Bill's Profile

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Who I Am
  • 3-5 sentence description of where / whom / what you teach.
Peoples Academy is a small public school with a private school name located in beautiful Morrisville, Vermont.  I am fortunate to be part of a three person teaching team with only 48 students!  I teach 5th + 6th Grade Humanities.
  • My Mantra  & Core Beliefs
  • A Few Pivotal Moments
    • Being a part of the original Alpha Program at the Shelburne Middle School is where I learned how to collaborate, be independent, experience freedom, benefit from having voice and choice
    • Shelburne Supermarket: SSMKT was really not a supermarket, but rather a “yuppie” market catering mostly to the wealthy.  Brad + Steve (owner's) taught me the importance of hard work and how to choose the right wine for any meal.  They also taught me that keeping the customers happy was more important than making a quick buck.
    • Teaching In China: In the mid 1990’s, as part of a teacher exchange program between Hazen and NiuLanShan No. 1 Middle School, is was able to travel to China and teach at NiuLanShan.  Easily my favorite teaching experience.   My Chinese colleagues were smart, kind and caring.  I felt accepted by the community from day one.  Life was incredibly simple.
 
Our Learning Lab’s Inquiry Question
  • How does ​personalization​ affect the climate and culture in fifth and sixth grade our classes and, ultimately, in our school?
Our Learning Lab’s Context
  • Images of Space / Learners
  • Description of Setting / Learners
Our setting is awesome on the outside.  Lots of open space, and  walking distance to the village.   On the inside, we  have some work to do.  The 1950’s structure that we are housed in is beat up and not built for flexibility.   
Our Findings So Far
  • Collection of ah-has, small and large, along with examples / links to helpful resources.
    • So, so, so much talk, discussion, conversation etc…  I feel strongly that my colleagues are digging deep and doing a lot  of heavy thinking.  I am convinced that I/we needed to let the process of unpacking what personalization might look like in our setting unfold at a pace much slower than we anticipated in the late summer.
Sources of Nourishment

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