepared for the visit and the document below can show the agenda for the morning.
January 7th arrived and at 9am Lieutenant Governor Calley came for the visit. We headed up to the 2nd grade classroom where I pull 2 other students in from different classes as a way to provide services in a general education setting. It was thrilling to see all the visitors spread around the class as the lesson began and the students showed them how they could take the reading skill and create a PicCollage showing what they know. At one point I looked up and saw the perfect picture of Lt. Gv Calley and one of my students Austin having a conversation. The best! After we spent an amount of time showing off the students' skills and engagement, we moved to my room to share a lesson reviewing grammar using Plickers with a small group of resource students. As it often happens when using technology, my phone was not working due to WiFi issues. I had to think on my feet and turned my WiFi off and used 4G data to get the Plickers to work. Talk about working through a problem and coming up with Plan B! It was a great example to explain to my students that things don't always go as planned and as long as you look for a solution and don't give up you are doing the best you can! After the short lesson, the students practiced their reading and sight words independently around the room. This gave me time to talk with our visitors and share a little more about how I support my students through the use of technology as a tool to push higher standards. From there we moved to the library where we sat down and had a productive and lengthy discussion on the topic of the State Special Education Task Force findings and supporting inclusion of all learners in the classroom. I could not have asked for a better morning and look forward to further conversations in the future as we strive to provide a top educational experience for all students in Michigan.
Example of what an activity using iPads looks like~ Here the student has to identify clues that help draw a conclusion and then record their voice giving their reasoning.
Thank you to Lt Governor Brian Calley for visiting Harrison Park this morning. We enjoyed having you and... https://t.co/C5ZTMmKluW
— GR Public Schools (@GRPublicSchools) January 7, 2016
After a wonderful morning I was thrilled to see this recap of the visit~
It was a great visit! RT @briancalley: I saw inclusion in action today at GRPS with @heathergauck. pic.twitter.com/cQ2B2bmDXv
— Ari B. Adler (@aribadler) January 7, 2016