The Charlotte Teachers Institute will hold an open house at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 28, at UNC Charlotte Center City to introduce its educator leaders who will guide CTI’s 2013 seminar season and who represent the inclusive and creative focus that distinguishes this unique professional development initiative.
“Our teacher leaders from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) and our faculty leaders from UNC Charlotte and Davidson College are the lifeblood of our work,” said Scott Gartlan, CTI executive director. “They offer a depth and breadth of experience and knowledge that is critical to our efforts to strengthen teaching in CMS.”
CTI is a partnership of UNC Charlotte, Davidson College and CMS working to cultivate content knowledge, creativity, leadership skills and collaboration within and among CMS teachers. Details and registration information are available on the CTI website. Teacher applications to participate in the seminars are online and are due March 13.
Two local educators will join committees at the Yale National Initiative, of which CTI is an affiliate. Yale named Torrieann Dooley, David Cox Road Elementary School second-grade teacher, to its National Steering Committee and named Ann Fox, English professor at Davidson College, to its National University Advisory Council for a fourth time.
Gartlan also announced leaders for CTI’s 2013 Local Steering Committee, drawn from CMS’ teaching force. “Classroom teachers are the driving force,” he said. “Teachers shape the direction of our programs and set goals based on their needs in the classroom.”
New members of the steering committee are: Tiffany DiMatteo, English, Myers Park High School; Nicole Fraser, fifth grade, Davidson Elementary; and Jashonai Payne, fifth grade, David Cox Road Elementary.
Returning Local Steering Committee members are: Intisar Hamidullah, language arts, Whitewater Middle School; Matthew Kelly, Spanish, Independence High; Beth Lasure, art, Mallard Creek High; Michael Pillsbury, math, Randolph IB Middle; Deb Semmler, physics, East Mecklenburg High; Barbara Wesselman, apparel/costume design, Northwest School of the Arts; Cindy Woolery, science, Elizabeth Traditional Elementary; Torrieann Dooley, second grade, David Cox Road Elementary.
CTI’s upcoming round of eight seminars for 2013 will be led by university faculty seminar leaders and CMS teacher seminar coordinators:
- “Charlotte as a New South City: Using the Collections of the Levine Museum of the New South” –Shep McKinley, UNC Charlotte lecturer in history; Alexandra Edwards, Bailey Middle School social studies teacher;
- “The Nature of Energy: How We Use and Store It to Power Our Everyday Lives” – Susan Trammell, UNC Charlotte associate professor of physics and optical science; Julie Ruziska Tiddy, Carmel Middle science teacher;
- “Math and Sports” – Tim Chartier, Davidson College associate professor of mathematics; Minnie Griffin, Oakdale Elementary third-fifth grade teacher;
- “Imagining Modern Bodies: Disability and Art at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art” – Ann Fox, Davidson College associate professor of English; Lucy Beaube, Barringer Academic Center kindergarten-first grade teacher;
- “Grammar for the Real World” – Ralf Thiede, UNC Charlotte associate professor of English/linguistics; Torrie Edwards, W. A. Hough High English teacher;
- “Human Social Groups” – Lisa Slattery Walker, UNC Charlotte professor and chair of sociology; Tamara Babulski, Independence High world history teacher;
- “Chemical Magic” – Durwin R. Striplin, Davidson College associate professor of chemistry; Janet Raybon, Myers Park High science teacher;
- “Urban Encounters: Hispanic and African American Literature” – Davidson College Brenda Flanagan, professor of English; Stefanie Carter-Dodson, Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle language arts teacher.
CTI also introduced a full cadre of school contacts. These school contacts are essential to the success of the initiative, as they act as advocates and liaisons within each of the schools, Gartlan said. The contacts can be found online.