A MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATORS ACROSS VIRGINIA
THE LEADER IN ME
November-December 2012
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Letter From the Editor This issue of Virginia Teacher has the answers. “The Leader in Me” is a character building program proven to nurture responsible and proactive students ready to meet any challenge. But don’t take my word for it. Here are a couple testimonials: How do you determine the effectiveness of a good leader? I tend to agree with Martha Peak’s (Group Editor, AMA Magazines) standards: “My father had a simple test that helps me measure my own leadership quotient: When you are out of the office he once asked me, does you staff carry on remarkably well without you?” This should be the ultimate goal of every teacher - for our students to carry on remarkably well without us. But how is this goal achieved?
After just one year of implementation, we have seen leadership skills emerge in both students and teachers. It is refreshing to see students taking responsibility and ownership for their learning and self-discipline, and it is a joy to see children attempting to create Win-Win situations as they seek to understand others and resolve their differences. ~Marian Holder, Third-grade Teacher, Nash Elementary, Texas
do the things we would like them to do when we are not around. Our job, therefore, is to prepare them for life, not to guide every moment of every day of their existence. What better way to do that than through teaching timeless principles? ~Dr. Beth Sharpe, Principal, English Estates Elementary, Florida “The Leader in Me” success stories you will read about in this issue don’t come from Texas or Florida. They are from local schools right here in Virginia. It is just one more example of how Virginia teachers are tapping into creative ideas in order to develop future leaders who will ultimately carry on remarkably well on their own. Yours in Education,
As educators and parents, our ultimate goal for our children is to have them be successful in life, and to
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Contributors JESSICA FILOSA Jessica received her Bachelor of Science in Education from Long Island University in 2003. She taught third and fifth grade for 7 years at Tanners Creek Elementary School in Norfolk, Virginia. She earned her Master of Science at Old Dominion University in 2009, where she researched the impact of incorporating Technological Literacy lessons on Science and Mathematic SOL scores. In 2011, she worked for the Chesapeake Public School District as a fifth grade teacher for Greenbrier Intermediate School. Currently, she is the director of Bricks4Kidz in Virginia Beach. BUD LIVERS, PH.D. Bud is the Emerging Technologies Coordinator for a Navy Command in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is a Senior Faculty member at the Cambridge College Regional Center in Chesapeake, Virginia, in the M.Ed., Special Education program. He taught students with an emotional disturbance at a regional public day school, and was an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at Chowan University in North Carolina. He headed the Jails Education Program in Virginia Beach, Virginia, tasked with providing special education services for incarcerated youth and young adults. Bud received his Ph.D. in Educational Planning, Policy, and Leadership, with emphasis in Special Education Administration from The College of William & Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia.
BRANDY CENTOLANZA Brandy Centolanza is a freelance writer who covers education, health, parenting, travel and community issues in Hampton Roads and Richmond. She has written for several local publications, including The Virginia Gazette, The Daily Press, The Health Journal, Next Door Neighbors Magazine, Richmond Family, and Virginia Teacher. She lives in Williamsburg with her husband, two children and two cats.
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Dory Suttmiller Production, Design and Distribution Breeger Media Group Writers Brandy Centolanza Jessica Filosa Bud Livers, PH.D Mission Statement The mission of Virginia Teacher Magazine is to inform and inspire educators in Virginia by providing current and relevant information on career development, educational enrichment and personal growth. Disclaimer The views and opinions of writers and contributors that appear in Virginia Teacher Magazine do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Virginia Teacher Magazine’s publisher, editor, staff and affiliates. The information in Virginia Teacher Magazine is provided as a service to the readers of Virginia Teacher Magazine for information purposes only. Virginia Teacher Magazine is not responsible for problems arising out of reference to the included material. Information on a commercial product or service does not imply an endorsement by Virginia Teacher Magazine. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. All photographs are property of and credited to Virginia Teacher Magazine, unless otherwise noted. Advertise To advertise or to obtain a current rate card call 757-620-2631 or email at advertise@NichePublicationsLLC.com Editorial Submissions Virginia Teacher Magazine accepts news releases from credited organization. Submit material for editorial consideration to editorial@NichePublicationsLLC.com Extra Copies For extra copies call 757-620-2631 Virginia Teacher Magazine 325 Flax Mill Way Chesapeake, VA 23322 Phone 757-620-2631 Fax 757-410-0783 Web www.VirginiaTeacherOnline.com
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Table of Contents The Leader in Me
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Learn about an exciting new program growing in schools across the nation.
