Organization has always been vital to Jennifer Zappia’s classroom at Alliance Academy of Cincinnati. It’s an endless search for her as she looks for better ways to guide her students.
One such endeavor involved Zappia, a fifth grade language arts teacher who has used graphic organizers to support students in their writing, tailoring everything in her classroom based on data. From intervention groups to extra practice with students, they used a data tracker to monitor their scores on quizzes and compare their efficiency goals to see if they were meeting standards. She was honored as an Excellence in Teaching winner as part of the NHA Excellence Awards for the 2022-23 school year.
“I saw a lot of students taking ownership of their own learning and their own goals,” she said.
In addition to integrating more data into lessons, Zappia upgraded her already-sophisticated classroom library by putting in a checkout system through an iPad app so students can choose books based on their interest.
“They don’t have the opportunity to go to a library to check out books, so I made it as library-ish as possible,” she said. “That gives them the responsibility of keeping track of the book and returning it in time. They all really enjoyed it.”
Now with six years of experience at Alliance, Zappia also has sought personal growth by joining the building leadership team to help other teachers grow and give them suggestions and ideas of what they can do in their classroom. Her commitment and zest for innovation have helped Alliance outperform the district in all subjects.
Keep up the excellent work, Mrs. Zappia!
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About Alliance Academy of Cincinnati
Alliance Academy of Cincinnati is a tuition-free, public charter school in Cincinnati, Ohio, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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