Mentor Program 

 
Professional Performance Review Board 
Competency Assessment 
 
Name: Janelle Keller  Date: 11/13/2019 
 
School: Edison Elementary   
 
Assignment: 1st Grade 
 
Present Phase: Phase I  
 
Dates of Visitation: 9/12, 9/20, 9/26, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 11/12 
 
Recommendation: Phase II 
 
Prepared By: Andy Lueth 
 
Background 
 
Janelle graduated with a Master’s of Science degree in Childhood Education from 
Medaille College in 2013, and worked as a day-to-day substitute teacher in 
KenTon and five other districts before taking a long-term sub position in the 
Buffalo schools in February of 2015. She had three LTS placements in the Buffalo 
schools before an opportunity arose to become probationary at the start of 2016. 
 
Janelle left the Buffalo schools midway through the 2018-2019 school year to take 
a chance with Starpoint, hoping that a long-term sub position there, might lead 
to a full-time, probationary position.   
 
In September 2019, Janelle was hired to teach First Grade at Edison Elementary. 
Janelle is a f​ antastic​ addition to the staff! New to KenTon, but now in her 6th year 
teaching, Janelle is clearly a master at classroom management, “restorative” 
practices, and differentiated instruction. KenTon is extremely lucky to have her! 
 
Janelle holds a professional certification in Childhood Education, 1-6, and 
received and extension in Early Childhood Education, B-2nd in 2014. She expects 
to have a professional certification in Early Childhood Education, B-2nd, within 
the next few months. 
 
Instructional Practice and Procedures 
 
Janelle teaches all core content areas to her 1st graders; ELA, Math, Science and 
Social Studies, and is an expert at each, but for the purpose of this report, I will 
concentrate on a brief example of a typical Math session. Janelle’s students work 
in small groups and travel from one activity station to another, every 10 minutes 
or so. At one station, students work directly with Janelle. At another, they may 
work with a c0-teacher. At other activity stations, students work independently.   
 
Because the activity stations include one that incorporates the use of iPads and a 
program called “iXL”, students are tested by this program and their progress 
monitored. Students are grouped by ability levels and receive diversified 
instruction at all stations. For example: when students rotate to the activity 
station on the rug, one group (at a particular ability level) may roll giant dice, 
write the numbers on a worksheet, then add those numbers together. Another 
group, when at that same station, may have decks of cards numbered with two 
and three digit numbers, then each student will lay down a card, read the numbers 
on their card out loud (ex: 117 - one hundred seventeen), then determine which of 
the 3 or 4 students had the highest number in that round, and the one with the 
highest number, gets to capture the other cards and add them to their collection. 
The next group to land on the rug, may have worksheets with boxes numbered 1 - 
120, with random boxes missing a number, but instead, having an image of a 
cartoon creature. There are sheets that accompany those worksheets, which have 
only the cartoon creatures, and blanks next to those images. Students have to 
figure out which number square each creature is parked in on the number sheet, 
and write those numbers onto the sheet with just the creatures and blanks. 
Another group might have to put together a simple puzzle, where each part of the 
puzzle has an image that has to match the same number associated with the other 
images; Ex: two hands with all the fingers extended and only one thumb folded 
under would be matched up against a part with the number 9 on it. Each of the 
math stations have similarly differentiated activities, where students are grouped 
and challenged, according to their strengths and abilities, and can be successful. 
 
I see students being presented with new math activities every time I visit. Janelle 
is always working to keep things fresh and challenging for her students, and she 
modifies the makeup of her groups often; to reflect the level that testing reveals 
each student to be capable of, to hold their interest, avoid personality conflicts, 
and to keep kids from over-socializing instead of practicing math facts. It’s 
continuous improvement in all aspects of Janelle’s instruction and planning, that 
reveal her experience and competence in working with elementary students. 
   
