The Value of Collaboration
Katie Adams & Natalie Daniel lead a session at TAIS
This week our faculty participated in a conference attended by almost 900 educators from independent schools across our state. The Tennessee Association of Independent Schools organizes this conference and rotates from Memphis to Nashville to Chattanooga. When it is in our city, local member schools are encouraged to schedule the second day of the conference as an in-service day so their entire faculty can attend. I realize that it is unusual for our school to cancel classes on a random Monday in November. I hope that this post will help parents understand the logic behind and value of this decision. There are many different opportunities for small groups or individuals to attend educational workshops in a given academic year, but this conference is the only time when our entire faculty can attend professional development together. There were dozens of sessions that were geared to all grade levels and subjects. This conference is special because it is conducted FOR teachers BY teachers. This means that the sessions are led by teachers who are working at schools similar to Brainerd Baptist School from across the state. Many of our teachers also presented on topics sharing ideas or areas of expertise with their peers. In addition to attending sessions that help our teachers sharpen their skills and try new things, they can also talk with teachers from other local schools and educators from other parts of the state. The conversation is important and allows teachers to share success stories and talk through the struggles they face each day.
Deb Gruner Awarded the Hubert Smothers Excellence in Teaching Award
On Sunday, a special reception was held to honor four educators who have extraordinary careers in education. The TAIS Hubert Smothers Award for Excellence in Teaching is awarded by a committee of TAIS staff and board members who review nominations for the award. This award was established to honor Hubert Smothers, president of Harrison-Chilhowee Baptist Academy in Seymour, TN from 1970-1984. He was a teacher and administrator who cared deeply about the students and faculty entrusted to his care. It is in his memory and those ideals about which he felt so strongly that the Hubert Smothers Excellence in Teaching Awards are presented to honor the teaching profession. Nominees must meet an impressive set of criteria, including:
Have at least 20 years’ experience in the teaching profession
Have expertise in students' needs and development and unselfishly works toward
their overall wellbeing
Make contributions that go beyond the school community and impact the local,
regional, and/or national educational community
Demonstrate leadership in school activities outside of the classroom
Be a respected, positive community member
This award seeks to honor teachers who care deeply for students and know how to engage and inspire them and care deeply for their school community and the larger communities around them.
Below are the words that Sarah Wilson, Executive Director of TAIS read that capture what Mrs. Gruner has meant to our community.
”I’ve talked a lot about expansion and size, and I don’t want to neglect the significance of an alternative material force–compression–which can be powerful enough to catalyze all kinds of reactions, including creating the heat to ignite fuel. Deb Gruner’s work in education–almost 40 years at Brainerd Baptist School where she is currently a Fourth and Fifth-grade teacher–is characterized by igniting the potential in others, be they her students, her colleagues, or the multiple Heads of School for whom she has worked. Deb’s fun, engaging, and student-centered classroom serves as a launching point for Brainerd Baptist students who go on to thrive at their Middle Schools. And Deb also catalyzes potential in her colleagues, long serving as a mentor teacher in an official capacity and through her unofficial but highly sought-after mentorship of former students who are now educators themselves; she also works with a local university to help aspiring teachers each year and has volunteered her time tutoring underserved students in Chattanooga. I feel certain that part of Deb’s effective work to ignite others' passions for education and scholarship is through the example she sets as a true lifelong learner. Deb’s Head of School, Sean Corcoran, explains that Deb “continues to re-invent her teaching style by evolving to how children learn, which looks considerably different today than when she started fresh out of college.” As Sean notes, Deb’s passion for learning and for her work means that “her peers and students’ parents often seek her wisdom in professional matters and even their own parenting. Any teacher who spends time around her is better for it, and the school, and ultimately students, share in this reward. This unique ability is not limited to classroom teachers as multiple heads at BBS have also relied on Deb for counsel, encouragement, or just an ear to listen.” It’s no wonder that Deb has done so many significant things at Brainerd Baptist: serving as grade level chair, serving on curriculum and accreditation committees, creating and organizing the school’s house system, and creating the school’s six-day schedule each year.”
We are proud of Mrs. Gruner for her accomplishments. She is the first teacher from Brainerd Baptist School to win this coveted award. Our teachers were so grateful to have this time to learn from their peers, collaborate and network with other educators. Conferences such as this inspire us to be lifelong learners and strive for excellence for our students' benefit.