The "Wonder" of Being Part of a School Review
by Jenna Mayfield, Munford Elementary School, Talladega, AL

I was so impressed by how much I learned from every member of the review team and from the school, South Conway Elementary. I went in with open eyes wanting to learn. The experience did not let me down. I have a more solid grasp of what Cornerstone is and how to use it across the curriculum. Some of these ideas came from South Conway and some ideas came from our team discussions. I went back to Munford Elementary School and started teaching math differently the very next Monday!

South Conway impressed me in that every teacher was "on board" with Cornerstone. Teachers were at different levels of immersion. However, everyone said Cornerstone ideas had made them better teachers. I observed a teacher with 35 years experience. She was using every aspect of Cornerstone in her classroom. In my experience, it is hard to get teachers that have been in the field a long time to change their practice. At South Conway it was easy to see, when teachers understand how to use Cornerstone, their children learn how to think for themselves. South Conway teachers embrace this practice. The principal and assistant principal are dynamic leaders. I think this leadership has helped put the Cornerstone principles into everyday practice at this school. The principal attends grade level meetings each week and conducts professional development. That is an involved leader!

Thank you for allowing me to serve on a review team!

Wonderful Walls
Stamford, CT

At Stamford, CT , there are Wonderful Walls: They not only look great but are teaching tools for students, parents & community members as well as staff!

	See what's happening at Julia A. Stark School as they post their learning for all to see. Each month the students, teachers and parents create a comprehension strategy bulletin board to share their thinking and learning.
	Check out Hart Magnet School's displays that show how they are learning to differentiate through comprehension strategies. This large display includes a spotlight on parents with a built-in pocket for Cornerstone's parent brochures and other important announcements. It also highlights their school's monthly comprehension strategy.
	Focus your eyes on Springdale's Literacy Action Plan Goals and documentation of their work in their front hallway so all stake holders can see their progress. Each month, teachers, students and parents are encouraged to document the work they are contributing to the school's goals.

Springdale School Family Fun and Learning Night
Testimony of a great family learning experience in Stamford, CT

Families from Springdale Elementary School gathered one April evening for a night of poetry!

After a pasta supper served by the school's faculty and principal with smiles and laughter, parents and children gathered by grade level and ventured to assigned gathering areas to celebrate the night's theme, April the poetry month.

Parents partnered with their child and all learned how to think like good poets, write out their thoughts and ideas on strips of paper and then moved them around on a poster until the poem flowed by a rippling brook. Our final poems were recorded in a journal which they all took home as a momento.

Eileen Swerdlick reported that she and her first grade daughter Skylar made a great team and that everyone in the room had a great time! She said that the reading specialist and first grade teacher were knowledgeable, clear, concise, encouraging and very helpful and supportive. She added that there was not one unhappy face in the crowd. Every child who attended was thrilled to take home a book of poetry.

Today poems are hung everywhere around the school for all to see. All are invited to stop by and see!

Literacy Night at Julia A. Stark Elementary School
From Regan Allan, Parent Representative and PFO-VP

I just wanted all to hear about our recent Readathon/PFO Literacy Night. We had over 100 families who participated in this readathon and fundraiser. Almost 2000 books were read and over $2,000 was raised. About 70 students and 22 family members participated. Students won bookstore gift certificate prizes for the most books read and adults won baskets full of bestsellers and food gift certificates for being the top readers. A variety of print materials were used, including books, magazines, newspapers, the internet, and even driving directions! Students read by themselves, to each other, to parents and to younger siblings. Parents reported reading on their own, on the train while commuting, to their children and even to their parents!

Families enjoyed a pizza dinner and then learned about ways to incorporate math strategies into reading aloud at home by our Cornerstone coaches.

Children Doing Interviews - Website Attraction
Tammy Fields from North Myrtle Beach Elementary School is excited: "I wanted to share something with you that one of our first year teachers has been doing in her class." Tammy purchased the book Classroom Interviews by Paula Rogovin and gave it to the teacher who has used it in her classroom all year. The teacher is in partnership with professors at Coastal Carolina, and they have put together a website sharing the classroom interviews done by her students. (This teacher actually had the opportunity to visit the book author in her classroom in New York.)

Here is our teacher's website. You will enjoy this: http://ww2.coastal.edu/stan/jenny/