Category Archives: CTI News

CTI News

CTI National Fellows Head to Yale for Intensive Seminars

July 3, 2014 – 5:13 pm

By Matt Strohl, CTI Summer Intern

July 3, 2014 — Five Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI) Fellows are boarding a plane this Sunday for an annual summer intensive (July 7-18) at Yale University. The Yale National Initiative (YNI) sponsors this event every year and invites teachers from different school districts across the country to deepen their content knowledge and create new curricula.

The YNI was started in 2004 by the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute in order to strengthen teaching in public schools. According to the Yale National Initiative website, “The Initiative is a long-term endeavor to establish in most states Teachers Institutes that will provide state and local policy makers effective examples of the innovative Institute approach in their own communities.”

Teachers from all over the country travel to Yale each summer to participate in a summer intensive program that focuses on enhancing their teaching through a focus on content knowledge. These teachers, named National Fellows, participate in seminars throughout the two-week period that they are at Yale. From these seminars, Fellows are required to produce a 15-25 page curriculum unit that will then be published and distributed on the national level.

This year five CTI fellows have the opportunity to participate in the YNI. Teresa Strohl (Visual Art, Barringer Academic Center), Gloria Brinkman (Visual Art, North Mecklenburg High School), Torrieann Dooley (2nd Grade, David Cox Road Elementary School), Phil Carver (Science, James Martin Middle School) and Alexandra Edwards (Social Studies, Bailey Middle School) will be joining CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan, and two Davidson College faculty and one UNC Charlotte faculty on the trip to Yale University. For some of them, this is their first time participating in the intensive; for others, this is just another notch in their belts.

“We are so proud that these five CMS teachers have been selected as Yale National Fellows,” said CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan. “These Fellows have earned the opportunity to study alongside Yale University professors, collaborate with teachers from 17 school districts in nine states, and create original curricula for students in their classrooms. Being part of the Yale National Initiative is truly a transformative experience.”

The five Fellows from CTI travelled to Yale in May for an initial meeting. This first trip allowed for the Fellows to meet colleagues and discuss plans for the coming intensive program.

“Yale in May was fantastic! It was wonderful meeting so many intelligent educators and reconnecting with friends and fellows from past years,” said Dooley, a repeat fellow for the YNI. “I also really enjoyed getting to know the team of teachers/fellows from Charlotte. I believe our bond helps strengthen our local CTI community as well.”

Gloria Brinkman, another CTI fellow that is also a returning YNI fellow, also discussed her excitement about the program.

“It felt like a family reunion to be welcomed back by my seminar leader, Joe Roach, the YNI Director James Vivian, and my friends from other teacher institutes around the country who are also returning fellows for the 2014 summer intensive session,” said Brinkman. “Yale is an amazing place and it is wonderful to feel familiar as well as befriended on campus.”

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CTI News News

CTI Fellows Named Teachers of the Year

June 26, 2014 – 7:10 pm

by Matthew Strohl, CTI Summer Intern

Each year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg teachers are recognized for their outstanding achievements. This year is no different, with a plethora of teachers that have gone far and beyond for their students. Schools nominate teachers that have shown unparalleled ability to be considered for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) Teacher of the Year award. This award is given out on two levels: each CMS school nominates a teacher to receive a school-level award, and then the county selects a teacher from those to receive the county-wide award. Not only is winning these awards a great honor, but even being considered for one shows prowess and determination to help students succeed. Teachers from all over CMS take part in Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI) seminars each year. From these teachers, there is a constant chance for there to be a few Teacher of the Year nominees. This year is no different; from the 98 teachers that completed seminars last year, five of them received Teacher of the Year awards from their schools. Two of these CTI fellows were also finalists for the county-wide award. “Charlotte Teachers Institute prides itself in helping teachers enhance their skills both within the classroom and without,” said CTI director Scott Gartlan. The five CTI fellows that received awards are Brad Baker, 10th grade civics and economics teacher from William A. Hough High School; Lyndsay Burns, 4th grade teacher from David Cox Elementary; Tara Lee, 7th grade language arts teacher from Bailey Middle School; Jashonai Payne, 5th grade teacher from Clear Creek Elementary; and Emily Wegener, Specialized Academic Curriculum (SAC) teacher from Albemarle Road Elementary. These five teachers of the year had plenty of positive feedback for CTI in regards to its influence on their achievements. “CTI sparked my love for learning and made my lessons more engaging and exciting for my students,” said Lee. “This created a productive learning environment which led to being recognized by my colleagues.” Wegener, one of two CMS-wide Teacher of the Year award finalists that were CTI fellows, stated “CTI gave me the level of professionalism and depth of discussion that I was looking for.” Sean “Brad” Baker was the other finalist. ”CTI is great because you are getting quality detail and education in your seminar leader and having detailed professional discussions between educators,” said Baker. “I have worked hard to improve myself every year as a teacher and CTI has helped in that process. “It meant so much that my kids and my type of teaching were valued by my coworkers,” stated Wegener about her award. “I loved that I was getting a ‘normal’ teacher award, even though my area of teaching is not that normal at all!” Both Baker and Wegener’s accomplishments are incredibly notable and reflect their success with the help of CTI. Baker and Wegener, alongside Payne, Lee and Burns, are incredible teachers that show exceptional promise in their respective academic fields.

