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Data Chats
November Edition
Extraordinary Results from Data Driven Instruction
Teacher Spotlight-Coach Gary Stracener
Coach Stracener teaches US History at QHS. He attended college at Lon Morris College, Tyler Junior College, East Texas Baptist College, and University of Texas at Tyler for his Bachelor's and Master's degrees. While at East Texas Baptist College, he excelled as a baseball pitcher. He has been in education for an impressive 35 years, and the last 2 years has worked at Quitman High School. He has coached volleyball/football, taught various history classes, and has worked an as Assistant Principal, Director of DAEP, as well as an Athletic Coordinator.
Coach Stracener finds joy in his family. He is a loving husband to his wife, Melinda, and takes pride in being a father to his son, Nick, and his daughter, Amy.
Coach Stracener and wife Melinda
Daughter Amy, wife Melinda, and son Nick
US History Success
Last year, students in Coach Stracener's class had amazing success on their US History EOC Assessment. His students this year are also showing the same success as they prepare for the EOC. I sat down with Coach Stracener to ask how his students continue to be so successful in US History.
Coach Stracener said that when his students take an assessment, and he prints the reports from DMAC, that he looks closely at all student's scores. Students that are underperforming, in the middle, and even the ones that are high performing. He then pulls students during Q-Time that did not do very well and are in need of re-teaching. He also uses 6th period to pull in different groups, and uses this time to help get his students from low performing to approaches, from approaches to meets, and meets to masters. He said there is always room for improvement, and doesn't let the kids settle for just approaches level.
When talking with Coach Stracener, it was obvious that he wants to make learning about History fun. He uses Gimkit frequently to allow the kids to practice their knowledge of US History (which they love). He also credits much of the success of his class with activities such as the STAAR Blitz last year, and spiraling in US History items that have been previously taught. Spiraling in information that has already been taught occurs constantly, so the students won't forget key concepts.
Student Created Concept Posters
Coach Stracener feels very strongly about letting his students "create", and shared a few concept posters his students have created. He gives them a topic, what he is looking for in the poster, and then displays them for the class. Students typically work in groups to create their posters, where they get a chance to discuss the concept first and decide how they want it to look. This also helps them to retain the material longer. This is a great way for students to remember important concepts, names, and dates. Here are a few examples:
WWII Fascist Leaders 1939-1945
Progressive Period 1890-1917
FDR New Deal Programs
Word Wall
Word Walls are an important part of any class, as they support a language-rich learning environment. Coach Stracener's current word wall is centered around the Spanish American War, and gives students constant access to the important vocabulary that they need to know and understand for this particular unit of study.
Thank you Coach Stracener for all that you do!
Students are fortunate to have you as their teacher. And, QISD is fortunate to have you on our team!
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Amazing things are happening at QISD!