Teachers, professors lead CTI seminars for CMS

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI) recently selected its teacher leadership team for 2017, including its steering committee, seminar coordinators and school contacts.

“CMS (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools) teachers are critical leaders in CTI,” said CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan. “They shape the institute’s seminars, programs and help us realize our mission to strengthen teaching and learning in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.”

CTI is an educational partnership among CMS, Davidson College and UNC Charlotte, where teachers engage in long-term seminars focused on a wide variety of content areas from science and math to literacy, art and identity.

Eight CTI seminar coordinators will serve as facilitators of CTI’s eight long-term seminars for CMS teachers, led by faculty from Davidson College, UNC Charlotte and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. Seminar coordinators and their respective seminars include:

  • Rima Sohl, math teacher at Southwest Middle School – Using Mathematics to Understand Social Issues, led by Anthony Fernandes, mathematics and statistics, UNC Charlotte
  • Franchone Bey, English, West Charlotte High School – Media and Minorities: Unpacking Stereotypes, Debra Smith, Africana studies, UNC Charlotte
  • Kassie Woodard, chemistry, Hough High School – Chemical Interactions in the Body, Erland Stevens, chemistry, Davidson College
  • Wendy Potter, Career and Technical Education, Butler High School – Memorials, Memories, and American Identity, Emily Makas, architectural and urban history, UNC Charlotte
  • Deena Aglialoro, language arts, Ranson Middle School – Cultivating Visual Literacy, Maggie McCarthy, German studies and film and media studies, Davidson College
  • Amy Thomas, first grade, Reedy Creek Elementary School – Doing Science: Hands-On Learning in the Laboratory, Susan Trammell, physics and optical science, UNC Charlotte
  • Amy Pasko, history, North Mecklenburg High School – The Rise (and Fall) of Democracies around the World, Shelley Rigger, political science, Davidson College
  • Amethyst Klein, science, University Park Creative Arts School – From Self to Students: Canvassing Art to Explore Identity, Adriana Medina, reading and elementary education, UNC Charlotte, and Christopher Lawing, vice president of programming, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art

CTI steering committee members advise and lead the institute. The 2017 committee members are: Calen Clifton, social studies, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School; Miesha Gadsden, third grade, J.H. Gunn Elementary School; Deb Jung, media, Winding Springs Elementary School; Matthew Kelly, Spanish, Independence High School; Jennifer Ladanyi, language arts, Bailey Middle School; Deb Semmler, physics, East Mecklenburg High School; Janet Raybon, science, Myers Park High School; Julie Ruziska Tiddy, science, Carmel Middle School; Pam Shembo, fifth grade, E.E. Waddell Language Academy; Teresa Strohl, visual art, Barringer Academic Center; and Connie Wood, biology, East Mecklenburg High School.

CTI will hold an open house for CMS teachers on at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Charlotte Museum of History, where CTI seminar leaders and teacher leaders will discuss 2017 seminars and how to apply. Interested CMS teachers can register at charlotteteachers.org.