Educational Philosophy written by Melanie Lehninger As I think back to the events that have happened in my life and how

they influenced me, I am surprised to find myself working as a special education teacher. The reason I say this is because I always had a desire to become a doctor. I was fascinated by medicine, the human body, how people interacted with one another, and the psychology behind human behavior. It wasnt until I began as a paraprofessional for Milwaukee Public Schools, that my career aspirations changed. As a para, I worked mostly with students with cognitive disabilities. They were in a MRP(Most Restrictive Placement) setting for the entire day. I really enjoyed working with these students on independent living skills so they could find future success after graduation. After working twelve years as a paraprofessional, I decided it was time to get my teaching certification in special education. My job working as a para gave me the knowledge and experience to become a successful teacher. My educational philosophy is based on the Baldridge Initiative. http://www.biein.org/baldrigeframe.html The purpose behind this initiative is to allow shared-decision making to occur within larger corporations. Many schools have adopted this strategy to allow teachers, students, parents and community members to become stakeholders and contribute to student success in school. There are seven steps in the Baldrige Initiative: Leadership 1.0: Looks at the classrooms leadership system as well as, the teachers personal leadership skills. Students write mission statements, core values for the class, and reflections on activities. Strategic Planning 2.0: Looks at the process used to develop classroom goals and action plans for learning and the degree to which students take responsibility to help achieve personal and classroom goals. Tools used include curriculum mapping, long and short term goals, and individual actions plans. Student and Stakeholder Focus 3.0: Looks at how the classroom systematically seeks to understand the needs of students. Tools used include surveys for students/parents, newsletters, progress reports/grade sheets, student/parent contracts. Information and Analysis 4.0: Looks at the data. Analyzing information collected to improve student performance. Tools used include data folders, baseline data(pretests), final exams(posttests), portfolios, grade analysis, and newsletters.

 Student Focus 5.0: Looks at human resource issues in the classroom. Focuses on practices to create an environment of motivated students as co-producers of learning. Tools used include certificates, flowcharts, student recognition, drivers/preventers for success, homework rubric, and TMAs(Time Management Analysis-good way for students to track progress and accountability). Management of Classroom Processes 6.0: Looks at how the classroom designs, introduces, and delivers educational programs. Tools used include daily procedure chart, absence procedures, PDSA(Plan Do Study Act), hallway pass procedures, and rubrics. Classroom Results 7.0: Looks at information for evaluation and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of classroom missions and goals. Tools used include dashboards(identifies where we are and where we want to be), survey results, and matrices(developed for the material to be learned.) The Baldrige steps listed above will help me design, develop, and implement an online learning community in which all stakeholders can play an active role. My goal is to give students opportunities to develop life-long learning skills through a technologyrich environment.