The job is bringing the district up from its continuous improvement ranking on state report cards to excellent.
“I think it is a great strategy to raise those scores,” said Tracey Kramer, a lecturer at Wright State University’s College of Education and Human Services who teaches the co-teaching model. “I was pretty impressed when I first heard of it. I was blown away.”
Kramer knows of no other district making such a commitment to co-teaching, which is most often used in classrooms with special education students and in student teaching.
The district last year targeted elementary schools Madison Park and Westbrooke Village — both ranked in academic watch.
“We get to speak one-to-one with every student every day,” said Robin Smith, who co-teaches a second-grade class at Madison Park with Trina Collier. “With one teacher, you were lucky to have 15 minutes of one-to-one in a week.”
“We’re not limited to teaching to the middle ground,” Collier said. “We’re able to teach to everyone, those that may be behind and those that are ahead.”
Intervention is immediate, said Collier and Smith. A student having a problem can be pulled aside for extra attention. “When you get done, you know if the student gets it,” Smith said.
Keep reading: Will co-teaching provide Trotwood kids with tools for success?
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