Mulholland Middle School's Veteran Educational Practitioners Reflect

Dr. Gregory Vallone is the principal at Mulholland Middle School, and shared the following thoughts on the institute: “I brought a mixed team of twelve people to the training, teachers, coordinators, parents, and administrators and the excitement that was created amongst that group could not be bought. Every person was invigorated each time a new element was presented. They immediately moved to how that element could be used in their particular setting. It was interesting to see how educators across the curriculum (all four content areas) assimilated a particular element into their areas that met their instructional needs. There was something for everyone! My team is already looking for ways to bring these tools, strategies and pedagogies to all of our faculty and staff. They all walked away with the belief that these tools should be utilized school wide.”

Ms. Ariella Weinberg Rutschm, a 7th grade world history teacher at Mulholland Middle School, shared the following: “Let me start off by saying that I usually don’t get much from the various personal development days that I have attended in the past, but this PD left me excited and wanting to actually use what we learned. In the past, technology and even change, for that matter has always frightened me. Change usually frightens most teachers because truth –be- told after years of teaching we become complacent and chose to teach using the same method. This conference got me motivated to want to try something new. I’ve actually already created a Kahoot.it lesson for the second week of school. So what sold me? I personally liked that the facilitators stressed that as teachers we are able to try new methods at our own pace. We can take baby steps. I also liked the idea that the students fse the teachers and we are the facilitators. I like the idea of empowering our students because I truly believe if they think they have power then they will more likely buy into what we are doing. I do believe that using various methods especially ones our students like and are familiar with (technology) will maximize student success. I also liked the idea of reaching out to our student population and teaching them about digital citizenship. This topic is something I feel very strongly about. What excited me the most though was learning about all the different apps that our students will love. If our school was to embrace this style of teaching, I think that many of the students who find school "boring" will begin to engage. We certainly won't know unless we give it a try.”

 

Mr. Javier Romo, teacher of math and science at Mulholland and a UTLA Area Representative stated: “I’ve been an educator for 27 years and this is one of the best trainings I’ve ever attended…teaching students via personalized learning will drastically increase their chances at academic success now and in the future.”

Mr. Brian Sida, Assistant Principal of Mulholland who heads the math department commented: “The tech training was extremely informative. The plan for the mathematics department is to utilize online resources to enhance mathematics instruction. Technology can be used in lesson planning, making lessons more interesting, and increasing student engagement. This three-day training fits in perfectly with our 21st Century go forward schoolwide plan.”

Many other attendees alongside Mulholland Middle School shared similar experiences, so we hope to see you at future institutes. You can learn more about these opportunities on the ITI website.