Ty Ankrom
A group of educators from Ireland visited Pickaway County last month and I was flattered to be among the local contingent who got to brag about what we do here.
The five educators came to Ohio because, like Circleville High School, they are a partner with Battelle for Kids. However, the partnership is new for them and they wanted to see firsthand the success that Battelle for Kids is having and draw upon those experiences.
Battelle for Kids suggested the group visit Circleville during its weeklong tour of Ohio secondary schools because of its success with professional development and implementation of Formative Instructional Practice (FIP) strategies to increase student achievement.
Among those who spoke to the group were Sherry Kneece and Lisa Heins, who talked about Circleville’s FIP journey, the long partnership with Battelle and ways to create successful professional development for teachers. Teachers Matt Fosnaugh, Danielle Mogan and Jennifer Maite hosted the group in their classrooms to showcase how FIP strategies can be implemented throughout daily teaching.
I’m proud that Circleville’s successes will be carried to Ireland and think that such cross-cultural partnerships benefit us and our visitors.
Just as they were learning about what has worked for us here, we got to learn about their corner of the world. And we all get to share knowledge and skills.
Another benefit was the opportunity that we had to reflect on our accomplishments as we prepared for the visit. It’s always good to take a minute and recognize what we are doing that is having an impact on student learning and the good things happening in the district.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
