Highlighting WIN Time

This time of year brings a flurry of activities in our personal lives. In addition to the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, it is also a busy time for us educationally. The end of December marks the halfway point of the school year.

At the elementary school this important time of year prompts a season of evaluation. When we return from Christmas break, teachers will be giving two standardized assessments in reading and math.

• The Acadience Reading assessment is a short set of tests that measure reading skills like phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
• The iReady Math Diagnostic tracks student growth in four key areas of mathematical understanding; numbers and operations, algebra and algebraic thinking, measurement and data, and geometry.

Using the data from both of these benchmark tests allows classroom teachers and learning specialists to track student growth and to target areas of strength and weakness for more individualized instruction. This individualized instruction often occurs within the regular classrooms but most significantly during WIN (What I Need) time. WIN occurs daily for 30 minutes. This time is specifically designed for teachers and learning specialists to work together to give every student in the building what they need based on the data received.

This program is particularly important to me. First, it is simply the best approach educationally to meet the needs of each child. But most significantly, I believe it is a Biblical principle to view each child as created uniquely in God’s image and to celebrate His handiwork by helping them to grow to their fullest capacity.

Every good educator seeks to meet the needs of their students. But the wonderful thing about Christian education is that we get to practice good educational strategies for eternal reasons. May each student know that they are deeply loved and uniquely created for the good works that God has prepared in advance for them to do.