Nancy Rapp: Master Practitioner Portfolio

 Standard 9: Middle level teachers understand the complexity of teaching young adolescents, and they engage in practices and behaviors that develop their competence as professionals. 

At South Davie, we consistently set the students' minds to high school and beyond. We gave the eighth grade students the ACT Explore exam to help the children see what subject areas are their strengths. We discussed the results individually with the students in order for them to understand what careers the test suggested for them.

Furthermore, the eighth graders register for their high school courses as a class where the guidance counselors and teachers, such as myself, were able to help the children with our opinions of their ability and interests. I treated my class as a high school "preview" so to speak, and frequently reminded them that this year's material will be re-taught and expanded upon at the high school. The syllabus below reflects how I enforce the notion that my class is preparation for the future. 

Lastly, the students take a field trip to the local community college, Davidson Community College, to attend a career fair each year. There, they are able to meet with professionals and peruse the various stations to see what might interest them.