Christopher Poulos
Connecticut Teacher of the Year
Joel Barlow High School, Redding
Grades 9-12, Spanish

My teaching philosophy
As a foreign-language teacher, I believe in a total immersion model of instruction in which all lessons, activities, announcements and daily routines are conducted solely in the target language. I have learned to identify early on the varying abilities and achievement levels of a heterogeneously grouped class, and adjust my discourse and lesson design so that each student has an opportunity to successful participate and learn in an all-Spanish environment. While it may be quicker and easier to explain a grammar point in English, learning becomes more meaningful for the students when they realize that they understand the explanation in Spanish and can manipulate the grammatical structure without having to translate.

My philosophy in action
A specific example of how I am able to reach all students and maximize their learning is my approach to teaching reading. I have developed a reading process for high school students based on the idea that students learning to read in a foreign language use the same cognitive skills that young children at the elementary level use to learn how to read in their native language. Using the Readers Workshop Model as a basis, I have designed a reading process that centers on determining each student’s ability, modeling, providing multiple leveled passages on the same topic, independent work, groups formed based on reading ability or mastery of a skill, guided reading and a higher level thinking approach. This teaching strategy has enabled me to increase the achievement of all students while making them feel successful as they learn.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
As a teacher I have worked to recreate the same sense of satisfaction that I felt while learning Spanish in the Peace Corps, through my participation in curriculum development and my personal endeavors. In my tenure at Joel Barlow High School, I have developed a Spanish course for seniors in which each student designs and implements a volunteer project during his second semester. In lieu of traditional coursework and a final exam, students spend their time volunteering in Spanish-speaking organizations where they can experience language and culture first hand. By combining learning with volunteering, students not only learn about the subject matter, but also begin to understand the importance of community service before they leave high school. Independently, I have founded and serve as the director of a language training program centering on community service and cultural education. This undertaking has involved developing and putting into practice an immersion-based curriculum, which maximizes language acquisition over a short period of time. Since 2003, I have traveled with over 50 high school students to Costa Rica, where they have lived and worked with families from a small rural town to complete a range of community service projects. It has been through this personal endeavor along with the senior project component of the Joel Barlow High School Spanish curriculum that I have been able to expose my students to service-oriented activities that create and instill in them a desire and passion to help others.

The most critical issues facing educators today
Student voice and participation in school improvement is an issue that has recently become more and more common in high schools. While this trend may not be viewed as universal as inclusion or differentiation, teachers and administrators are realizing that in order to develop a unique and positive school culture they need input from their largest group on stakeholders, the student body. As a result educators have entered into conversations centered on this issue and begun to take action by gradually allowing students to play an active role in their schools’ decision-making processes. Student councils are being transformed from fundraising and activity organizing clubs, to truly representative groups that contribute the ideas and opinions of the student body. Examples of student participation in school improvement include, but are not limited to, student input on mission statement committees, conversations between the administration and seniors in high school regarding graduation requirements and reasonable special privileges during their final semester, and student council representation at steering committee and board of education meetings. This trend of increasing student input and participation is viewed by many as a means of improving school culture and making education more meaningful for students.

Ways to resolve this issue
A unique step geared towards promoting student voice and participation at Joel Barlow High School has been the introduction of all school convocations, scheduled twice a year in the fall and the spring. Feeling that student opinions and needs had been overlooked during and after a drawn out building project, last year the Joel Barlow Student Council extended invitations to faculty, staff, and fellow students to gather and discuss their developing concerns. At these convocations, first in a large group and then in small breakout groups, the school community convened and was charged with examining issues ranging from improving the school’s activity period (X-period) to discussing how to make academics more meaningful. Students, teachers, and staff, along with administrators and central office personnel participated by posing questions, providing answers and parameters and making decisions to improve the student experience and school culture at Joel Barlow High School. The conversations that came as a result of these events provided valuable information to students and faculty, which has served as the foundation for “real” school improvement. Due to the success of the convocation concept as a vehicle for positive change at Joel Barlow, school administrators have integrated two of these events into the school calendar, further evidencing their commitment to student voice. Across America, as is the case at Joel Barlow High School, educators are finding that by including students in the school improvement and decision-making process, they are becoming more successful at creating positive school cultures that students enjoy, value, and continually work to improve.

One thought to inspire teachers to succeed
Excellence can be achieved if we…
Care more than others think is wise.
Risk more than others think is safe.
Dream more than others think is practical.
Expect more than others think is possible.

Mission Statement, Comet Hill Primary, Victoria, Australia

One lesson every student should learn
As an educator, I have worked to instill a desire in students to become active members of their hometown communities along with outside communities composed of people from varying demographic and socio-economic backgrounds. Through service learning, field-based assignments and study tours I have been able to provide opportunities for students to give back to society by helping others in need to improve their lives. If all students had the chance to engage in these types of experiences, they would graduate from high school with broader perspectives of the world outside their hometowns and with a deeper appreciation and understanding of humanity.

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