Training great teachers is union business

Teachers Darren Campbell and Margaret Sohnlein learn about the foundations of Mathematical Thinking
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Boulevard reading teacher Laura Preston probably looks forward to summer as much as her students. Most of them don’t realize that Preston and 45 other district teachers become students during the off-season, spending up to four weeks in all-day classes. 

The Cleveland Heights Teachers Union has been running professional development courses for teachers since 2003. Local teachers are trained on a national level through the American Federation of Teachers using the Educational Research and Dissemination (ER&D) program. Jen Bennett, a reading teacher and Title I teacher leader for the district, is one of the coordinators of the program. In this role, she instructs teachers from around the country.

All classes are college level. The union currently offers three math classes and one class each in reading, managing antisocial behavior and instructional strategies. Teachers can earn up to two graduate hours for purposes of salary enhancement and to receive license-renewal credit.

Many of the district’s teachers have taken advantage of the classes, and most who have participated have taken more than one class. Co-coordinator with Bennett is instructional coach for literacy, Beth Rae. Together, they teach the reading comprehension class. Rick Gulick, Wiley math teacher, and Aimee Banas, Gearity fourth-grade teacher, present the math classes. The instructional strategy class is taught by Tina Reynolds, Boulevard kindergarten teacher, and Nancy MacDonald, Wiley sixth-grade teacher. The behavior class is taught by Mary Ann Brennan, high school guidance counselor and Marc Baker, Bellefaire art teacher.

Cleveland Heights-University Heights teachers appreciate the ER&D program because the classes provide them with current research and give them a chance to reflect on their work. Lori Ross, an intervention specialist at Roxboro Middle School, summed up the program best: "ER&D builds a strong foundation of support and unity among staff that are spread around so many different buildings." 

Ari Klein is a math teacher at Cleveland Heights High School and is a vice president of the Cleveland Heights Teachers Union. Beth Rae is a district literacy coach at Roxboro Elementary, secretary of the union and one of the ER&D site coordinators and instructors.