MORGANTOWN — Sandra Cress found plenty to draw from during Monday’s opening day of the West Virginia Summit for Educational Excellence.
The summit, which is hosted by the state Department of Education, runs through Wednesday at the Morgantown Waterfront by Marriott Hotel, in the Wharf District.
More than 1,000 teachers from across the region are in town for the summit.
The gathering is addressing all particulars of education — especially the outcome-based policy side often unnoticed by parents and other caregivers of students.
“The Formative Assessment Process During the Early Learning & Elementary Years (Pre-K-Grade 2),” was the name of such a session July 16.
Cress is normally more about paints than policy.
She teaches art at Fairview Middle School in Marion County and runs an art studio when she isn’t in front of the classroom.
The West Virginia Art Education Association, in fact, named her its top teacher in that subject for 2017.
She said Monday that the creative process employed for the artistic endeavor can also apply to the sometime dirty-canvas work of education administration.
“I like to learn,” she said.
“I like to figure things out. I learned some things today that I can share with my colleagues. Maybe I can help them.”
Colleagues helping colleagues is the reason for this week’s summit and the similar one that will be two weeks from now in Charleston.
The state Department of Education came up with the summit road trips after talking extensively with teachers and principals during the public employee work stoppage in February and March.
“All this is in response to what they were telling us,” said Monica DellaMea, a former grade school teacher who now heads the state department’s Early and Elementary Learning division.
DellaMea is a lead organizer of both summits.
“It’s also good when you have opportunities for professional development,” she said.
Monday’s calendar in Morgantown included keynote remarks by state Superintendent of Schools Steven Paine.
The integration of technical education in classrooms is a main theme of today’s summit activities.
Wednesday’s events include a Celebration of West Virginia Educators luncheon.