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CTI News News

Wells Fargo Awards Grant to Charlotte Teachers Institute for Sixth Consecutive Year

June 17, 2014 – 9:28 pm

CHARLOTTE – June 17, 2014 – Wells Fargo has awarded a $50,000 grant to the Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI), an innovative partnership among Davidson College, UNC Charlotte, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS). The purpose of this partnership is to empower classroom teachers through the cultivation of content knowledge, creativity, leadership and collaboration.

“Wells Fargo continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to CMS teachers through CTI.  Focused on intensive, content-rich, and highly collaborative fellowships, CTI provides teachers with significant career development opportunities,” said CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan.  “We are proud to partner with Wells Fargo to promote high quality teaching.”

Since CTI’s creation in 2009, Wells Fargo has continuously offered support to the program.

“The Wells Fargo Foundation is pleased to continue to support the work of the Charlotte Teachers Institute,” said Wells Fargo Community Affairs Manager Jay Everette. “Our foundation has designated education as one of our primary focus areas. We believe that education is one of the most important investments we can make in our country’s future. Wells Fargo is responsible for promoting the long-term economic prosperity and quality of life for everyone in our communities. If they prosper, so do we.”

This Wells Fargo grant will support CTI’s general programming, including seminars that started in April and run through December. 104 classroom teachers participating in these 2014 seminars collaborate with professors from UNC Charlotte and Davidson College to create 15-25 page curriculum units. These units will reach more than 15,000 students in 2014-2015.

About Charlotte Teachers Institute

Through seminars led by UNC Charlotte and Davidson College faculty, CMS teachers learn new content, work collaboratively with other teachers, and develop new curricula for their students. Teachers serve as leaders in the institute and choose seminar topics they deem most important and engaging for current CMS teachers and their students. To date, more than 350 CMS teachers have participated in CTI seminars teaching more than 70,000 students.

An affiliate of the Yale National Initiative at Yale University, CTI provides high quality teacher professional development led by expert university and college faculty. Programs include seven-month long, content-rich seminars and special events for teachers, as well as community presentations such as the popular Exploding Canons cultural collaboration series. CTI and its partners were recognized by the Council of Great City Schools with its 2013 Shirley S. Schwartz Urban Education Impact Award.

CTI programs are made possible by a joint commitment of resources from CMS, Davidson College and UNC Charlotte and through the generosity of private funding institutions such as the Arthur Vining Davis Jr. Foundations, The Belk Foundation, Piedmont Natural Gas Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation. The institute is housed at UNC Charlotte within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, and the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank’s customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2013 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.

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For more information, contact CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan, 704-687-0078, scott.gartlan@uncc.edu

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools media contact: Kathryn Block, 980-344-0009 Kathrynd.block@cms.k12.nc.us

Davidson College Public Relations media contact: Bill Giduz, 704-894-2244, bigiduz@davidson.edu

UNC Charlotte Public Relations media contact: Buffie Stephens, 704-687-5830, BuffieStephens@uncc.edu

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CTI News Press Releases

CTI Welcomes 2014 Cohort of 104 CMS Teachers and New Partnerships with Discovery Place and Gantt Center

May 30, 2014 – 8:06 pm

CHARLOTTE – May 2014 – Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI) has accepted a new cohort of 104 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) teachers into its innovative, interdisciplinary seminars for 2014, involving new partnerships with Discovery Place and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture. “We are beyond excited to welcome our new CTI Fellows and provide them with the opportunity to work with icons of the scientific and cultural scene in the greater Charlotte community,” said CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan. “These partnerships will provide full access for our teachers to explore ideas and artifacts in innovative ways to improve their curriculum.”

Four of CTI’s eight, seven-month, small group seminars will meet at Discovery Place:
•  Artificial Intelligence – Raghuram Ramanujan, assistant professor of mathematics and computer science at Davidson College
•  The Global Energy Challenge – Durwin Striplin, professor of chemistry, Davidson College
•  Metamorphosis: Transformative Experiences – Amy Ringwood, associate professor of biological sciences at UNC Charlotte
•  Intersections of Science Technology and Culture – Alan Rauch, professor of English at UNC Charlotte.

“Changes to science and technology happen rapidly, and it can be challenging for classroom educators to maintain an expert level of understanding in these technical concepts. Through our new Discovery Place Education Studio for professional development, we are thrilled to partner with Charlotte Teachers Institute to bring these learning experiences to our Charlotte teachers,” said Discovery Place President and CEO Catherine Horne.

