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Leading the Way

Two of our staff members, Erica Sherlock, E1 Head Teacher and Middle School Grade Level Head, and Nina Jacobi, E3 Head Teacher and  Elementary Grade Level Head, recently attended the 2013 ACSD Conference on Educational Leadership held here in Las Vegas, Nevada. They attended expert-led sessions such as “College and Career Readiness,” “Passion-Driven Leadership,” and “Effective Supervision,” and came away inspired with fresh ideas and armed with powerful new information.

In a speech by acclaimed educator and author Salome Thomas-EL, they learned about the “immortality of influence.” Says Erica, “It was a great speech about teacher passion and its endless influence. I learned to not ask for a lighter load, but a stronger back.”

Foothills Montessori School is a private Montessori school serving families in Henderson, Las Vegas and Southern Nevada.

Escape Education’s Death Valley

In a dynamic 2013 Ted Talk, Sir Ken Robinson outlines three ways we can spark an education revolution.

 

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Escape Education’s Death Valley

In a dynamic 2013 Ted Talk, Sir Ken Robinson outlines three ways we can spark an education revolution.

 

Ms. Arlene Gets An Unexpected Letter

One of our teachers, Ms. Arlene Dreitzer, received an unexpected letter from a former student recently.

Dear Mrs. Dreitzer;

Greetings to you from Washington, D.C. I hope that you and your family are well. I have wanted to contact you for quite a while to express my sincere appreciation for your influence and role in my life … you were my 6th grade teacher at P.S. 235 in Brooklyn, NY! The other day at work I was called into a “brainstorming” meeting — you came to my mind immediately because you were the person who introduced me to brainstorming nearly 30 years ago. The great memories from our 6th grade class came flowing back: the “Bear Necessities” vocabulary wall; The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck; Animal Farm; and how could I forget Damn Yankees, our class play! So many years have come and gone, but you stand out as one of the best educators that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. Indeed, I started out with the aspiration to teach! I was a student teacher in a middle school in Harlem and used Lord of the Flies as my first text! (Thanks for paving the way.) I later turned to international development and am working and living in Washington with the World Bank. I’m so grateful for the chance to express my thanks and affection to you, dear Mrs. Dreitzer! “Many women have done well, but you excel them all!”

Says Ms. Arlene: “I believe I had this student in 1983. I taught in a magnet public school for gifted and talented children. I recall that it was a 6th grade class of 40 students and I taught every subject. The school was called The Lenox School or P.S. 235. The program was called the Soar Program and students took an entrance exam to attend.”

Ms. Arlene has been at Foothills Montessori for eight years as a Middle School Language Arts Teacher and Reading Specialist. She has 41 years of teaching experience, a MS in education, and has completed an additional 30 credits above her Master’s degree. She loves literature, etymology and teaching, and has made a positive mark on many students throughout her long career as an educator. We are so lucky to have Ms. Arlene at Foothills Montessori.