Conley Transitioned From Teaching
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Conley Transitioned From Teaching
By David [email protected]
"It has (helped). I think it helped the faculty. I think they understood what I stood for," Conley said during an interview Sept. 18. "When I stepped into the position, the school was well organized. The students and community were familiar with me. It definitely helped. I don't regret the decision."[[In-content Ad]]After graduating Warsaw Community High School in 1993 and Manchester College in 1997, Conley started his teaching career at Boon Grove, Porter Township Schools, in Valparaiso. He taught fourth grade there for three years and was the junior varsity girls basketball coach for two years.
After a year as a fourth-grade teacher and girls varsity basketball coach at Knox, he started looking to get closer to home. Through friends, he heard about a teaching job at Akron. Not only did he land the fifth-grade teacher position, but he also coached junior varsity boys basketball at Tippecanoe Valley High School for four years.
Conley began working on his master's degree. As he completed his work for the degree, Akron Principal Brett Boggs was asked to become Tippecanoe Valley School Corp.'s assistant superintendent. The Akron principal job became open, and Conley felt the timing seemed right for him to go for it.
He does miss the classroom sometimes, but he spends a lot of time in classes doing walk-throughs and observations. He said it's one of his favorite parts of the jobs, and they are real eye openers.
When he taught fifth grade at Akron, Conley said he didn't see what happened in the lower grades. As principal now, he gets to see the great instruction the lower-grades teachers provide, he said. That has been very beneficial to him.
Goals at Akron are never ending. "That's a process you always continue to evaluate," Conley said.
A goal at Akron is to improve the school through the Readers and Writers Workshops, he said, and to try to implement best practices throughout all the curriculum areas. In the broader sense, the Valley School Corp. attempts to streamline students' success through character development, literacy and leadership.
"Our goals, we'll just keep evaluating what we need to improve on," Conley said.
What Akron has going for it, he said, is a great instructional staff. The school has an excellent parent support group that is helping Akron to achieve initiatives through the Readers and Writers Workshop.
"The final thing we have is our community is very involved with our school and supports what we're trying to do with student achievement," Conley said.
Asked what would make his job easier, Conley had to pause a moment and think.
"If we could continue with the support we get from our community and parents, and having kids read every day, and the importance of reading to your students and seeing them read to you every day, I feel that is critical in having them learn to read," he said.
Last year, five school corporations visited Akron and other Tippecanoe Valley schools and observed Valley's Reading and Writers Workshops. Valley has been doing the workshops for about five years. Conley feels the teachers and staff continue to learn as the school brings in teachers to work with Valley's teachers.
"It keeps us continually questioning ourselves on how to get better," Conley said. "The literacy instruction that has occurred in grades K through 12 is something to be proud of."
Conley said it's not about the programs that take place at Akron, it's about the people who implement them.
"I really enjoy my job. It's a cool job being an elementary principal in a school where the adults truly are focused on the students and helping them improve," he said.
There will continually be challenges the school will face. Ten years ago, Conley said, 28 percent of the students were on the free and/or reduced lunch program. Now, that number is up to 58 percent. However, Conley said, Akron has closed the gap in terms of student success.
To help him meet the challenges, and to continue his own education, Conley is working on his education specialist degree. He said he's just trying to improve as a principal through the program, which will take him about two years.
One of the difficult aspects of his job, he said, is how much time he spends away from his family. Luckily, he said, his wife Jennie is very understanding, as is his twin daughters Breelyn and Brooklyn. The girls are middle school students.
"It's hard to be away from them, but they understand what I'm trying to do," Conley said.
Another part of his family is his parents. "They've probably been the most influential, positive role models in my life," Conley said.
Along with them, Conley had four male elementary school teachers when he was a student at Lincoln Elementary School.
"So that had a huge influence on my life," he said.
"It has (helped). I think it helped the faculty. I think they understood what I stood for," Conley said during an interview Sept. 18. "When I stepped into the position, the school was well organized. The students and community were familiar with me. It definitely helped. I don't regret the decision."[[In-content Ad]]After graduating Warsaw Community High School in 1993 and Manchester College in 1997, Conley started his teaching career at Boon Grove, Porter Township Schools, in Valparaiso. He taught fourth grade there for three years and was the junior varsity girls basketball coach for two years.
After a year as a fourth-grade teacher and girls varsity basketball coach at Knox, he started looking to get closer to home. Through friends, he heard about a teaching job at Akron. Not only did he land the fifth-grade teacher position, but he also coached junior varsity boys basketball at Tippecanoe Valley High School for four years.
Conley began working on his master's degree. As he completed his work for the degree, Akron Principal Brett Boggs was asked to become Tippecanoe Valley School Corp.'s assistant superintendent. The Akron principal job became open, and Conley felt the timing seemed right for him to go for it.
He does miss the classroom sometimes, but he spends a lot of time in classes doing walk-throughs and observations. He said it's one of his favorite parts of the jobs, and they are real eye openers.
When he taught fifth grade at Akron, Conley said he didn't see what happened in the lower grades. As principal now, he gets to see the great instruction the lower-grades teachers provide, he said. That has been very beneficial to him.
Goals at Akron are never ending. "That's a process you always continue to evaluate," Conley said.
A goal at Akron is to improve the school through the Readers and Writers Workshops, he said, and to try to implement best practices throughout all the curriculum areas. In the broader sense, the Valley School Corp. attempts to streamline students' success through character development, literacy and leadership.
"Our goals, we'll just keep evaluating what we need to improve on," Conley said.
What Akron has going for it, he said, is a great instructional staff. The school has an excellent parent support group that is helping Akron to achieve initiatives through the Readers and Writers Workshop.
"The final thing we have is our community is very involved with our school and supports what we're trying to do with student achievement," Conley said.
Asked what would make his job easier, Conley had to pause a moment and think.
"If we could continue with the support we get from our community and parents, and having kids read every day, and the importance of reading to your students and seeing them read to you every day, I feel that is critical in having them learn to read," he said.
Last year, five school corporations visited Akron and other Tippecanoe Valley schools and observed Valley's Reading and Writers Workshops. Valley has been doing the workshops for about five years. Conley feels the teachers and staff continue to learn as the school brings in teachers to work with Valley's teachers.
"It keeps us continually questioning ourselves on how to get better," Conley said. "The literacy instruction that has occurred in grades K through 12 is something to be proud of."
Conley said it's not about the programs that take place at Akron, it's about the people who implement them.
"I really enjoy my job. It's a cool job being an elementary principal in a school where the adults truly are focused on the students and helping them improve," he said.
There will continually be challenges the school will face. Ten years ago, Conley said, 28 percent of the students were on the free and/or reduced lunch program. Now, that number is up to 58 percent. However, Conley said, Akron has closed the gap in terms of student success.
To help him meet the challenges, and to continue his own education, Conley is working on his education specialist degree. He said he's just trying to improve as a principal through the program, which will take him about two years.
One of the difficult aspects of his job, he said, is how much time he spends away from his family. Luckily, he said, his wife Jennie is very understanding, as is his twin daughters Breelyn and Brooklyn. The girls are middle school students.
"It's hard to be away from them, but they understand what I'm trying to do," Conley said.
Another part of his family is his parents. "They've probably been the most influential, positive role models in my life," Conley said.
Along with them, Conley had four male elementary school teachers when he was a student at Lincoln Elementary School.
"So that had a huge influence on my life," he said.
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