Testimonials:
Hi Kathy,
I wanted to take a moment to say thanks so much for all of your instruction, encouragement and knowledge as you led our Math Vertical Team at Norton this year. I have felt that every time we met - we deepened our understanding of quality math instruction and how to get (and keep!) our students excited about math. My background as a teacher is in Reading Recovery and last year when I started the journey of teaching Math for the first time in years, I was very overwhelmed. All of the guidance and encouragement you have provided has helped to guide my planning, instruction, and assessment. You taught me how to teach math in a way that helps me follow my beliefs about how children learn best and how to focus on what they know and watch them grow! I also loved all of the little positive encouraging tidbits you shared with us: 'sparkles', 'snap, crackle, pop', roses and thorns and many many more! They are wonderful and I love using them with all my groups!
Thanks again and have a great remainder of the school year!
:)Beth Watkins
Norton Elementary
Gwinnett County Public Schools
*************************************************************************************************************************************
Hi Kathy,
I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation once again for you opening up your classroom to me and for letting me observe your math expertise. It is encouraging and heartwarming when I connect to other educators who are equally as passionate. You are a true inspiration and it is evident that you are "on fire" when it comes to math. Thank you for being so gracious, hospitable, and generous with your resources, procedures and routines all at the same time. What a valuable asset and wealth of knowledge you are for our school system! Boy are we thankful and lucky!! I would also like to extend a word of thanks to your and my Gwinnett County Principal for coordinating this visit. Without them, it would not have been possible. Kudos to our administration in being a superior support system.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with you and your classroom. Let me just say how wonderful your students were in explaining and sharing their information and/or work with me. I consider myself to be a lifelong learner and I am always interested in changing or tweaking to improve or implement new strategies through collaboration, sharing, and learning with and from fellow educators. Thank you for helping me continue to grow professionally as a mathematician. You are marvelous, mathematical, beautiful, and brilliant! You are my math idol and I am in awe of you ... Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! :-)Feel free to use this as a testimonial for your magnificent math!
Kindest Regards,
Tracy Kohler
Alcova Elementary
Gwinnett County Public Schools
*************************************************************************************************************************************
Hi Kathy,
I just wanted to send you a huge THANK YOU! I have always wanted to do guided math, but I have never been able to wrap my mind around how to actually implement it. I attended your workshop in Forsyth County recently, and you were able to make it click for me. THANK YOU!!!! I am already seeing fantastic results with my kids, I am having more fun teaching math than ever before, I finally feel like I am giving my high kids the challenge they need while supporting my strugglers, and my students are absolutely LOVING our new structure!
Jessica, thank you for scheduling such an AMAZING workshop for us! The three first grade teachers from my school who attended the workshop have been implementing it, and we've even gotten another teacher on board even though she wasn't at the workshop.
Thank you both!
Katie H.
1st Grade Teacher
Forsyth County, Georgia
*************************************************************************************************************************************
Hi Kathy,
I am a first grade teacher in Fulton County, GA. I was so happy to be able to attend BOTH of your sessions at the recent GCTM conference at Rock Eagle! It was my first opportunity in 9 years to have professional development offered to me and I was thrilled to be there! Out of all of the presenters that I saw at the conference I thought that you did the most outstanding job of offering practical support to us! Thank you so much for generously sharing your amazing strategies and materials!
Since then I have visited your website often and have used many of the materials to move toward implementing the guided math model in my own room. I have assessed my students learning styles as well. I'm eager to share what I have learned with my colleagues! I know that they will be equally excited to begin making changes in their rooms.
Thank you for all of the time and energy that you have spent on me and others in sharing freely all of your fantastic methods. Please know that your decision to bring this to us has had a tremendous positive effect on all of our own lives and the lives of those little ones we teach each day.
I will look forward to hearing from you soon!
Most Fondly,
Mary W.
Fulton County, GA
*************************************************************************************************************************************
Hi Ms. Spruiell,
First, I would like to give thanks to you for providing so much information and resources for teachers to use for free. I cannot begin to tell you how appreciative I am. The 2013-2014 school year will be my 3rd year as a teacher. Since I started, I've never had a mentor or coach. I would ask teachers from time to time for suggestions and help with certain matters, however, many of them were extremely busy and simply did not have time to assist me. There were a few who even avoided me. I say all of that to say that I found your site last year by looking up resources and tools to help new teachers. You have no idea as to how much you have helped me. While I have not used your site as much as I should have due to overwhelming circumstances and demands from administrators, the times that I have visited your site always provided a sense a relief. I am currently trying my best to get an early start for the upcoming year and I don't quite know how to organize myself in terms of what resources/materials/activities I should use first. Your site has again helped me to put things in perspective. I have not had a support system and stumbling upon sites like yours that are available to all have been the closest I've had to a support system. I want you to know that I truly appreciate all that you do to help teachers and parents. In the future, I hope to be in a position to provide this type of support and assistance to new and veteran teacher. You are what many schools and school systems are missing. Please let me know how I can give back to keep your site going. I would love to help. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
Sincerely,
T. Hunter
Dekalb County Schools
I wanted to take a moment to say thanks so much for all of your instruction, encouragement and knowledge as you led our Math Vertical Team at Norton this year. I have felt that every time we met - we deepened our understanding of quality math instruction and how to get (and keep!) our students excited about math. My background as a teacher is in Reading Recovery and last year when I started the journey of teaching Math for the first time in years, I was very overwhelmed. All of the guidance and encouragement you have provided has helped to guide my planning, instruction, and assessment. You taught me how to teach math in a way that helps me follow my beliefs about how children learn best and how to focus on what they know and watch them grow! I also loved all of the little positive encouraging tidbits you shared with us: 'sparkles', 'snap, crackle, pop', roses and thorns and many many more! They are wonderful and I love using them with all my groups!
