At Chelsea School where I am the teacher of Media Productions, I make sure to use every available resource so that my students can gain real world experience outside of the classroom that enhances the skills they learn at school. One strategy that I implement that is not only very effective and useful, but fun, is utilizing Chelsea’s partnership with Montgomery County’s cable access station, Access Montgomery. In my classes at Chelsea, I strategize to help my students garner professional technical skills in the field of media productions. Taking regular field trips to Access Montgomery allows the students to hone and utilize these skills in a professional setting – sometimes even having their content aired on television! Every year my first-year TV students are certified on the studio’s equipment and then they are eligible to return to Access Montgomery to operate the equipment for independent producers and Chelsea-related projects. It is truly great fun for the students and for myself, and has proven to be a very effective strategy. I have included two articles, one specifically about Chelsea students and their experiences at Access Montgomery that I am quoted in as well. The other article is about a producer’s experience shooting their production with Chelsea students working behind the scenes. Pictures from our various field trips to Access Montgomery are included as well. I chose this artifact for this standard because, first, it shows my dedication to promoting and advocating the learning and well being of individuals with ELN across a wide range of settings and a range of different learning experiences. Also, it conveys how I use collaboration to facilitate the successful transitions of individuals with ELN across settings and services in that Access Montgomery is a true professional setting that my students can exemplify their skills in.

At Chelsea School, each teacher serves as an Advisor for several students. As an advisor, I act as an educator, advocate, mentor, a sanctuary, and even a friend to my advisees. I help keep my students organized, collaborate with their teachers to keep them on top of their school work, act as an advocate for their needs and accommodations, and help them transition from day to day, year to year, and from school to the post-secondary educational and working world. This artifact is an example of Chelsea’s parent contact form that I use to log my conversations and contact with my advisees’ parents. A large part of my role as an advisor is keeping a constant, consistent, open, honest, and reciprocal dialogue going with my advisees’ parents to make sure the parents are aware of the student’s progress in school and so that I am able to keep the parents involved in their child’s academic life. I am very lucky to currently have very supportive and engaged parents and I have learned a great deal about how to effectively handle a myriad of diverse situations from my parental dialogues. I have included this artifact for this standard because it is a clear and tested example of how I routinely and effectively collaborate with families and how I use collaboration to facilitate the successful transitions of individuals with ELN across settings and services. Lastly, it shows that I embrace my special role as advocate for individuals with ELN.

In my EDTE 636: Psychology of Exceptional Children and Youth course, I wrote an opinion article that I then submitted to the Washington Post for publication. The article is a reflection on my experiences of having a special education student in my music classes in high school and how my perspective has changed on special needs since my teenage years. My article also centers around the idea that removing music and the arts from schools affects special education students as much as anyone. Constructing this article was a great learning tool not just for the reflection, but for having gone through the process of submitting it to a major newspaper organization in the hopes of having it published so that I could share my experiences and opinions with a larger community. I have included this artifact for this standard because I feel that it shows how I make a concerted effort to collaborate with my community in a variety of ways and how I use collaboration to grow and evolve as an educator.

I have included this final artifact because I feel that collaboration need not always be specifically official in manner; teachers can and should have fun inside and outside of the classroom! This video shows collaboration between two of my colleagues and a student of ours (on bass) as we perform a song written by a colleague and myself for the students of Chelsea School (the knight is our mascot, i.e. “knights be brave…”). More students actually collaborated with us in the recording of this song than can be seen in the video; groups of students lent their vocal talents to the “Once a knight, always forever” chant section of the song. This musical collaboration not only brought to light the musical talents of several teachers and a student of Chelsea, it helped strengthen our working and social relationships (the singer of this group is now one of my closest friends). Also, writing, recording, and performing this song for the students of Chelsea conveyed to our students how truly important they are to us and how we, as a staff, are willing to take time inside and outside of the classroom to devote to them. This artifact shows how I promote and the learning and well being of individuals with ELN across a wide range of settings and a range of different learning experiences. And it shows how much fun working in such a supportive and diverse school can be!