Making the Grade
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Bricks 4 Kidz: helping students learn Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.).
If Your Students Love Sports, They Love Math (& More)!
Old School vs. New School
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School yards become nature’s classroom
Class Reunion
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Gloria C. Coston: Kellam High School, Class of 1973
From scores to stats and jumps to goals we make it fun to learn math, science, health and more!
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VIRGINIA TEACHER MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2012
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THE LEADER IN ME: Transforming Schools, One Student at a Time By: Bud Livers Schools that are implementing The Leader in Me are different from other schools, and you can see it immediately when you enter the building. There are posters on the walls describing each of the 7Habits, and how they are practiced THE LEADER IN ME there. The hallways don’t carry the In The Leader in Me, Stephen R. traditional names of “3rd Grade” or Covey describes notes following: “500 series”. Instead the halls have “What these schools are doing is names like “Synergy Drive”, teaching basic leadership “Proactive Parkway”, “Sharpen the principles to young students – as Saw Street” or “Win-Win Highway”. young as five years old. They are The morning announcements teaching neglected skill sets for include a student talking about making good choices, for getting the Habit of the Week, or maybe along well with others, and for a student choral group singing managing time wisely. In the “Wanna Be, Wanna Be addition, they are providing The Leader in Me was first piloted Proactive” rap. authentic opportunities for at A.B. Combs Elementary School students to apply them by giving The students at The Leader in Me Leadership Magnet School, in students leadership opportunities schools are different, too. They Raleigh, NC. Twice a year educators in the classroom, in the school, from all over the world are invited hold eye contact when speaking and in the community. All this to learn about the school in a with you. Some schools even have they are doing in a way that is day-long seminar where they are student-leaders, or student improving student achievement ambassadors who greet visitors at greeted by students, see a and restoring discipline and a presentation of flags from countries the door and help direct them to character ethic in the classrooms their destinations. If you are there that are represented at A.B. Combs, and on the playgrounds. What and learn more about what makes to attend a Parent-Teacher delights teachers is that they are conference, you may find the this model so unique. doing it in a way that does not opening minutes of the meeting are create “one more thing” for them student-lead. The student introduces NOT JUST ANOTHER to do, but rather offers a the participants, explains the “PROGRAM” methodology that many describe purpose of the conference, and Unlike other programs that target as “a better way of doing what then presents a portfolio with only academic skills, the 7-Habits we are already doing.” selected samples of student work. materials are designed to address the whole child. Principal Lavern Unlike other programs that target only academic Chatman at Newtown Elementary skills, the 7-Habits materials are designed to address School says, “7-Habits is not a program, but a mindset. It is a the whole child. philosophy to help boys and girls An exciting new program is growing in schools around the nation. Based on the work by best-selling author of “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, Stephen Covey’s tried and true principles for effective living have been adapted for use by school children. This year there are programs in over 1,000 schools worldwide. Twenty one of these are in Virginia, and thirteen of those schools - Public and Private, Elementary, Middle and High Schools – are right here in the Richmond-Tidewater corridor, with more schools coming onboard regularly.
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become better citizens. We are building and developing lives. The Leader in Me program helps do this. Do I know what to do when no one is looking?”
Lou Goldberg, Principal at St. Mathews School had experience with the 7-Habits while he was in the Navy, and saw how these habits could be beneficial in a school setting as well. “Our students have always been grounded in a strong academic program, but imagine the impact of students who graduate with eight years of Character and Leadership skills as well.” As further proof of the effectiveness of this program, Goldberg reports that when last year’s 8th graders graduated and went to High School, St Matthews’s graduates swept the recent elections for Student Council positions at their follow-on school.
and counseling programs. The last one, Sharpen the Saw – is hit hard in our PE program.”
“We want children to speak the language and use these as skills for life”, notes Brenda Phillips, Principal at John B. Cary Elementary School. “Staff are using this in classrooms, and are very excited. We sent the information home to the parents, and presented it at Open House.”
gives kids the tools to recognize when they see bullying and to step in and do the right thing,” he stated. “It takes courage and leadership to do that.”
