The first step is to read and understand, highlighting the important parts of the question. Then students examine all choices, using the process of elimination, and label the last two choices. And then they decide which choice would be a “distractor” or the wrong choice that most people would choose.
The goal is for students to rely on this streamlined strategy and give them a leg up on ELA interims and state assessments.
“We had been looking for a way that everyone uses for short responses just to get everyone on the same page as to how they should go through their multiple choice on their testing,” Grey said. “Just testing strategies and how to get the kids to do it effectively, basically.”
Grey, a seventh-grade English Language Arts teacher, is in her 10th year at Brooklyn Dreams. She is a two-time Excellence in Teaching winner and is perhaps even more proud of the lasting connection she has made with students. As a Brooklyn native, it has been especially gratifying to see students reach maturity by the time she has them in her classroom, helping the community grow year after year.
“A lot of the students come back year after year to see me and to tell me how their life is going in high school and beyond,” she said. “Knowing that I still have a connection with kids that haven't been in Brooklyn Dreams for five, six years and, seeing adults come back talking to you that you had when they were 13, that feels good. That lets me know that we did something good here, that they want to come back and tell us how they've been doing.”
The growth of the community is a product of being under the tutelage of a caring, invested staff at Brooklyn Dreams. Grey said the staff have each other’s back and work together to reach a common goal – to help students grow and be a positive presence in their lives, in the present and beyond.
“That is what makes us do what we do,” she said. “Even if it's just a few of them, every day we feel that. We want them to know that they can do it, that they can grow, and they can achieve the things that we want them to, and we see that.”
Keep up the excellent work, Ms. Grey!
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About Brooklyn Dreams Charter School
Brooklyn Dreams Charter School is a tuition-free, public charter school in Brooklyn, New York, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies (NHA®) 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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