Welcome to my electronic portfolio!

Professional Background

I am a second grade teacher in the Westwood Community School District.  I received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a Master in the Art of  Teaching degree from Wayne State University. I have been teaching second grade for three years and have learned something new each year.  There is no place I'd rather be than in a classroom full of diverse learners who have unlimited individual potential. I feel that fluency in a variety of technological areas is an important part of a child's education and am excited to be participating in the MITTEN project.  

Westwood Community Schools

The Westwood District in Dearborn Heights serves about 2,200 students.  Westwood has three elementary schools, Thorne which has grades pre-K through 6th, Daly and Tomlinson which have grades K-6, as well as Robichaud High School which has grades 7-12.  

Thorne Primary School

I teach at Thorne Primary School in Dearborn Heights, Michigan.  We have classes ranging from preschool to sixth grade.  We currently enroll around 950 students.  Our students come mainly from our two local communities of  Dearborn Heights and Inkster.  Many of our students come to us through Schools of Choice.

Technology

According to our STaR chart, Thorne is a mid-technology school.  Thorne has two computer labs.  One is based on Microsoft products and is managed by our media specialist.  The other is a new I Mac lab featuring Apple products that is available for teachers to use with their classes. Our media specialist guides students through projects in the computer lab that are based on content area learning and enrichment. Each classroom is connected to the web and has at least one computer. Technology resources such as digital cameras, scanners, and a variety of software are available for all classes to use.  

Thorne School students are already passionate about technology.  They avidly take computer-based Reading Counts! tests, a Scholastic program, and jump at any chance to work in either of our computer  labs or on their classroom computers.  Many students do not have computers in their homes, so teaching technology at school is very important.  Also, Thorne students have many different learning styles, so teaching with technology is a useful tool, as well.  

Questions or comments:  karczynskis@wwschools.net