7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE STUDENTS
Many schools make this program a cornerstone in their anti-bullying campaigns. “Teach kids to be leaders, and you don’t have bullying” says Lou Goldberg, St. Matthews’ Principal. “Students are encouraged and taught how to form positive relationships with other students. It
and high school levels, students are able to carry what they learn from one school to the next. For specific examples of how these principals can be applied in a school setting, check out the links on the Websites for Charles City Elementary, Middle and High School. Stephanie Crutchfield, Principal at Charles City High School notes, “Here at Charles City the incoming
Our students have always been grounded in a strong academic program, but imagine the impact of students who graduate with eight years of Character and Leadership skills as well. 9th graders arrive with the 7-Habits already in mind. They hit the floor running, and we can build on what they learned at the Middle School and further develop these principles in their lives. We teach them to Charles City County Public Schools ‘Begin with the end in mind’ as they have implemented The Leader in look at earning credits toward Me division-wide. With this initiative graduation, or while reviewing being implemented across the Carnegie Units. Already board at the elementary, middle understanding concepts like
The Leader in Me, is designed to be integrated into a school’s core curriculum and everyday language so that it isn’t “one more thing” teachers and administrators have to do. It becomes part of the culture, gaining momentum and producing improved results year after year. “The 7-Habits definitely add value to our program”, says Elementary School Principal Tim Sullivan. “The first three – Be proactive, Begin with the End in Mind, and Put First Things First find application in our academics. The next three – Think Win-Win, Seek first to Understand, then to be Understood, and Synergy Principal Lou Goldberg, along with teacher Lauren Keller, Asst Principal are all about working together. We Dr Leiann Galvez, and several 8th grade students pose with their copies use those heavily in our guidance of “7-Habits for Highly Effective Teens” VIRGINIA TEACHER MAGAZINE |NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2012
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other’s Emotional Bank Accounts. When conflicts arise, I look for third alternatives.
Student Leaders incorporate 7Habits into their school election campaigns. ‘Sharpen the Saw’ gives them a common vocabulary.”
THE 7-HABITS Habit 1 - Be Proactive: I am a responsible person. I take initiative. I choose my actions, attitudes, and moods. I do not blame others for my wrong actions. I do the right thing without being asked, even when no one is looking. Habit 2 – Begin with the End in Mind: I plan ahead and set goals. I do things that have meaning and make a difference. I am an important part of my classroom and contribute to my school’s mission and vision, and look for ways to be a good citizen.
Habit 5 – Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood: I listen to other people’s ideas and feelings. I try to see things from their viewpoints. I listen to others without interrupting. I am confident in voicing my ideas. I look people in the eyes when talking. Habit 6 – Synergize: I value other people’s strengths and learn from them. I get along well with others, even people who are different from me. I work well in groups. I seek out other people’s ideas to solve problems because I know that by teaming with others we can create better solutions than any one of us alone. I am humble. Habit 7 – Sharpen the Saw: I take care of my body by eating right, exercising and getting sleep. I spend time with family and friends. I learn in lots of ways and lots of places, not just in school. I take time to find meaningful ways to help others.
7-HABITS... COMING TO A SCHOOL NEAR YOU??? Greg Furlich, Principal at Kingston Elementary School notes they have been incorporating the 7-Habits into their school philosophy for a couple of years now. This year he will be leading his staff as they complete their formal training and alignment with the program. “It began slowly” Furlich noted. “One teacher, who had practiced this at another school, started doing these things in her classroom. Other teachers were interested, and they started incorporating these ideas on their own. And it spreads from there. Eventually I had several teachers wanting to know about the program, and how we could incorporate it fully here.” All employees at the school are given this training – not just the teachers and administrators, but the bus drivers, Cafeteria workers, custodians, secretaries…everyone at the school. For best effect, The Leader in Me habits need to be ubiquitous throughout the school. Parents love the program. Many even buy the books on their own and are teaching it to their children who attend other schools.
Habit 3 – Put First Things First: I spend my time on things that are most important. This means I say no to things I know I should not do. I set priorities, make a schedule, and follow my plan. I am disciplined and organized. Habit 4 – Think Win-Win: I balance courage for getting what I want with consideration for what others want. I make deposits in
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Principals Gloria Coston-Diamond Springs ES, Timothy Sullivan-Betty M. Williams ES, and Lavern Chatman-Newtown ES, lead their schools in embracing the 7-Habits of Highly Effective Students.
Dr. Charlene Brooks, Principal at J.B. Fisher ES in Richmond said she had studied 7-Habits while doing her doctoral work, and was excited by the prospect of introducing these tenants to her students. She anticipates this program will be a true game-changer and will be well received by the members of the school community.
