ROSSFORD—All Saints Catholic School has instituted a culture of ongoing learning and support for teachers.

They are not expected to learn on their own, but to be a part of the school’s community of learners. Teachers are immersed in learning — from their peers in collaborative teams, to teachers knowing each other’s work intimately and are, therefore, able to hold each other accountable for teaching all of their students to a high standard, to the analysis of student performance data and knowing where to go with the results.

Professional learning is a constant, guided by teachers’ needs and, thus, targeted to their daily efforts to help all students succeed in all content areas.

During the week of June 17 the All Saints teachers built upon their understanding of best practice in literacy learning by participating in the Lakota Literacy VIEW (Vision-Initiative-Excellence-Wisdom) 2008 in Cincinnati.

Together, they learned how to immerse children in the best books to teach reading and writing, and most importantly, to teach from a common ground. The institute concentrated on practical classroom application of reading and writing connection, craft, conferring, assessment, revision and fluency.

During the four days, topics included the use of read-alouds to show students how to think about their reading; practical strategies to strengthen the writer’s craft; how to use conferring and reflection to evaluate student writing; application of strategies for teaching struggling readers; integration of instruction, modeling; and discussion to teach comprehension strategies.

The teachers recognized on the first day that being given the opportunity to spend time with the best researchers and writers in the country is truly a gift. Such renowned writers as Katie Ray, Carl Anderson, Ralph Fletcher, Lester Laminack, Tim Rasinski and other reflective leaders in the field of literacy, who are continually researching and refining their own beliefs, inspire the teachers of All Saints to envision all that is possible.

Their participation in the institute has certainly made a difference in the teaching and learning at All Saints. The school recognizes when it comes to professional development, there is a need to implement a targeted approach, providing multiple and varied learning opportunities for the teachers. Student achievement is the bottom line of teacher professional development.