The Gurney teaching staff is an amazing family! The caliber is exceptional with at least 90% of the teachers holding advanced degrees, 100% holding Google Educator Certificates, several teachers with National Board Certification, and many more working on and/or holding a variety of endorsements/certificates such as Reading Endorsements, Wilson Dyslexia Practioners, Gifted Education Endorsements, Adaptive Phys Ed. Endorsement, Certified TEACCH Practioner, Certified Crisis Prevention Intervention Trainer, etc.! More importantly, you’d be hard-pressed to find a staff more devoted to their students' academic, social, and emotional success!
At Gurney Elementary School, This We Believe... LINK
The teachers at Gurney focus on providing research-based, differentiated instruction to meet the needs of all students. Naturally, in an early childhood setting, there is an emphasis on developing strong skills in the areas of language arts and mathematics. Staff development opportunities and school goals reinforce this commitment. Our teachers incorporate multi-sensory approaches to teaching, addressing the learning needs of all students. Teachers use a balanced approach to literacy instruction combining strong programming such as FUNdations, Heggerty Phonemic Awareness and Lucy Calkins Reading & Writing Units. Math instruction using the Bridges Math program incorporates research-based strategies to enhance students’ learning, problem-solving, and skill development. To secure competency in math, multiple strategies for obtaining answers are explored. In both language arts and math, the teachers at each grade level use common pretests, formative assessments, diagnostic assessments, rubrics and summative assessments to monitor student progress throughout the year. Science and Social Studies units are packed with engaging, developmentally appropriate activities and learning experiences. Units are designed with over-arching understandings as instructional targets, project-based learning activities, formative and summative assessments, and exciting lessons. Every teacher uses the Responsive Classroom Program to develop a sense of community in their classrooms so that all children feel valued, connected, and comfortable to learn. Our team of encore teachers provide exciting units of study for our students in music, art, physical education, Spanish, STEM, library/keyboarding, and guidance. Because our encore teachers see all students in every grade level, they also infuse their content with the Center for Responsive Schools' CARES lessons/objectives focusing on cooperation, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy and self-control. It has been this phenomenal combination of academic rigor and the efforts directed at developing students' social/emotional strengths that has led Gurney Elementary School to being named an Ohio Hall of Fame School in 2004, 2012 and 2023!