FUNDING OPTIONS… Ways to pay for this program are often as varied as the schools themselves. ■ In some cases, The Leader in Me is a part of the regular school budget and supported by the school division. ■ Due to the positive effect this program has on improving literacy among school children, Title I schools may use federal grant funding support. ■ Ms. Brenda Phillips, Principal of John B. Cary Elementary School in Richmond recently won the R.E.B. Award for Distinguished Educational Leadership. She is applying her award money to acquire The Leader in Me curriculum at her school. ■ Often times the local PTA, excited by the prospect of transformation offered by this curriculum will hold special fundraisers and pay for it out of the PTA budget. ■ Partners in Education and other corporate sponsors can be enlisted to help out as well. For further information on how you can get started on your own Leader in Me initiative, ask any of the principals quoted in this article, or contact Kelly Kennedy Scott, Franklin Covey Education Representative at Kelly.kennedy@franklincovey.com, or (804) 836-4511. VT
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VIRGINIA TEACHER MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2012
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Making the Grade
BRICKS 4 KIDZ
New & Exciting Educational Programs Linked to the Virginia Standards of Learning
By: Jessica Filosa International tests show that other countries are passing American students in mathematics and science. So what can we do to help our students become successful in these areas? How can we get our students to become excited about learning mathematics and science? A brand new program offered in Virginia answers these questions! Bricks 4 Kidz programs incorporate the love of LEGO® bricks with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.) concepts. Kids are thrilled to be using LEGO® bricks, so they don’t even realize how many skills they are acquiring! Bricks 4 Kidz offers several handson programs, such as in-school field trips, after school classes, and preschool classes, developed by teachers, architects, and engineering professionals. Children ages 313+ can explore transportation, animals, robots, laws of motion, and much more with teacher led discussions and one of a kind model plans! Bricks 4 Kidz teachers bring all of the necessary materials to your school or facility. At the end of each lesson, students take home a sheet explaining the vocabulary and concepts learned based on the model. These dynamic programs are sure to excite kids of all ages!
Eliana Quaresma is learning about alligators in a preschool class offered by Virginia Beach's Bricks 4 Kidz Director, Jessica Filosa. using LEGO® bricks. Teachers can choose from numerous topics such as Simple Machines, Ancient Civilizations, and How Things Work or we can design a program specifically for your needs. Lessons are 45 to 90 minutes and include an engaging teacher-led discussion, Bricks 4 Kidz Project Kits which contain LEGO® bricks, full-color model plans, and takehome material. Students work in pairs to build their models to promote teamwork and cooperation. Bricks 4 Kidz lessons offer differentiated model plans to make sure ALL students can learn! Therefore, some models are even motorized! Children are amazed by what they can create with our step-by-step model plans and a little bit of determination!
In-School Field Trips Bricks 4 Kidz field trips provide hands-on lessons that correlate to the Virginia Standards of Learning
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Remember you won’t have to worry about a bus with our in-school field trips, since we bring
everything to you! Please contact your locate Bricks 4 Kidz Director to start planning your unique field trip today!
After-School Programs Bricks 4 Kidz after-school classes are taught in 6-week sessions and focus on themes like Amazing Animals, Space Adventures, or Gadgets & Gizmos. These hour long classes expose children to the fundamentals of engineering and architecture, construct models using our Bricks 4 Kidz model plans, and time for them to express their creativity during free-play at the end of each class. Bricks 4 Kidz provides everything for the sessions! Classes reinforce science and mathematics skills and SOL’s that children learn in school. Even children’s problem solving skills and self-esteem grow as they are challenged each week to build a new model!
Preschool Classes Children ages 3-5 will be delighted to get their hands on DUPLO® bricks! The Bricks 4 Kidz preschool curriculum includes essential preschool skills such as, letter recognition, patterning, colors, counting, fine motor skills, and position and ordering. Classes are offered in 4-8 week sessions throughout the school year and are based on the ABC’s. Each week, children learn about the letter of the week, build a model using Bricks 4 Kidz model plans, build the letter of the week, enjoy free-play, and the class ends with a fingerplay or song.
Contact Us Please call or email one of our Bricks 4 Kidz Directors to find out more information or to schedule a program. If you don’t see a Bricks 4
Kidz in your area, contact us and we will try to get a Bricks 4 Kidz program started by you. Also, Bricks 4 Kidz takes pride in their community, so make sure to invite Bricks 4 Kidz to your next event! Remember at Bricks 4 Kidz we learn, we build, and we play with LEGO® bricks!
