• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • 2018 Election
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries












Oak Ridge Schools announces district teacher of the year

Posted at 5:48 pm February 6, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Melanie Bloomer

Melanie Bloomer

Oak Ridge Schools on Wednesday announced its district teacher of the year: Melanie Bloomer of Willow Brook Elementary School.

The nine school-level teachers of the year were announced previously.

Teachers of the year are selected competitively through five cycles: school, district, region, grand division, and state, a press release said. Teachers selected at each cycle receive local recognition and awards underwritten by local sources. State recognition/awards include a banquet honoring the nine region-level teachers of the year.

“The Tennessee Department of Education has encouraged us to recognize teachers who care about children, who devote their professional lives to enriching the lives of Tennessee students, and who demonstrate exceptional gains in student achievement,” the press release said.

The region-level teachers of the year are part of the education commissioner’s Teacher Advisory Council. Council members share feedback and advice on issues that affect teachers and help communicate information with teachers in their region, the press release said. The nine region-level teachers of the year serve a one-year term on the Council and the three grand division winners serve a two-year term; thus, the council has 12 total members each year.

The Tennessee teacher of the year represents Tennessee in the national teacher of the year selection process, which is sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the press release said.

Bloomer’s biography below is written largely in her own words to provide a window into her authenticity and commitment to Oak Ridge students, the press release said.

For the most part, I have considered myself a successful reading teacher. I have purposely made it a practice to identify the lowest-scoring students in the school and identified a measure of growth. Yet, I had spent too many sleepless nights wondering what I could have done differently for the few students I knew needed more than they got from me. What key had I missed? Where had I failed them? I desperately wanted answers, so I agreed to participate in a research project sponsored by the federal Department of Education in conjunction with Ohio State University and Georgia State University. The purpose of this project was to compare data between special education students with reading deficits taught using typical district-approved reading programs and those students taught using the Literacy Lessons for the Individual method. Literacy Lessons for the Individual has been a continuation of the Reading Recovery program, specifically designed by Marie Clay, for students served under special education. Thus began the journey that totally changed the way I teach reading.

Time is always a teacher’s worst enemy. Trying to fit individual reading sessions for two students into a schedule that already did not allow for planning, or even lunch on most days, forced me to give up on the way I had always taught reading groups. I simply could not make different types of lesson plans for small group reading and my Literacy Lesson students. Therefore, I adapted the Literacy Lessons format to fit my group lessons. I followed the same lesson plan template as well as the same type of strategies and prompts.

Literacy Lessons taught me how to use what the student already knew to solve the unknown. It taught me how to focus not only on the visual information a word gives, but to consider the meaning and structure of the word within the text. Suddenly I understood why my students could pass their sight word test and then not recognize the same words in a text. Words in isolation lack meaning, but words in text carry meaning. I was not teaching the connection before. Now when my students are solving an unknown word, they ask themselves “Does that make sense? Do we say it that way? Does it look right?” Confidence has soared, as they are no longer stuck trying to sound out word after word only to still be confused.

Since changing the way I teach, several of my special education students have made growth comparable to their peers. I will no longer accept the belief that special education students are supposed to grow at a slower rate. My change in practice has brought about a growth mindset for both my students and myself. We are all learners. Recently a student said to me, “I’m so proud of you. You are working so hard.” This is why I must never be satisfied with mediocracy, but always teach and learn for the best. My students deserve nothing less.

As a response to growing behavior concerns at Willow Brook, our school decided to implement a Positive Behavior Intervention Support Program. Because of my background in working with children with behavior issues, I was asked to join the team. I embraced the concept of looking at behavior as a teachable skill instead of always being a punishable offense. Just like reading and math, behavior can be taught. However, behavior can only be taught when you have a relationship with your students. This is where my heart lies: building relationships with the most difficult kids in school. Knowing your students, knowing the circumstances in their lives, what drives them to do what they do, determines the way you react to them. Although there are numerous behavior supports I use to contribute to the improvement of our school culture, the focus of my heart is restoration.

Many of the children I work with feel hopeless. Their hurt is bigger than their ability to make right decisions. They need support and direction. It is for this reason that I use “family meetings” as a restorative strategy for students who cannot seem to break the cycle of misbehavior. We gather as a class, sitting in a circle on the floor. We talk frankly about the issue(s) each family member is having. Each student gives encouragement and/or advice about the situation. These meetings are such an integral part of our class that students will initiate the request for a meeting themselves when dealing with a problem. It is a powerful tool for change.

Based on behavior data, three students who have used the family meetings have not had a write up in over two months. Restoration is the key to relationship and relationship is the key to teaching and learning. I firmly believe that I cannot reach a children’s minds if I do not first reach their hearts. This is how I contribute to the positive school climate at Willow Brook, a continuously improving climate.”

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2019 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Education, Front Page News, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: district teacher of the year, Melanie Bloomer, Oak Ridge Schools, Teacher Advisory Council, Teacher of the Year, Teachers of the Year, Tennessee Department of Education, Willow Brook Elementary School

Advertisements



Join the club!

If you haven't already, please consider subscribing to Oak Ridge Today. You don't have to subscribe to read most of our stories, but your subscription does provide benefits, including access to premium content. And it will help us cover local news for you day and night, as best we can. You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month. You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers:

Basic
  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro
  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and join a private story discussion page
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and join a private story discussion page

Temporary
  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More Education News

Virtual career fair for ORNL on Feb. 20

Virtual career fair for ORNL on Feb. 20

Submitted Discover the variety of internships and research participation programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory by participating in the Laboratory Internship Virtual Event, or LIVE, career fair on Wednesday, … [Read More...]

No injuries reported when car crashes into school bus

No injuries reported when car crashes into school bus

No one was injured when a car crashed into an Oak Ridge school bus on Thursday, police said. The two-vehicle crash was reported at about 6:55 a.m. Thursday in the eastbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike at Salem … [Read More...]

Roane Commission rejects school consolidation plan

Roane Commission rejects school consolidation plan

Information from WYSH Radio Monday night, the Roane County Commission overwhelmingly voted against the long-discussed school consolidation project. Commissioners voted 11-2 with two abstentions to reject the … [Read More...]

Oak Ridge Schools announces district teacher of the year

Oak Ridge Schools announces district teacher of the year

Oak Ridge Schools on Wednesday announced its district teacher of the year: Melanie Bloomer of Willow Brook Elementary School. The nine school-level teachers of the year were announced previously. Teachers of the … [Read More...]

Three ORHS students qualify for state chess championship

Three ORHS students qualify for state chess championship

  Note: This story was updated at 6:05 p.m. Three Oak Ridge High School students have qualified for the state chess championship on February 16 at Tennessee Tech University. The three ORHS students took … [Read More...]

More Education

Recent Posts

  • Hearne joins ORNL as director of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
  • Virtual career fair for ORNL on Feb. 20
  • Interfaith Harmony events on Friday, Saturday
  • One lane of SR 116 open, with temporary signal, for 4-5 weeks
  • No injuries reported when car crashes into school bus
  • TVA board unanimously approves closing Bull Run Fossil Plant
  • Man died after removing wife from fire, trying to rescue her special needs sister
  • Officer legally entitled to use deadly force in fatal shooting, DA says
  • Two people die in fire, one person in critical care
  • Y-12, Pantex give more than $1 million to United Way

Recent Comments

  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Tracy Powers on Planning Commission to consider Main Street apartments, plan revisions
  • johnhuotari on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • Levi D. Smith on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • samuel hopwood on Housing: Apartments proposed on former AMSE site
  • Matt Bailey on Robin Smith named Oak Ridge police chief

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2019 Oak Ridge Today