Old Rochester Regional
Lisa Dix
I have taught every grade from Pre-K through Grade 8 over the past 17 years. I have been certified in 4 different states: New York, Ohio, Massachusetts and South Carolina. Being a new staff member many times, I have had the chance to work with many different mentors. Some experiences have been wonderful and others, not so wonderful. I love being in the classroom and especially teaching 4th graders. I think they are still young enough to care about what I think, yet independent enough to be somewhat self-sufficient. No two days are alike, teaching can offer that spice and variety. I have been feeling however, a sort of “calling” to use the leadership skills I have been working on developing over the past several years to enter into administration, specifically in a Curriculum Director or Assistant Superintendent role.
I serve as a classroom teacher in my district, but also as the Mentoring Past the First Year Coordinator to help 2nd and 3rd year teachers to accrue the additional 50 hours in mentoring required by the state. I offer monthly meetings with agendas designed around Carol Radford’s book, Mentoring in Action, and Race To The Top videos found on the Mentoring in Action website. I am enrolled in Cohort 3 of 20/20 Mentoring in Action Leadership Academy in order to collaborate with others across the commonwealth in the same role. I am hoping to find ideas for content and ways to meet the needs of any teacher in my mentoring group: elementary, middle and high teachers, as well as special education teachers, and even guidance counselors. This has been my biggest challenge to date. I am looking forward to all I can learn from the others in my cohort, along with the extraordinary coaches and Carol Radford.