The Harvey B. Gantt Center will host CTI’s Visual Storytelling in Children’s and Young Adult Literature seminar, led by UNC Charlotte Associate Professor of English Paula Connolly. “Enriching the education of K-12 students by serving as a resource for teachers is one of three strategic objectives that inform all that we do at the Harvey B. Gantt Center. This partnership with Charlotte Teachers Institute supports our objectives and will also allow us to increase access to traveling exhibitions and our permanent collection, particularly the John & Vivian Hewitt Collection of African-American Art. As a result of this collaboration, the Fellows have become an extension of our small staff and will help expand our reach exponentially,” said Harvey B. Gantt Center President and CEO David R. Taylor.

Two seminars take place at Davidson College (The Art of Fiction: Close Analysis, Style and the Novel led by Davidson’s Associate Professor of English Maria Fackler, and Human Agency led by Davidson Associate Professor of Philosophy Meghan Griffith). Heroes, Rebels and Rock Stars: Cultural Icons in Modern Europe led by UNC Charlotte Associate Professor of History Heather Perry meets on UNC Charlotte’s main campus.

CTI Fellows from all eight seminars began with an orientation at Discovery Place in April and will continue to meet in their individual seminar groups through November 2014. Gartlan noted that all 104 Fellows (13 teachers in each of the eight seminars) and the seminar leaders receive free Discovery Place and Gantt Center memberships to further their independent research and cultural connections in the community.

About Charlotte Teachers Institute

Through seminars led by UNC Charlotte and Davidson College faculty, CMS teachers learn new content, work collaboratively with other teachers, and develop new curricula for their students. Teachers serve as leaders in the institute and choose seminar topics they deem most important and engaging for current CMS teachers and their students. To date, more than 350 CMS teachers have participated in CTI seminars teaching more than 70,000 students.

An affiliate of the Yale National Initiative at Yale University, CTI provides high quality teacher professional development led by expert university and college faculty. Programs include seven-month long, content-rich seminars and special events for teachers, as well as community presentations such as the popular Exploding Canons cultural collaboration series. CTI and its partners were recognized by the Council of Great City Schools with its 2013 Shirley S. Schwartz Urban Education Impact Award.

CTI programs are made possible by a joint commitment of resources from CMS, Davidson College and UNC Charlotte and through the generosity of private funding institutions such as the Arthur Vining Davis Jr. Foundations, The Belk Foundation, Piedmont Natural Gas Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation. The institute is housed at UNC Charlotte within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

2014 CTI Fellows (by seminar) include:

Artificial Intelligence
Lisa Ashworth, Barringer Academic Center
Angela Bates, CATO Middle College High School
Aletha Bland, West Mecklenburg High School
Kara Boneillo, Reedy Creek Elementary School
Phil Carver, James Martin Middle School
Stephanie Coggins, Bailey Middle School
Katelyn Gardepe, David Cox Road Elementary School
Matthew Kelly, Independence High School
Aaron Kollar, Piedmont Open IB Middle School
Stephanie Misko, W.A. Hough High School
Tracey Surrett, Irwin Academic Center
Jill Ward, Elizabeth Traditional Elementary School
Lana Withrow, Barringer Academic Center

Heroes, Rebels and Rock Stars: Cultural Icons in Modern Europe
Amanda Armstrong, Carmel Middle School
Miranda Bellamy, James Martin Middle School
Mawuena Dabla-Egui, Harding University High School
Jennifer Dalesandro, Bain Elementary School
Kathryn Heinen, East Mecklenburg High School
Holly Lambert, Lincoln Heights Academy
Elizabeth Lasure, Mallard Creek High School
Joshua Lemere, Barringer Academic Center
Archie Livingston, Jr., Alexander Graham Middle School
Christina Sissoko, Elizabeth Traditional Elementary School
Mary Tew, Davidson Elementary School
Roshan Varghese, Butler High School

Brooke Wilson, West Mecklenburg High School

Human Agency
Morgan Andrews, W.A. Hough High School
Sean “Brad” Baker, W.A. Hough High School

Cassandra Black, Ashley Park Elementary School
Laura Champury, Francis Bradley Middle School
Constance Danna, Lebanon Road Elementary School
Lewis Davidson, Mallard Creek High School
Lisa Hagen, North Mecklenburg High School
Torrieann Dooley Kennedy, David Cox Road Elementary School
Amy LaLonde, Tuckaseegee Elementary School
Kendra McCall, Reedy Creek Elementary School
Erin Muffler, Barringer Academic Center
Heather Nash, East Mecklenburg High School
Hannah Wenger, Harding University High School

