CTEPS Blogs and Products
Jefferson County Public Schools
2014-2019

After completing a year-long cycle of design thinking, Improvement Science, and reflection, each teacher creates a product encapsulating their learning.  Cataloged here are their articles, videos, websites, and infographics addressing a variety of subject areas and grade levels, the benefits and challenges of teacher leadership and describing their personal growth.

​Kennita Ballard encourages her students to identify as readers through culturally relevant narratives that bring "Power to the Pages."

Brenda Bradford learned how to bring a meaningful connectedness to her students through mindfulness, compassion and selflessness,

Eulalia Brazil-Pinkston shows us the value of play in early childhood education.

Dominique Dopson-Penn shows us the value of praise walks and how they can improve faculty culture.

Sarah Esler uses conversational conferencing to make her middle school students feel known and safe.

Joseph Frech demonstrates how to improve students' argumentative writing.

Heather Garrett reminds us of the importance of addressing secondary traumatic stress in educators. She's also created this resource to support a deeper understanding of what we can do about it.

Debra Glover heightens engagement in math by using robotics.

Melinda Harris shows us how to create autonomy in the K-2 classroom.

Carol Hawkins uses literature to connect her students with the world.​

Keri Kachmar provides an alternative to the traditional narrative, choosing instead student-driven writing for her middle school girls.

Matt Kaufman, Kentucky high school teacher of the year, shows us how to move "Beyond the Test" and use deeper learning to transform systems and our students.

Torri Martin will see us "After Class" to show how PD by teachers, for teachers, makes a big difference for students.  Check out her podcast, too.

Jeannie Miller implements a morning meeting to meet the needs of her students.

Alexandra Moody champions higher expectations with this moving video and explains why it matters here.

Ashely Moss explores using restorative practices with her elementary students to improve achievement.

Betsy Ruhe demonstrates how to teach for sustainability and how, in doing so, we can improve our school culture.

Alice Spagnola works to develop second language proficiency through student choice.

Shelley Taylor creates a "Growth Mindset Toolkit" for us and our students.

Andrew Waterhouse incorporates project-based learning in his Advanced Placement classroom and raises test scores.

Sheryl Woods shares that collaboration is difficult but absolutely worth it in, "We Grow Better When We Grow Together."

​Tonya Artman of Crosby Middle School shows how a mentoring program can make all the difference in her The Village Project.

Dr. Elizabeth Best of Westport Middle School unpacks Student Engagement and explains what works for her least motivated students.

​Kimberly Burch of Ramsey Middle School explores how to build community for the African American young men at her middle school.  Read her blog and explore her website for resources.
 
Nyree Clayton-Taylor of Wheatley Elementary mastered the use of Hip Hop as a way to increase fluency in elementary school kids.  She provides a rationale, teaching resources, lesson plans and video on her website.
 
Aven Cook of Butler Traditional High School writes about her professional learning journey in Conversations on the Patio: Small CTEPS and Big Changes and created two infographics to guide positive PLC implementation. 
 
Mary Cook of Lassiter Middle School explains how she gained a new perspective and explains A Defining Moment

Kimberly Draewell of Eastern High School show how she took CTEPS in the Right  Direction to help every student succeed after high school.

Jaime Fitch worked to create and advance the Eastern High School advisory program.  Read about her journey and the program where she advocates teachers become the ringleader in their schools.
 
Deanna Ford of Cochrane Elementary created effective professional learning communities.  She gathered resources and references on her website and made a video to explain her work.  
 
Catherine Harris  of Moore High School teaches her high school math students to become independent thinkers by putting deeper learning into action.

Noah Klein of Stuart Middle saw that despite Stuart Academy's innovative structure, students with incarcerated parents or who were living with non-parental guardians or in foster care struggled to take advantage of what the school had to offer.  Through CTEPS and his school's redesign coordinator, he created the Zone Academy to address this need.
 
Brittany Logsdon of Greenwood Elementary uses deeper learning to collaborate and communicate with her learning and behavior disorders special education class.

Caitlin McClure of Moore Middle School examines the effects of trauma on both teachers and students in high-poverty schools.

Keri Meador of Central High School exploded STEM participation with these graphics: STEM Diversity Prezi, CHS STEM Newsletter, Importance of STEM graphic.

Christina Mudd of Greenwood Elementary wanted every kid in her 5th grade class to appreciate every educational opportunity available to them, so she put a plan together that will be replicated across her school.  She explains what she learned in Leading Low Socioeconomic Students to Higher Achievement.
 
Stephanie Roberts of Jefferson County Public Schools worked to make her school's professional learning communities more productive.
 
Brittany Sharpless  of Iroquois High School calls attention to the epidemic of interrupted learning for older English language learners and her program Accelerate to Graduate Iroquois High School built to address it.

Melissa Shearon of Westport Middle School explains how making time for teacher leadership is essential for career fulfillment.
 
Virginia Speaks of Eastern High School explained how vertical alignment made sense of the Common Core in My Year of Vertical Thinking.

Jessica Thomas of Greenwood Elementary wrote this Monday Memo, advocating for Collaboration in the Library.

Gemma Wafzig of Bates Elementary Challenging Struggling Readers to Find Their Inner Reader.

Robyn Whelan of Moore Middle School addresses LGBTQ+ bullying in her middle school by building an anti-bullying club that makes a real difference for students.
 
Candi Williams of Stopher Elementary explains Why Genius Hour promotes critical thinking in her classroom.