Photo Provided: (Left to Right) Mandy Duncan, Jen Miller, Nate Polston, and Cassie Frank

WCS Shared Academic Spotlight

Warsaw, IN- At the January 19 board meeting, Dr. Dani Barkey, Warsaw Community Schools (WCS) Deputy Superintendent, provided an academic spotlight highlighting recent professional development and the impact on student learning. “WCS teachers and leaders attended a conference on data driven instruction that furthered the tools we have to intervene with highly effective teaching methods to accelerate learning,” stated Dr. Dani Barkey.  “This conference built capacity in our team which we will in turn bring back to the district.” 

Over the past several years, WCS has been part of the Partnership for Leaders in Education program with the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and Curry School of Education.  At a recent workshop, teachers and administrators gained valuable information on how to lead schools through data-driven analysis and instruction.  The powerful information and practice gained will enhance instruction and student learning within WCS.

Cassie Frank, 3rd-grade teacher at Leesburg Elementary, has already been integrating modeling strategies to increase student engagement and conversation; she is excited to add this new learning to her instructional toolbox. 

Kylie Higgins, WCHS English Language Arts teacher shared, “I am most excited about enhancing my re-teaching to best fit the needs of my students. We are working on creating 6 week re-teaching plans!”

The Next Level Partnership supported by UVA/PLE and established in 2016, has resulted in increased capacity to strategically intervene and accelerate learning for all students.  The team would like to thank the board for this opportunity to engage in high level learning.