Intersections of Science, Technology and Culture
Rosa Bockian, Collinswood Language Academy
Stefanie Carter-Dodson, Southwest Middle School
Georgina Fiorentino, Reedy Creek Elementary School
Tavia Highsmith, Albemarle Road Middle School
Michele Lemere, Garinger High School
Christian Lott, West Mecklenburg High School
Melanie Mowry, Francis Bradley Middle School
Wendy Potter, Butler High School
Kari Rhoades, Mallard Creek High School
Debra Semmler, East Mecklenburg High School
Jennifer Thompson, James Martin Middle School
Michelle Tufano, W. A. Hough High School

Richard Whitehead, Northwest School of the Arts

Metamorphosis: Transformative Experiences
Cynthia Benes, Harding University High School
Sheena Burrus, Clear Creek Elementary School
Caitlin Cook, Bain Elementary School
Mary Fabian, CATO Middle College High School
Nikki Guevara, Bain Elementary School
Maebeth Hill, North Mecklenburg High School
Janet Raybon, Myers Park High School
Julie Ruziska Tiddy, Carmel Middle School
Rima Solh, Eastway Middle School
Rochelle Stanley, Garinger High School
Alan Vitale, W.A. Hough High School
Connie Wood, East Mecklenburg High School
Cynthia Woolery, Elizabeth Traditional Elementary School

The Art of Fiction: Close Analysis, Style and the Novel
Angela Burke, Vance High School
Calen Clifton, Martin Luther King Middle School
Tiffany Craig, Allenbrook Elementary School
Kayla D’Allura, Collinswood Language Academy
Alexandra Edwards, Bailey Middle School
Angelina McCurry, Alexander Graham Middle School
Jennifer Ladanyi, Bailey Middle School
Courtney McNair, Butler High School
Megan Shellenberger, W.A. Hough High School
Elizabeth Smiley, Torrence Creek Elementary School
Amy Stokes, Lebanon Road Elementary School
Christina Varney, Stoney Creek Elementary School

The Global Energy Challenge
Gloria Brinkman, North Mecklenburg High School
Jeanne Cooper, Mallard Creek High School
NaToya Dingle, Coulwood Middle School
DeNise Gerst, Barringer Academic Center
Melanie Kirschner, Albemarle Road Elementary School
Lisa Lewis, Collinswood Language Academy
Robin Mitchell, Randolph Middle School
Delanie Reavis-Bey, Crestdale Middle School
Adora Reid, James Martin Middle School
Jacquelyn Smith, W.A. Hough High School
Kory Trosclair, Bailey Middle School
Rachel Varghese, Butler High School
Alicia Waters, Grand Oak Elementary School

Visual Storytelling in Children’s and YA Literature
Angela Boyce-Thornton, Ashley Park PreK-8 School

Justine Busto, East Mecklenburg High School
Brandy Daniels, Irwin Academic Center
Deborah Ferris, Hopewell High School
Miesha Gadsden, Lansdowne Elementary School
Mary Catherine, Grant David Cox Road Elementary School
Danielle Gregory, Albemarle Road Elementary School
Tara Lee, Bailey Middle School
Ebone Lockett, West Mecklenburg High School
Delee Marciano, Randolph Middle School
Kimberly Palmer,Ridge Road Middle School
Teresa Strohl, Barringer Academic Center
Barbara Wesselman, Northwest School of the Arts

For more information, contact CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan, 704-687-0078, scott.gartlan@uncc.edu

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools media contact: Tahira Stalberte, 980-343-0954 tahira.stalberte@cms.k12.nc.us

Davidson College Public Relations media contact: Bill Giduz, 704-894-2244, bigiduz@davidson.edu

UNC Charlotte Public Relations media contact: Buffie Stephens, 704-687-5830, BuffieStephens@uncc.edu

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CTI News News

Discovery Place and Gantt Center to Host 2014 CTI Seminars

March 14, 2014 – 5:05 pm

The Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI) is proud to announce two new cultural partnerships aimed at enhancing teachers’ experiences in the 7-monthlong seminars.  Discovery Place and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture will host five CTI seminars in 2014.  “We are beyond excited to have the opportunity to work with icons of the scientific and cultural scene in the greater Charlotte community,” said Scott Gartlan, CTI Executive Director.  “These partnerships will provide full access for our teachers to explore artifacts in innovative ways to improve their curriculum.”  Teachers, known as “Fellows,” participating in 5 seminars (listed below) will meet together for each of the 12 seminar meetings at either Discovery Place or the Gantt Center from April through November 2014.  Additionally, all 104 Fellows (13 teachers in each of the eight seminars) will receive a free yearly membership to Discovery Place, Discovery Place Kids, Charlotte Nature Museum and the new Education Studio in the STEM Center for Professional Development.  Click here to learn more about all eight 2014 CTI Seminars.

