Featured Teacher of the Quarter

This space will be devoted to a featured classroom in special education each quarter.

December 3, 2010

Patrick Durham

Introducing….Patrick Durham of Pleasant Grove Elementary, he is our second featured teacher of the quarter.  Mr. Durham was drawn to the field of special education because he enjoys dealing with students with learning difficulties. He has a soft spot in his heart for children who don’t learn in a traditional manner and hopes to fill a void in the lives of his students.

What is special about Mr. Durham’s class? Mr. Durham works with fourth and fifth graders and is always focused on engendering self help skills for his students. Instead of lecturing in the front of the room, Mr. Durham prefers to work with students in small groups in cooperative learning/discussions. The students in Mr. Durham’s class enjoy the interaction with him and the other students. They also like his fast paced style of teaching. Utilizing technology is also a favorite teaching technique for Mr. Durham, currently, he is using an I-Pad to assist with instruction in reading and math.

A love of learning keeps Mr. Durham in college classes. He will finish a program certification for Director of Pupil Personnel in December 2010 and he will continue to work on his certification for Superintendent. Mr. Durham already holds a Master’s Degree in Leadership/Principalship. Mr. Durham also is on the District team that is deconstructing the new national math standards.

Mr. Durham is full of fresh ideas to keep learning fun for his students! He continually analyzes his performance so that he can be an inspiring teacher for his students.