2019 Capstone Projects

Our 2019 Master of Arts in Teaching Teacher Leadership students are using their coursework to make a difference in their classrooms and the profession.

Samantha Morin: Leading Beyond the Classroom: What My Teacher Does for Me.

My Capstone project was to create a picture children’s book for students, teachers, teacher leaders, and anyone dedicated to the field of education. A working title for the book is “What My Teacher Does For Me.” The book is a rhyming book and follows an ABCB rhyme scheme. The book will be told in the third person, from the perspective of a student. Each page will have a different narrator, shown in the illustrations in the foreground. The narrators will be diverse, as to connect to all students reading the book. The teachers in the background of the illustrations will also be all genders, races, etc. The narrator will explain what goes behind teaching and all the responsibilities that are unseen by students to ensure they get the best education. Responsibilities included in the book will be: helping to create a positive climate and culture in the school and collaborate with other teachers, staying up to date with important education policies, communicating/collaborating with families, and so on. The book will be 31 pages (including title page, etc.)

Jacob Rivers: Supporting, recruiting, and retaining teachers of color in private schools in the greater New England area.

I created a network that serves to support educators of color by relieving the stresses of cultural isolation which in turn encourages them to stay in the profession longer. With the rise in awareness for CRT pedagogy, I began to wonder about cultural acknowledgement for teachers as well. Currently the network spans more than 20 schools and more than 40 educators of color. The result has been the development of community that can reach people who live culturally isolated in rural areas of New England.

Eric Schildge: Successful Strategies for National Board Certification.

I have described a few highlights of my work preparing for National Board Certification. From the challenges of capturing quality teaching on video to the transformative power of critical reflection, board certification offered numerous opportunities for me to assess and improve my teaching practice.

Alex Tancrell: Mentoring program for new teachers at an Independent Boarding School.

My capstone focused on creating a mentoring program for new teachers/hires in an independent boarding school. In the independent boarding school, there is a reliance on the triple threat model. This model asks for new teachers to not only teach but coach, advise and dorm parent. There is a mentoring program in place for new teachers and a colleague of mine worked to improve this program with her project last year. My hope is to focus on coaching and create 3 workshops for potential mentors and have a plan/schedule for the mentors to meet with new coaches. Boarding schools are hard because the expectation is that some of the elements and nuances are often “learned as you go.” I see a real opportunity to bolster our mentoring program in order to help with retainment.