Discovery Place Seminars

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • The Global Energy Challenge
  • Metamorphosis:  Transformative Experiences
  • Intersections of Science, Technology and Culture

Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture Seminar

  • Visual Storytelling in Children’s and Young Adult Literature

Discovery Place’s website Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture’s website

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CTI News News

CTI Recognizes CMS Classroom Teachers as Leaders

February 20, 2014 – 9:07 pm

Charlotte Teachers Institute Recognizes CMS Classroom Teachers as Leaders

CHARLOTTE – Feb. 24, 2014 – Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI) recently announced leaders who will guide its 2014 seminar season. These educators, K-12 through the university level, represent the inclusive and creative focus that distinguishes this unique professional development initiative. Fifty-four CMS Teachers and eight UNC Charlotte and Davidson College Faculty will lead the 2014 CTI Seminars.

“Our teacher leaders from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) and our faculty leaders from UNC Charlotte and Davidson College are the lifeblood of our work,” said Scott Gartlan, CTI executive director. “They offer a depth and breadth of experience and knowledge that is critical to our efforts to strengthen teaching in CMS.”

CTI is a partnership of UNC Charlotte, Davidson College and CMS working to cultivate content knowledge, creativity, leadership skills and collaboration within and among CMS teachers.

One CTI Fellow and CMS Teacher will represent the Institute at the Yale National Initiative (YNI), of which CTI is an affiliate. Torrieann Dooley, David Cox Road Elementary School second-grade teacher and CTI Local Steering Committee member, will return to the YNI National Steering Committee as a teacher representative.  Ms. Dooley will work with other teachers from across the country, including 16 school districts in nine states to plan the summer intensive sessions at Yale University in July.

Gartlan also announced leaders for CTI’s 2014 Local Steering Committee, drawn from CMS’ teaching force. “Classroom teachers are the driving force,” he said. “Teachers shape the direction of our programs and set goals based on their needs in the classroom.”

New members of the steering committee are: Gloria Brinkman, visual art, North Mecklenburg High School; Alexandra Edwards, social studies, Bailey Middle School; and Miesha Gadsden, 3rd grade, Lansdowne Elementary School.

Returning Local Steering Committee members in addition to Ms. Dooley are: Matthew Kelly, Spanish, Independence High; Beth Lasure, visual arts, Mallard Creek High; Deb Semmler, physics, East Mecklenburg High; Barbara Wesselman, apparel/costume design, Northwest School of the Arts; and Cindy Woolery, science, Elizabeth Traditional Elementary..

CTI’s upcoming round of eight seminars for 2014 will be led by university faculty seminar leaders and CMS teacher seminar coordinators:

  • “Artificial Intelligence” – Raghuram Ramanujan, Davidson College assistant professor of mathematics and computer science; Phil Carver, James Martin Middle School eighth grade science teacher
  • “The Global Energy Challenge” – Durwin R. Striplin, Davidson College professor of chemistry; DeNise Gerst, Barringer Academic Center K-5 science teacher
  • “Metamorphosis:  Transformative Experiences” – Amy Ringwood, UNC Charlotte associate professor of biology; Mary Fabian, Cato Middle College science teacher
  • “Intersections of Science, Technology, and Culture” – Alan Rauch, UNC Charlotte professor of English; Jennifer Thompson, James Martin Middle School seventh grade science teacher
  • “Human Agency” – Meghan Griffith, Davidson College associate professor of philosophy; Susan Jones, Steele Creek Elementary School first grade teacher
  • “The Art of Fiction: Close Analysis, Style, and the Novel” – Maria Fackler, Davidson College associate professor of English; Jennifer Ladanyi, Bailey Middle School seventh grade language arts teacher.
  • “Visual Storytelling in Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture” – Paula T. Connolly, UNC Charlotte associate professor of English; Teresa Strohl, Barringer Academic Center K-5 visual arts teacher
  • “Heroes, Rebels and Rock Stars: Cultural Icons in Modern Europe” – Heather Perry, UNC Charlotte associate professor of history; Roshan Varghese, Butler High School history teacher

CTI also introduced a full cadre of school contacts. These school contacts are essential to the success of the initiative, acting as advocates and liaisons within each of the schools, Gartlan said. The contacts can be found on the website:  http://charlotteteachers.org/2013/02/cti-recognizes-cms-classroom-teachers-as-leaders/ .