Thanks again and have a great remainder of the school year!
:)Beth Watkins
Norton Elementary
Gwinnett County Public Schools
*************************************************************************************************************************************
Hi Kathy,
I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation once again for you opening up your classroom to me and for letting me observe your math expertise. It is encouraging and heartwarming when I connect to other educators who are equally as passionate. You are a true inspiration and it is evident that you are "on fire" when it comes to math. Thank you for being so gracious, hospitable, and generous with your resources, procedures and routines all at the same time. What a valuable asset and wealth of knowledge you are for our school system! Boy are we thankful and lucky!! I would also like to extend a word of thanks to your and my Gwinnett County Principal for coordinating this visit. Without them, it would not have been possible. Kudos to our administration in being a superior support system.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with you and your classroom. Let me just say how wonderful your students were in explaining and sharing their information and/or work with me. I consider myself to be a lifelong learner and I am always interested in changing or tweaking to improve or implement new strategies through collaboration, sharing, and learning with and from fellow educators. Thank you for helping me continue to grow professionally as a mathematician. You are marvelous, mathematical, beautiful, and brilliant! You are my math idol and I am in awe of you ... Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! :-)Feel free to use this as a testimonial for your magnificent math!
Kindest Regards,
Tracy Kohler
Alcova Elementary
Gwinnett County Public Schools
*************************************************************************************************************************************
Hi Kathy,
I just wanted to send you a huge THANK YOU! I have always wanted to do guided math, but I have never been able to wrap my mind around how to actually implement it. I attended your workshop in Forsyth County recently, and you were able to make it click for me. THANK YOU!!!! I am already seeing fantastic results with my kids, I am having more fun teaching math than ever before, I finally feel like I am giving my high kids the challenge they need while supporting my strugglers, and my students are absolutely LOVING our new structure!
Jessica, thank you for scheduling such an AMAZING workshop for us! The three first grade teachers from my school who attended the workshop have been implementing it, and we've even gotten another teacher on board even though she wasn't at the workshop.
Thank you both!
Katie H.
1st Grade Teacher
Forsyth County, Georgia
*************************************************************************************************************************************
Hi Kathy,
I am a first grade teacher in Fulton County, GA. I was so happy to be able to attend BOTH of your sessions at the recent GCTM conference at Rock Eagle! It was my first opportunity in 9 years to have professional development offered to me and I was thrilled to be there! Out of all of the presenters that I saw at the conference I thought that you did the most outstanding job of offering practical support to us! Thank you so much for generously sharing your amazing strategies and materials!
Since then I have visited your website often and have used many of the materials to move toward implementing the guided math model in my own room. I have assessed my students learning styles as well. I'm eager to share what I have learned with my colleagues! I know that they will be equally excited to begin making changes in their rooms.
Thank you for all of the time and energy that you have spent on me and others in sharing freely all of your fantastic methods. Please know that your decision to bring this to us has had a tremendous positive effect on all of our own lives and the lives of those little ones we teach each day.
I will look forward to hearing from you soon!
Most Fondly,
Mary W.
Fulton County, GA
*************************************************************************************************************************************
Hi Ms. Spruiell,
First, I would like to give thanks to you for providing so much information and resources for teachers to use for free. I cannot begin to tell you how appreciative I am. The 2013-2014 school year will be my 3rd year as a teacher. Since I started, I've never had a mentor or coach. I would ask teachers from time to time for suggestions and help with certain matters, however, many of them were extremely busy and simply did not have time to assist me. There were a few who even avoided me. I say all of that to say that I found your site last year by looking up resources and tools to help new teachers. You have no idea as to how much you have helped me. While I have not used your site as much as I should have due to overwhelming circumstances and demands from administrators, the times that I have visited your site always provided a sense a relief. I am currently trying my best to get an early start for the upcoming year and I don't quite know how to organize myself in terms of what resources/materials/activities I should use first. Your site has again helped me to put things in perspective. I have not had a support system and stumbling upon sites like yours that are available to all have been the closest I've had to a support system. I want you to know that I truly appreciate all that you do to help teachers and parents. In the future, I hope to be in a position to provide this type of support and assistance to new and veteran teacher. You are what many schools and school systems are missing. Please let me know how I can give back to keep your site going. I would love to help. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
Sincerely,
T. Hunter
Dekalb County Schools