Teacher of the Year, PTO visit high school classrooms

From math and finance classes to a dance studio, Alabama Teacher of the Year Jennifer Brown led the Vestavia Hills High School PTO on a tour on April 15 to see the innovation happening in their children's classrooms.

The visit coincided with Fabulous Faculty Fridays, a monthly chance for teachers to visit other classrooms and learn from their fellow educators. The goal, Brown said, is for each of them to walk away with something new to try in their own classes, even if they visited teachers in wholly unrelated subjects.

"It's really created a culture of pride in what we're doing, a culture of collaboration," Brown said.

The PTO parents were joined by teachers from Calera High School who were there to learn new teaching methods. Brown has also led school visits with state legislators to influence education legislation. Brown said her goal is to position Vestavia Hills City Schools as experts and leaders in Alabama education.

"We just want to engage the community because we want to be a model," Brown said.

Each of the PTO parents visited about seven classrooms, as well as the dance and art studios and the library. At each stop, they got to talk to teachers and students and observe the class in action. Many of the classrooms were using tools and technology funded by the PTO.

"We work hard raising money and it's nice to see the purchases we make in use," said PTO President Debbie Castleberry.

In Lauren Miller's classroom, students were learning about personal finance, from budgeting to the impact of having a roommate, and building their own websites. Across the hall, Morgan Palmer taught students about the basics of insurance. Algebra II/Trigonometry students in Shelley Sumner's class solved a series of equations and figured out how each was connected to the next. In Erin Deerman's room, students used "speed dating" to review their reading of "Huckleberry Finn" with classmates.

"Just listening to the teachers talk, it's fascinating how much they learn from each other," said PTO member Martha Cook, who had toured the school with Leadership Vestavia Hills but hadn't experienced it like this before.

Castleberry said she would like for more parents to experience the Fabulous Faculty Fridays and see just how unique their children's learning opportunities are.

"It's been absolutely amazing," Castleberry said. "School is not anywhere near when I was this age."