Minnie Hughes Elementary School, located on Yonges Island, South Carolina, has been selected as the third Talent Development Academy in Charleston County School District.  They join Angel Oak and Springfield Elementary Schools in working to create classrooms which challenge and engage all students.  Congratulations and welcome to Minnie Hughes faculty and staff!

Beginning in Spring 2015, we identified our first two schools and began to develop the partnership leading to the creation of Talent Development Academies at Angel Oak Elementary and Springfield Elementary Schools in Charleston County School District. Both faculties gathered together for a three-day, total immersion during July 2015.

After school started in September, teacher support in the form of individual and small group coaching, lesson plan development using newly acquired instructional strategies, and demonstration teaching in TDA classrooms has been provided by Dodie Marshall and Lara Kessler for ELA and Meta Van Sickle and Denise Zacherl in Science. Karen Reed and Heather Grant have held numerous training sessions on M3 and M2 (mathematics). TDA teachers have deepened their knowledge and skills in one of more of these content areas: ELA, science, and math.

On September 23, 2015, the first half-day of professional development sponsored by CCSD, Angel Oak and Springfield faculties met in the multipurpose room at Springfield to hear from nationally known expert, Dr. Tamra Stambaugh of Peabody College at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.  Dr. Stambaugh shared a synthesis of her research related to identifying, nurturing, and developing the talents of culturally and linguistically diverse students.

TDA teachers learned more about the

• Basics of talent development;
• Links of Stambaugh’s CLD model to specific curricular examples and students; and
• Benefits to all students of keeping the ceiling high.

After the whole group session, TDA teachers broke into three smaller groups to meet with their strand leaders from the July summer teacher development. In those small group sessions, teachers discussed successes they had experienced with the content strategies and models they learned about in July; they discussed and sought advice on the obstacles and challenges they were experiencing as they worked to ramp up the challenge and rigor for all of their students; they explored next steps in what would best support their development as TDA teachers.

October 28^th was the second half-day TDA teacher development session, again held in Springfield Elementary’s multipurpose room. This session had three distinct segments.

First, Dr. Anne Gutshall spoke to the whole group, both faculties from Angel Oak and Springfield, on academic persistence and strategies teachers might employ to promote and encourage the development of “grit” in their students. As we have acknowledged through our work in TDA with the ELA models, the 5 Es in science, and Talk Moves, classroom responses should support high-end learning for all students. Dr. Gutshall shared strategies to create more supportive environments that embrace a growth mindset, and develop students’ grit and perseverance.

Next, Marie Sanders from Angel Oak and two of her fellow teachers shared examples of student work and insights they gained from use of TOPS: Teachers’ Observation of Potential in Students.   These teachers provided insight into WHY teachers would need and want to gain the requisite skills in spotting student talent. Ms. Sanders and her colleagues helped all to see that when you are able to spot talent, you can better tap into and nurture it.

Marie shares a student work sample and what she learned about this child.

In the final segment of the day, teachers split into two smaller groups to learn more about and practice with TOPS: Teachers’ Observation of Potential in Students.

Teachers share their synthesis of TOPS.

Teachers left the October session with the assignment below:

TOPS in the Classroom:
The Whole Class Observation Form

•  Between November 2- December 11, observe your class for a minimum of 3 consecutive weeks.
•  Using the inside of the TOPS folder, the first time a child shows behaviors within a given domain, write the child’s name inside the TOPS folder, in the box for that domain.
•  Each additional time you observe that child’s behavior within a noted domain, add a tally mark beside his or her name.
•  After your observation period is completed and before the holiday break, record your observations on the Whole Class TOPS Profile found on the back of the folder. For each child, indicate which domains were noted and why, either due to the intensity or the frequency of behaviors seen in that domain.

The next TDA whole group session will be in February 2016.

This July, teachers, administrators, and other leaders from Charleston County School District and the College of Charleston came together to launch the Talent Development Academies at Angel Oak and Springfield Elementary Schools. We learned about the mission and philosophy of the Talent Development Academy Model – the importance of recognizing and nurturing the strengths of culturally and linguistically diverse learners, creating a culturally responsive classroom, and embedding rigorous, brain-based approaches to motivate and stimulate students.

When asked to describe their current understanding of the Talent Development Academy, teachers responded that the TDA is about:

• “Teaching in ways that identify and foster talent in every student.”
• “Elevat[ing] instruction overall to increase rigor.”
• “Encouraging deeper thinking and discussion.”
• “Recognizing the imperative of “cultural teaching.”
• “Monitoring and using students’ strengths for learning and teaching.”

Participant responses to what they had learned by the close of the 3-day TDA immersion reflect the complexity and diversity of the conference content:

• “Our mindsets affect how we approach our students.”
• “Our delivery of instruction has such a powerful effect over student learning.”
• “Research on neuroscience [suggests there are specific] effective ways to praise children.”
• “Sleep compartmentalizes the brain.”

Other topics of note and take-aways included:

• “The “5 E’s”
• “Talk Moves”
• “ELA Navigators”

Participant questions the TDA team look forward to addressing with greater depth include:

• “How [do we] utilize the data from TOPS to better teach students in the classroom?”
• “How will the TDA involve parents and address the very important “parent piece”?
• “How will we harness the power of “motivation/grit – the power of yet” and neuroscience?”

We are most certainly off to an exciting and powerful start. Together we can tap and nurture students’ talents in order to ensure they achieve “at- and beyond-potential.” We look forward to our work together.

This week the Talent Development Academy is hosting a three day professional development workshop for K-5 teachers and faculty from Springfield Elementary School and Angel Oak Elementary School. We are excited about our partnership with both of these schools and their staff!

Speakers from our staff and invited guests will discuss topics such as talent development for culturally and linguistically diverse learners, neuroscience concepts relevant to the classroom, motivating students to reach their potential, creating a culturally responsive classroom, and more.

The workshops will focus on English Language Arts, Math and Science. Each workshop will be hosted by our enthusiastic staff and educational partners.

Upcoming Three Day Conference to kick off Project Talent Development Academy

On July 27, 28, and 28, between 60 and 70 educators will gather at the College of Charleston North Campus at 3800 Paramount Drive in North Charleston.  This three day conference signals the start of the teacher development activities key to this innovative approach in reaching and teaching all students.

In mid-February, after reviewing applicants, two CCSD schools were invited to become Talent Development Academies.  These schools are Angel Oak Elementary School and Springfield Elementary School.  Meetings with Angel Oak Principal Michael Griggs and lead teacher Stacey Gray and Springfield’s Principal Blondell Adams and lead teacher Shene White revealed excitement and enthusiasm about opening up access and opportunity for their students.

Both schools have interesting innovations already underway, such as teachers involved in M2 training, personalized learning, and arts integration in their classrooms.  In the upcoming months, Talent Development staff will collaborate with teachers at each school to formalize the partnership, gather baseline data, and plan the upcoming teacher development activities.

Congratulations to Angel Oak and Springfield for being selected to participate in this exciting project!

This website has been established to share information about an exciting new project, funded in October 2014, called Project Talentum Academe:  Talent Development Academies.  Information about what the project is, which schools are eligible to apply, and how to apply are included in this website.  Contact us with questions, or better yet, apply to become a Talent Development Academy.

We are in the process of recruiting six schools to participate.  Check out resources for use with your faculty to find a ppt presentation that provides essential information.  The deadline for application is January 30, 2015.

For an overview, read about the award in The Post and Courier or The College Today.