• Robin Kocen & Michelle Maistelman Richmond & Henrico Directors 804-938-3535 rkocen@bricks4kidz.com LEGO® is a registered trademark of the LEGO® Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse these programs. VT
• Jessica Filosa Virginia Beach Director (757) 301-9710 jfilosa@bricks4kidz.com • Robin Fraizer Chesapeake, Suffolk, Smithfield, Carrollton Director 757-925-9917 rfrazier@bricks4kidz.com • Robin Burke Ashburn & Leesburg Director 571-210-KIDZ (5439) burke@bricks4kidz.com
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VIRGINIA TEACHER MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2012
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Old School vs. New School
Turning School Yards Into Nature’s Classrooms By: Brandy Centolanza “While the students are in the garden, they have the opportunity to explore their surroundings,” says Leanne Conrad, a Master Gardener and parent. “There are fragrant herbs to smell and touch, like lemon balm, peppermint and oregano. In the warmer months, the garden is full of butterflies, grasshoppers and ladybugs. We even have tree frogs that have taken up residency in the tool chest this year.”
On a warm sunny afternoon in September, kindergarten students at Matoaka Elementary School in Williamsburg-James City County School Division left their classrooms to plant seedlings for beets, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli in the school garden. They each took turns watering what they sowed with a watering can and will return to the garden later in the year to pick and eat what they planted. “Any educator knows that experience is the best teacher,” says Dawn Forgit, a kindergarten teacher at Matoaka. “Few children experience the joys of getting dirty, planting seeds, discovering an insect, or taking the time to watch a plant grow. Our Matoaka garden gives students all these experiences and more. My kindergarten class went out to the garden after the first week of school, and already I
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have referenced that experience half a dozen times in other classroom lessons.” That’s exactly what Matoaka principal Andy Jacobs envisioned when he created the garden in 2007. The goal of the garden is “to provide a convenient, accessible natural resource for our teachers and students in order to make connections to related curriculum and instruction, and, let’s not forget, an appreciation for the wonders of the natural world around us,” Jacobs says. “I believe students love the opportunity to explore and experience the world beyond the classroom walls.” Teachers, students, parents and other volunteers maintain the garden year-round with the guidance of Williamsburg/James City Master Gardeners.
Several other schools in the Williamsburg-James City County School Division also have gardens, including Stonehouse Elementary School, where the School Habitat Garden there serves “as an outdoor classroom for the school and community and features over 100 species of Virginia native plants that attract and feed butterflies, birds, hummingbirds and other wildlife,” says Jan Newton, education chair for
Few children experience the joys of getting dirty, planting seeds, discovering an insect, or taking the time to watch a plant grow. Our Matoaka garden gives students all these experiences and more.
the Virginia Native Plant Society and a volunteer with Stonehouse’s garden.
I believe students love the opportunity to explore and experience the world beyond the classroom walls. “Schoolyard habitats are great places to teach kindergarteners about colors, shapes and sizes,� Newton said. “They are great places to teach second graders about the life cycle of a butterfly, and third graders about soil and erosion. They are great places to get inspiration for creative writing, drawing and photography, to inspire both children and adults about the environment and the relationship between native plants and animals, and to interact with nature and unwind from a stressful event or day.�
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That’s part of the reason Richmond Public Schools formed a Garden Taskforce last year. Richmond has 34 school gardens.
high enough for all students to enjoy. The students also researched the lowest prices from area businesses to purchase supplies.”
“The gardens provide real-life application of science and mathematics for students,” explains Victoria Oakley, the school division’s chief academic officer. “The lessons and activities provide an integrated curriculum that correlate with the Standards of Learning. The gardens have taught students the importance of cooperation, empathy of living things, and reducing their carbon footprint.”
Students in Robert Horvath’s special education class at Jamestown High School in Williamsburg-James City School Division care for the school’s butterfly garden.
School gardens especially offer middle and high school students the opportunity to be hands-on. Middle school students at Hunter B. Andrews School in Hampton designed the garden there. “The students decided a cement block lasagna bed was the best bed for our grassy courtyard,” explains Jessica Scott, the garden’s coordinator. “The raised bed would reduce weeds, retain water, and be
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“The purpose of the garden is to provide a unique teaching strategy, and the benefits to the students and learning are many,” Horvath says. “They are truly engaged in the activity. They are excited to see the butterflies and nature in action. Students are learning the anatomy of the butterfly as well as plants. They learn what plants and vegetables grow in what season as well as how to care for them. In addition, they are developing team building skills as well as developing their eye-hand coordination, strength and endurance. Lastly, they learn to follow directions and responsibility. If they do not take care of the garden, plants die, and they realize the importance of their tasks.”