  • Jennifer Aldridge, North Mecklenburg High School
  • Gifty Allen, West Charlotte High School
  • Lisa Ashworth, Barringer Academic Center
  • Tamara Babulski, Independence High School
  • Lucy Beaube, Barringer Academic Center
  • Bonnie Bosworth, Mallard Creek High School
  • Gloria Brinkman, North Mecklenburg High School
  • Sheena Burrus, Clear Creek Elementary School
  • Stefanie Carter-Dodson, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School
  • Phil Carver, James Martin Middle School
  • Calen Clifton, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School
  • Madalina Corneanu, Harding University High School
  • Jennifer Dalesandro, Bain Elementary School
  • Lew Davidson, Mallard Creek High School
  • Barbara Devine, Whitewater Academy
  • Torrieann Dooley, David Cox Road Elementary School
  • Alexandra Edwards, Bailey Middle School
  • Torrie Edwards, W.A. Hough High School
  • Lindsey Elkins, Providence High School
  • Mary Fabian, Cato Middle College High School
  • Nicole Fraser, Davidson Elementary School
  • Dawn Franchina, West Charlotte High School
  • Miesha Gadsden, Lansdowne Elementary School
  • DeNise Gerst, Barringer Academic Center
  • Jedidiah Gist-Anderson, West Charlotte High School
  • Cynthia Hicks, Steele Creek Elementary School
  • Ana Hummel, North Mecklenburg High School
  • Marva Hutchinson, Providence High School
  • Susan Jones, Steele Creek Elementary School
  • Deb Jung, Winding Springs
  • Matthew Kelly, Independence High School
  • Melanie Kirschner, Albemarle Road Elementary
  • Jennifer Ladanyi, Bailey Middle School
  • Beth Lasure, Mallard Creek High School
  • Tara Lee, Bailey Middle School
  • Angelina McCurry, Alexander Graham Middle School
  • Stephanie Misko, W. A. Hough High School
  • Jennifer Osburn, Myers Park High School
  • Jashonai Payne, Clear Creek Elementary School
  • Katelyn Quinn, Irwin Academic Center
  • Janet Raybon, Myers Park High School
  • Julie Ruziska Tiddy, Carmel Middle School
  • Deb Semmler, East Mecklenburg High School
  • Katherine Semmler, North Mecklenburg High School
  • Teresa Strohl, Barringer Academic Center
  • Jennifer Thompson, James Martin Middle School
  • Edwin Tranquilino, Harding University High School
  • Kory Trosclair, Bailey Middle School
  • Roshan Varghese, David W. Butler High School
  • Barbara Wesselman, Northwest School of the Arts
  • Lynne Wiesicke, Albemarle Road Elementary School
  • Megan Woazeah, Bradley Middle School
  • Tamara Wood, Albemarle Road Middle School
  • Cindy Woolery, Elizabeth Traditional Elementary School

CTI will host an open house on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 5:30 p.m. at UNC Charlotte Center City at 320 E. 9th Street to introduce its 2014 educator leaders and its seminars. Details and registration information are available on the CTI website at www.charlotteteachers.org. Teacher applications to participate in the seminars are online and are due March 12.

About the Charlotte Teachers Institute

The Charlotte Teachers Institute is an educational partnership among Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Davidson College and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte that works to improve teaching in Charlotte-Mecklenburg public schools. CTI and its partners were recognized by the Council of Great City Schools with its 2013 national Urban Education Impact award (see link at http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/News/Pages/CMSandUNCCwinnationalawardforCharlotteTeachersInstitute.aspx).

An affiliate of the Yale National Initiative at Yale University, CTI cultivates content-knowledge, creativity, leadership skills and collaboration within and among Charlotte’s public school teachers. Programs include long-term seminars and special events for teachers, as well as community presentations. CTI’s “Exploding Canons” and “Teachers as Scholars” events engage and educate CMS teachers and the community-at-large, as CTI and a variety of partnering organizations produce forums for examining popular topics through multi-disciplinary lenses.

CTI programs are made possible by a joint commitment of resources from all three Institute partners and through the generosity of private funding institutions such as the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Belk Foundation, Piedmont Natural Gas Foundation and the Wells Fargo. The institute is housed at UNC Charlotte within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Each year about 100 CMS teachers in grades K-12 are enrolled in CTI’s eight, multidisciplinary seminars that began in the spring and continue until December. The seminars’ weekly meetings recess during the summer, while teachers immerse themselves in reading and research related to curriculum units they are developing for their students. These curriculum units generate learning beyond each teacher’s classroom, as the final units are shared with teachers’ school colleagues and are also published on the CTI and Yale National Initiative websites, making them accessible to teachers worldwide. For more information visit the CTI website at www.charlotteteachers.org.

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For more information, contact CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan, 704-687-0078, info@charlotteteachers.org

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools media contact: Tahira Stalberte, 980-343-0954 tahira.stalberte@cms.k12.nc.us

Davidson College Public Relations media contact: Bill Giduz, 704-894-2244, bigiduz@davidson.edu

UNC Charlotte University Communications media contact:  Buffie Stephens, 704-687-5830, BuffieStephens@uncc.edu

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CTI News News

CTI wins national award given by the Council for Great City Schools

February 19, 2014 – 5:53 pm

CTI received the Shirley S. Schwartz Urban Education Impact Award given by the Council for Great City Schools at their Annual Conference in November 2013. This award is given annual to recognize an outstanding partnership between a university and an urban school district that has had a significant, positive impact on student learning. CTI is a partnership among Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Davidson college and UNC Charlotte to strengthen teaching and learning in public schools. Read the press release.

