“Anytime that I need support in any way, they are just always supportive,” she said. “I don’t think that I would be where I am today without (Middle School Dean Jamila Bowser’s) leadership. She pushes me to my highest potential. They always find resources and ways to support teachers. I love it here.”
Brooklynne Bryant is a seventh grade math teacher at Research Triangle Charter Academy.
Bryant, a seventh grade math teacher, has been at Research Triangle since 2017 and also taught at Gate City Charter Academy. Every year, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction recognizes teachers who exceed growth in English and Language Arts and math and are top growth producers statewide. Bryant is one of the teachers recognized this year who exceeded growth in math. Students were having trouble with prerequisite skills and showed growth in ratios and proportions.
After looking at data from check-ins, Bryant and Bowser focused the spiral plans, in which key concepts are presented repeatedly throughout the curriculum, on those deficits. Bryant achieves this by being more hands-on and gets students to relate to the material with real-life scenarios.
“You have to do something to grab their attention,” she said. “My students tell me, ‘We never have a dull class. It's always fun and engaging,’ so that's good. For example, we're doing a discount and sales tax project. I do this every year to help them find connections between discounts and the sales tax, and what happens when you go to the store and you use a coupon. I try to just make it relevant to them and their time because it's so different from when I was going to school.”
Brooklynne Bryant was recognized by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for her students’ exceeding growth in math.
The support and collaboration are what keeps Bryant coming back to Research Triangle. By using the resources available to the fullest, she has students engrossed and connected to math on a new level.
“It’s very family-oriented in the support that I get. In my beginning years of teaching they were so supportive and they still are,” she said. “Anything that I ever need, I say, ‘Hey, I want to try this with my students.’ Our tools and resources, we’re always trying to get everything that we need or that I need to be successful. I love it here.”
Keep up the excellent work, Ms. Bryant!
Check out a school near you!
About Research Triangle Charter Academy
Research Triangle Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Durham, North Carolina, 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.
Visit Research Triangle Charter Academy's blog to read more stories like this.