The lessons and activities provide an integrated curriculum that correlate with the Standards of Learning. The gardens have taught students the importance of cooperation, empathy of living things, and reducing their carbon footprint.
Meanwhile, students in the Teens Go Green Club with the Middle Years International Baccalaureate Program at Plaza Middle School in Virginia Beach maintain five gardens. “Students enjoy the real work that is involved,” shares life science teacher Robert Carroll. “They can see their work paying off, whether it is by creating a new planting bed, leaving a nicely weeded bed behind or harvesting cool weather crops in the fall and late spring. The students are our labor force. They are moving wheelbarrows, mixing planting media for our tree nursery, weeding and watering.” Carroll is a strong proponent of having a school garden and encourages other schools to start one. School gardens “can be used to energize the science curriculum with hands-on outdoor classes,” Carroll says. “Growing your own food is a great way to be green or increase sustainability. Gardens create a large amount of insect diversity, which really interests students. Garden events add excitement to the school. Many students have never tasted a radish or arugula. Running outside to harvest and test out some of the crop is always a fun event for everyone. Gardens add to the beauty of the school ground and afford pride to the students who help create a better school ground, and people, especially young people, like to be connected with the Earth.” VT
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spcs.richmond.edu/teachers VIRGINIA TEACHER MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2012
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Class Reunion KELLAM HIGH SCHOOL, CLASS OF ‘73
By: Bud Livers
Gloria C. Coston PRINCIPAL, DIAMOND SPRINGS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Who was the teacher you remember most and why? My favorite teacher happened to be the school librarian at Court House Elementary, Mrs. Sue Buffington. Mrs. Buffington introduced me to books and encouraged my love of reading. I will never forget her for that. If you could do High School over again, what would you do differently? If I could, I would take better advantage of the academic and extra-curricular opportunities offered by the school. So many students just try to get by, not taking advantage of the plethora of opportunities they have before it is too late. If I could repeat a grade I would repeat 10th grade. I think that 10th grade is the last year to turn around poor grades and make necessary changes. What one thing did you learn in school that has served you well in your post-school years? I have always had a love of people. The seventies was a great time for diversity and school allowed me the opportunity to meet and enjoy a variety of people. How did you decide to become a school principal? I always knew I wanted to work with people. I considered social work, but a supervisor convinced me to go into teaching. As a teacher, I absolutely loved the children. I treated them as my own. I have always been a
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goal-oriented; so just one year after receiving my teaching certification, I went back to school for my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction (Urban Education). During my internship for the Masters, I organized and ran the summer school at North Landing Elementary. The principal at that time, David Voliva, convinced me to go back to school and take classes for Administration and Supervision. By December I had completed the five classes I needed for the principalship.
dedication. Our children saw us working full-time while attending night school. We studied at night, on weekends, and even while riding in the car. We modeled a strong work ethic. We taught our children to have good morals; to live with integrity, and to work for excellence. The values I tried to instill in my children are the same values I try to reinforce for my students and staff at Diamond Springs. VT
To what do you attribute your success in life?
BIOGRAPHY: Gloria Coston was born in Virginia Beach, (formerly named Princess Anne County), and has a strong family connection with Kellam High School. She is the third of ten children, all graduates of Kellam, and her two children graduated from there as well. Previously, she attended Princess Anne Elementary School (formally known as Seaboard Elementary) then attended Court House Elementary during the first year of integration at the Beach. While working full-time for VB Fire Department she took education classes. After leaving the Fire Department to pursue her teaching career, she was awarded by the City, in the form of a Proclamation, the date of December 28, 1994 as Gloria F. Coston Day, signed by former Mayor Meyera E. Oberdorf, with the Official Seal of the City of Virginia Beach affixed to the proclamation. She taught at Alanton Elementary and Princess Anne Elementary before going into school administration. After three other administrative postings, in July 2010 she was assigned as principal at Diamond Springs Elementary. Gloria is married to John H. Coston, Fire Captain, City of Virginia Beach. They have two adult children, Ayesha Coston Kelly, M.D. and John H. Coston IV, J.D.
People often ask me about my success, and how my husband and I reared two very nice kids who happen to be a doctor and lawyer. First, I give credit to God because we could not have done it without him. Secondly, I would say that you have to love your spouse more than you love yourself. Last but not least, it takes a lot of hard work and
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