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CTI News News

Davidson Faculty and CTI Fellows Celebrate Another Successful Year in 2013

January 7, 2014 – 8:32 pm

Bill Gudiz, Director of Media Relations at Davidson College, attended the 2013 Fellows Finale Celebration at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and highlighted Davidson’s strong commitment to public school teachers.  Click here to read the story.

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CTI News

Belk Foundation Awards $50,000 to CTI

September 5, 2013 – 9:57 pm

Belk Foundation logoThe Belk Foundation has awarded CTI $50,000 to support teacher professional development.

“We know that teachers are the single most important in-school factor to improving student achievement,” said Katie Morris, Board Chair of The Belk Foundation. “More is expected of teachers than ever before and we believe in supporting them as much as we can.”

The Belk Foundation has supported CTI since 2010 to help grow the institute’s intensive, long-term seminar program for CMS teachers and expand its evaluation efforts. In announcing this most recent grant, Belk Foundation Executive Director Johanna Anderson applauded CTI Fellows and faculty. “The Belk Foundation is inspired by the passionate educators involved in Charlotte Teachers Institute, from the CMS teachers to the Davidson College and UNC Charlotte professors,” Anderson said. “They are clearly committed to improving their craft.”

Read the full press release

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CTI Seminar Leader Tim Chartier in the News

September 5, 2013 – 8:00 pm

chartierCTI Seminar Leader Tim Chartier is the focus of recent stories on national public radio stations and the Charlotte Observer featuring his entertaining Mime-matics shows. An associate professor of mathematics at Davidson College, Tim is currently leading CTI’s “Math and Sports” seminar, which was the inspiration for CTI’s upcoming Exploding Canons: Sports by the Numbers event Tuesday, Oct. 22, at UNC Charlotte. He’s also been featured in national news outlets such as the LA Times  for his March Mathness insights into NCAA basketball bracketology.

Tim led other CTI math seminars in 2012 (“Entertaining with Math”) and 2011 (“Math Through Pop Culture”). For more information about Tim’s innovative adventures in math, visit his website and read his columns in the Huffington Post.

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CTI Comments on Belk Foundation’s Teacher PD Support

September 5, 2013 – 7:16 pm

Belk Foundation logo

 

 

 

The Belk Foundation, a longtime CTI supporter, is continuing its commitment to improving education and the professional development of teachers. Check out this Charlotte Observer article highlighting The Belk Foundation’s new educational funding strategy featuring comments from CTI Director Scott Gartlan and CTI Fellow Jashonai Payne.

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CTI Director Interviewed ‘In-Depth’ on News 14 TV

September 5, 2013 – 6:15 pm

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CTI Director Scott Gartlan appeared on News 14 Carolina’s “In-Depth” program this summer in a special feature about Charlotte Teachers Institute. Click the photo to view the show.

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CTI News

CTI Featured on WFAE 90.7 ‘Charlotte Talks’

June 26, 2013 – 2:59 pm

WFAE 90.7 Radio’s “Charlotte Talks” June 24 show featured Charlotte Teachers Institute in a lively, hour-long interview with four CTI leaders: CTI Fellow/Steering Committee Member Beth Lasure, visual arts teacher at Mallard Creek High School; CTI Seminar Leader Ann Fox, professor of English at Davidson College; CTI Seminar Leader Susan Trammell, associate professor of physics at UNC Charlotte; and CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan.

Topics included CTI’s innovative model of long-term, content-rich professional development; its growth in popularity (55% increase in applicants over the last two years); how teachers and faculty collaborate to produce new curriculum for CMS students; the program’s benefits for CMS teachers, their students, and the Davidson College and UNC Charlotte faculty involved in CTI; teacher eligibility and the application process; how seminar topics are selected and developed; and CTI’s relationships among its educational partners (CMS, Davidson College, UNC Charlotte and Yale University).

Listen now at WFAE.org

 

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Wells Fargo Awards $50,000 to CTI

June 19, 2013 – 8:43 pm

CHARLOTTE – June 6, 2013 – Wells Fargo has awarded $50,000 to support the Charlotte Teachers Institute, an innovative partnership among UNC Charlotte, Davidson College and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) to strengthen teaching and learning in local public schools by cultivating content knowledge, creativity, leadership skills and collaboration among CMS teachers.

“Charlotte Teachers Institute provides a significant career development opportunity for teachers in our region,” said Jay Everette, community affairs manager at Wells Fargo. “By participating in the program, teachers create new, compelling classroom curriculum that is then shared nationally with other educators.”

Wells Fargo has supported the institute since CTI’s inception in 2009.

“Teachers and students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have benefitted significantly from the visionary support of Wells Fargo,” said CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan. “Wells Fargo and CTI share a commitment to excellence, collaboration and leadership.”

This most recent gift will support CTI’s general programming, including seminars that began in late April. Through these seminars led by UNC Charlotte and Davidson College faculty, CMS teachers learn new content, work collaboratively with other teachers, and develop new curricula for their students. Teachers serve as leaders in the institute and choose seminar topics they deem most important and engaging for current CMS teachers and their students. More than 260 CMS teachers, teaching 50,000 students, have participated in the CTI seminars.