Janelle effectively incorporates opportunities for collaboration into her lessons, 
like - peer tutoring, partner work, turn and talk, and think-pair-share. 
Classroom Management 
 
Janelle states that “My classroom management has many layers. Most 
importantly, organization…” In conversations she affectionately describes 
herself as “the Mama Bear”, of the “cubs” in her care. She runs her classroom 
proactively and keeps her students on task, but knowing her students as well as 
she does, she can tell when kids are starting to lose interest, and takes action to 
bring them back to the fun of learning. For example: When Janelle sees that her 
students need a break, she may lead them in jumping-jacks or stretching 
exercises where they have to touch their toes then reach for the sky, but students 
will be expected to count out-loud by 10’s with each jumping jack, up to 100, or, 
perhaps count out-loud by 5’s to 50, each time they touch their toes. They may 
also be guided to recall long and short vowel sounds, or practice days of the week, 
or months in the year...etc. One of the great benefits of having students vocalize 
while practicing content, while they exercise, beyond the obvious benefit of the 
exercise to burn off some energy and regain focus, is that with all the students 
moving and concentrating on their own movements while they recite, no child is 
singled out if they don’t know what to say, and they have the added benefit of 
hearing the group recite, so they can try to follow along and are encouraged to 
join back in whenever they can. It’s this kind of clever classroom management, 
with multiple benefits, and minimal disruptions or interruptions to learning, that 
really shows how much experience Janelle has working with elementary students. 
She makes it look effortless! 
 
Janelle also has other methods to minimize fidgeting and restlessness; for 
instance, she offers things for kids to sit on to make their seats more comfortable. 
She also has experience with kids sitting on large exercise balls so they can move 
around a bit and use some core muscles while sitting. Janelle is even prepared to 
attach a giant rubber-band-like strap to the front legs of a student desk, for a 
student who may need to kick against something to use up excess energy in a way 
that isn’t noisy and doesn’t disrupt others and distract them from learning.   
 
Janelle is also proactive when it comes to reaching out to parents and other 
professionals and supports within the school, another character trait of a great 
teacher. She uses the school-wide PBIS behavior management system, rewarding 
students with the currency, “Eagle Bucks”, which they can accumulate 
throughout the day and use in a variety of ways. Janelle utilizes familiar prompts, 
like “ Give Me Five”, which are supported by posters and used by adults 
throughout the building. 
 
Knowledge of Subject Matter 
 
Janelle is highly organized around, and very familiar with the curriculum.   
 
Professional Development 
 
While in KenTon, Janelle has attended training in American Reading and Eureka 
Math, and plans to attend other math workshops and Lucy Calkins/Scholastic 
trainings as they become available. She’s also awaiting the opportunity to attend 
workshops for the new reading program, as that change is implemented in our 
district. 
 
Janelle is involved in the broader school community, and is proud to have been 
part of an effort that raised $35,000 for the students of Edison, and she looks 
forward to working with the Edison family on “Edison Elves, Bedtime Stories, and 
Earth Day committees!” 
 
Conclusion 
 
Janelle is guided by self-reflective questions, and each year she starts fresh. Her 
“...students are new, the classroom is new, and the education world is always 
changing, so I should also be prepared for change.” Janelle went on to describe 
her teaching style as “...hybrid, student-centered with teacher guidance.”   
 
Each school day begins with a reflection of the previous day and how things went. 
“How can I make the day easier for my students? How can I make the day easier 
for myself? How can I challenge my students without frustrating others?...) Her 
answers are rooted in organization. Organization guides her planning, drives her 
classroom management, and allows for a smooth flow from the introduction of a 
lesson, through to a strong closure, then allows for a smooth transition to the 
next agenda item and then the next...etc. 
 
Janelle is extremely competent and very much in command of her space, and 
she’s deeply committed to providing her students with a high quality first-grade 
experience. Her skill-set and organization should be shared with others. 
 
I recommend that Janelle be moved to Phase II, and given an opportunity to share 
her experience and organizational skills with others through our Collegial Circles. 
 
 
Teacher:___________________________________________ 
 
 
Mentor:___________________________________________ 
 
 
Date:_____________________________________________