Jonathan S  
Instruments: Flute
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Musical Theater, Latin Jazz, Bossa Nova, Marching Band

I am a lifelong teacher and teacher of teachers. As a principal I was a teacher of teachers. The following writing to my staff and parents indicate the kind of teacher leader I am. I bring these qualities whether teaching or playing music in an ensemble. Reading Aloud - A Personal Framework for School Improvement “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” by Roald Dahl is a tale about greed, deceit, magic, personal transformation, redemption, and ultimately developing one’s gifts and talents not only as a personal passion but in service to others. It is a story full of humor, mystery, great dialogue, outstanding descriptive and figurative language, and although written over 60 years ago is timeless. As principal, I read “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” to over 90 classes of students during my tenure. I did this because I loved the story and it enabled me to connect with my students and teachers, and indirectly parents, in important and personal ways. It enabled me to continue teaching and to explore with my students interesting and enduring themes about human nature, the human spirit, and our personal and collective responsibilities. When I started as principal, I wanted a way to personally relate to my sixth-grade students, over 125 students at that time. Coincidentally, I also had the good fortune to attend a lecture by Jim Trelease, a renowned read aloud advocate. I read his Read Aloud-Handbook and saw that “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” was a recommended read aloud. It was a story I was familiar with having read with students as a sixth grade teacher over 15 years earlier. And so, my reading aloud began. I read to each class, five or six classes each year. It was a great way for me to get to know the students. For a time, I was their teacher. And, with PTO financial support we purchased a copy of Trelease's book for our teachers. This PTO support became a standard practice where funds were yearly budgeted for professional books and support materials for our teachers to enhance school based professional development. Reading to the students was a great way to connect with them. I taught and we explored important themes given the behavior and motives of certain characters. The story provided excellent ways to integrate the curriculum. We learned about economics, geography, probability, and psychology. We made geographical connections given the many places Henry Sugar visited, considered money conversions, inflation, and chance, discussed the historical times in the story, and learned some sophisticated vocabulary. I also made connections when relevant to our school-wide Words of the Week and K.I.N.D. Kids Program. It allowed me to team teach and model this instructional practice with teachers. Somewhere in the middle of this reading odyssey I became introduced to what is known as the Proficient Reader Research. I read and studied Mosaic of Thought by Ellin Keene and Susan Zimmermann as well as other advocates of this applied research such as Miller, Harvey and Goudvis, and counterparts in best practices in writing instruction such as Ruth Culham. This renewed and improved my reading to children and redefined my involvement with my teaching staff. As I began to apply best practices from this research, our professional staff began a school-wide professional development effort in literacy. Examples included school-wide book studies of Mosaic of Thought and The Six Traits of Writing, where I shared with teachers my own reflective pieces and developed essential questions that we discussed and scripted as a faculty. We piloted a writing program that became a model for practice in the five district elementary schools, conducted teacher directed workshops for parents and at state-wide conferences, and made recommendations to parents through our school newsletters and teacher pages about specific ways parents could support literacy learning at home. These experiences gave me and my staff a continuing source for dialogue and practice as we strategically and cognitively developed our students' reading, writing and speaking abilities, with understanding how this is done developmentally and within a variety of curricula and content. This work could not have been accomplished nor had the wider impact in our school and district without the growth of our teaching staff from one that had been congenial to one that was characterized and respected as collegial and collaborative. It affected other areas of school improvement where school-based discussions were rooted in practices that enhanced student interests and achievement. These professional discussions and collaborations defined the school culture I led and served.