An affiliate of the Yale National Initiative at Yale University, CTI provides high quality teacher professional development led by expert university and college faculty. Programs include the seven-month long series of seminars and special events for teachers, and community presentations, such as the popular Exploding Canons cultural collaboration series.

Currently, 104 CMS teachers in grades K-12 are enrolled in seminars that continue until December. The seminars’ weekly meetings recess during the summer, while teachers immerse themselves in reading and research related to the curriculum units they are developing for their students. These curriculum units generate learning beyond each teacher’s classroom, as the final units are shared with teachers’ school colleagues and are also published on the CTI and Yale National Initiative websites, making them accessible to teachers worldwide.

CTI programs are made possible by a joint commitment of resources from CMS, Davidson College and UNC Charlotte and through the generosity of private funding institutions such as Wells Fargo. The institute is housed at UNC Charlotte within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

For more information, contact CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan at, scott.gartlan@uncc.edu or 704-687-0078.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, and the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank’s customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2013 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.

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Charlotte Teachers Institute Accepts 104 CMS Teachers as CTI Fellows

June 19, 2013 – 8:41 pm

CHARLOTTE – May 27, 2013 – Charlotte Teachers Institute has accepted 104 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teachers into its innovative professional development program that kicked off this spring. These teachers come from 15 subject areas in 43 schools, in grades K-12.

The teachers will work with faculty from Davidson College and UNC Charlotte in a long-term effort that will challenge them to explore content areas and expand their own ideas for new curriculum, with guidance from the faculty. Seminars and their faculty seminar leaders include:

  • Charlotte as a New South City: Using the Collections of the Levine Museum of the New South,  Shep McKinley, History, UNC Charlotte
  • The Nature of Energy: How We Use and Store It  to Power Our Everyday Lives, Susan Trammell, Physics, UNC Charlotte
  • Math and Sports, Tim Chartier, Mathematics, Davidson College
  • Imagining Modern Bodies: Disability and Art at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Ann Fox, English, Davidson College
  • Grammar for the Real World, Ralf Thiede, Linguistics, UNC Charlotte
  • Human Social Groups, Lisa Slattery Walker, Sociology, UNC Charlotte
  • Chemical Magic, Durwin R. Striplin, Chemistry, Davidson College
  • Urban Encounters: Hispanic and African American Literature, Brenda Flanagan, English, Davidson College

Teachers will discuss and research the topics and collaborate on ideas to teach new content to their students in engaging ways. Their study culminates with each teacher creating an original curriculum unit to be taught in his or her classroom and to be published on the CTI website. Each Fellow is enrolled in one of CTI’s eight seminars throughout the entire period.

“We kicked off this year with our interactive orientation at Discovery Place,” said CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan. “The CTI Fellows will participate in three spring seminar meetings followed by independent summer study. We will pick up with weekly meetings again in September through November. This combination of collaborative work and independent research has proven quite effective in helping teachers explore their ideas.”

CTI is an affiliate of the Yale National Initiative to Strengthen Teaching in Public Schools and also links its Fellows’ units to the YNI website at Yale University as part of a national curricular resource bank for teachers.

“High quality professional development programs have common key characteristics,” Gartlan said. “They focus on content knowledge linked to pedagogy, teacher leadership, extended duration, collective participation and collaboration, and innovative and active teacher learning.”  He noted these characteristics are the pillars of CTI’s professional development program.

Fellows in this year’s CTI seminars are a diverse group of new and experienced teachers with an average of 11 years’ teaching experience. They represent the full range of K-12 instructional levels and a wide variety of disciplines: art, bilingual education, biology, chemistry, drama, earth science, English, French, history, math, media, physics, social studies, Spanish, and special education.

Charlotte Teachers Institute is an educational partnership among Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Davidson College and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. CTI cultivates content-knowledge, creativity, leadership skills and collaboration within and among Charlotte’s public school teachers. Programs include long-term seminars and special events for teachers, as well as community presentations such as its “Exploding Canons” interdisciplinary discussion series. Resources come from the three Institute partners and private funding institutions, such as the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Belk Foundation, the Piedmont Natural Gas Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation. The Institute is housed at UNC Charlotte within its College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

For a complete listing of the 2013 CTI Fellows, visit www.charlotteteachers.org.

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For more information, contact CTI Executive Director Scott Gartlan, 704-687-0078, scott.gartlan@uncc.edu

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools media contact: Tahira Stalberte, 980-343-0954 tahira.stalberte@cms.k12.nc.us

Davidson College Public Relations media contact: Bill Giduz, 704-894-2244, bigiduz@davidson.edu

UNC Charlotte Public Relations media contact: Buffie Stephens, 704-687-5830, BuffieStephens@uncc.edu

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