2022 Education magazine

2022 Education Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS February / March 2022 Page 33 School. She attained her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield in communications and elementary education. She then completed her Master’s in Elementary Education at Western Illinois University. She later earned her administrative certification through the principalship program at the University of Illinois Springfield. Mrs. Mendenhall has served in various roles since beginning her career in education, all of which have contributed to her expanding passion for teaching and learning. For 13 years, she taught in the classroom at the elementary, intermediate, and junior high levels. She has also served as an instructional technology coach working directly with teachers to integrate technology into the curriculum and lesson planning. She most recently served as a special education administrator before joining the MPGS staff. Mrs. Mendenhall consistently spends time in classrooms each week providing feedback to teachers, focusing on strengths and areas of growth. In addition to co-planning with teachers and grade level teams, Mrs. Mendenhall models lessons at different grade levels, co-teaches, observes, and collects data. Coaching cycles are conducted with individual teachers as well, which delve deeper into data collection, goal- setting, instructional practice improvement, and student learning gains based on goals identified between the two parties. Professional development is strategically planned and executed based on school- wide (and/or district-wide) data and teacher feedback. Topics so far have included teacher health and wellness, assessment practices, instructional methods, engagement strategies, data analyzation, and technology integration. Book studies have been implemented with success as well. The elementary building adopted a new math curriculum this year, which has led to a major shifting of instruction to truly engage students in their learning experience. Mrs. Mendenhall works closely with two math coaches at our Regional Office of Education to continuously learn and provide support that teachers need to make this transformation successful. Continued p