The Penn State teacher exhibits the highest standards of professionalism in all that he/she does.

In the final area of focus, Domain D, I was consistently able to maintain a collaborative and professional relationship with colleagues and families.  Each week the children would take home their completed papers and projects to share with parents.  I also shared my unit plans with my mentor teacher and the rest of the third grade team to use in conjunction with their own plans for future years. I believe it is important to always dress and represent a professional teacher to keep the respect of your students and colleagues.  I used my observations of other teachers to help me grow and establish myself as a professional in the school.  Through educational reading and research, I was also able to grow as a teacher.  Last, attending parent teacher conferences, GIEP and IEP meetings, and communicating with parents via notes and phone calls enabled me to get the experience of a true teacher.  At all times during my placement, I upheld Penn State's code of conduct and put my best foot forward to demonstrate the highest levels of professionalism.

The teacher consistently meets expectations and fulfills responsibilities.

To demonstrate my professional performance in this area of the domain, I attached the observation chart my supervisor used during my lessons.  The observations all have a different area of focus, but each one still shows my progress in all domain sub-categories. Specifically, this section of the chart relates to my constant efforts to exceed set expectations. The responsibilities I have as a teacher are of the utmost importance to me.  It is important to act and present myself in a professional manner every day to gain the respect of students and colleagues.  I believe the professional factor is a large part of what makes me an effective teacher, because the respect of peers and students increases the value of my teaching.

The teacher establishes and maintains productive, collaborative relationships with colleagues and families.

In an effort to form a positive relationship with the parents and families of my students, I sent a letter home during my first week of student teaching.  The letter was meant to be a brief introduction of myself and a tool to communicate to parents my expectations for my student teaching experience.  I also wanted to express my excitement to work with their son or daughter in a well-established, positive classroom environment.  I hoped to share my desire to maintain a productive relationship by encouraging their feedback and thanking them in advance for their constant support.  Since this letter was sent home, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with parents in the classroom.  Through parent conferences, interactive science centers, and class parties, I was able to further my collaborative relationship with the families of my students.  Throughout my student teaching, I continued to send home newsletters updating parents on what their son or daughter was doing in school.  The second letter was my final communication with my students' families to thank them for their continued support.

The teacher values and seeks professional growth.

By joining The Pennsylvania State Education Association, I am kept up-to-date on all of the most recent developments in the teaching field.  I have the opportunity to be a member of a highly regarded professional teaching organization and interact with teachers of all levels.  Through the PSEA, I can continue to learn about teaching and further my own professional knowledge.  The PSEA offers many valuable resources for teachers and provides a network of support with others who value teaching as much as I do.  I receive emails from and regularly check the PSEA wesbite to remain current in all education related news.  This membership also offers me many opportunities for leadership and development as an educator, for example, hearing veteran teachers with their wealth of knowledge, give advice and encouragement to new teachers like me.

The teacher continuously demonstrates integrity, ethical behaviors, and appropriate professional conduct.

As a part of the Spring-Ford Area School District, I was able to maintain my professional conduct by sending a letter home to ask parent permission of video taping lessons for my development as an educator.  I sent home the official Penn State permission letter after checking if that letter was acceptable by the administration's standards.  This letter not only requests parents' permission, but highlights the reason for the video recordings in the classroom.  The district's policy is very strict against outside technologies being brought into the classroom, so I adjusted my video taping plans to using a video camera instead of my built-in camera in my notebook computer.  In addition to following their guidelines for video recording, I secured an account with access to the district's network to enable me to use technologies while inside the school.