Becoming and Building is an innovative four-day professional development opportunity designed and implemented by teachers. It was started five years ago as a way to nurture and nourish teachers at Brookwood Forest, specifically focused on literacy. It has now grown to reach over 100 teachers in all four Mountain Brook elementary schools and includes literacy and math. Participants can attend three days of Reading/Writing (24 PD hours), one math day (8 PD hours), or Reading/Writing/Math (32 PD hours).

Three days are focused on literacy and one day focused on math. The first half of the day is focused on personal growth as a reader, writer, and mathematician, and the second half is devoted to professional practice. We carve out time for a short field trip to learn from our community and hear their story and learn from their practice. For example, teachers have visited Petals from the Past where their focus is educating their consumers about native Alabama plants, The Bright Star where we learned about their longevity and the power of hospitality, and the Peanut Depot where we learned the importance of building relationships.  We also read and reflect on a common professional text about practice. This past summer we had an opportunity to Google meet with the author of our book to have even deeper discussions. 

After our last Becoming and Building session, 100% of participants shared they would be a part of this type of professional learning again. Participants shared that the most beneficial aspects of the days were: growing as a writer, exposure to professional reading, slowing down and taking the time to see ourselves as learners in community together, taking on the perspective of my students as I was pushed to grow as a reader and writer, insight toward engaging and enriching lessons.  Participants were excited to take what they learned back into the classroom. Teachers were excited to implement the quick write strategy, to be more intentional with conferring, how to read like a writer, and the deep understanding of how vulnerable writing can be. 

Sammye Davis (BWF Literacy Coach), Tracy Cole (BWF Sixth Grade ELA Teacher), and Shannon Millhouse (BWF Math Coach)  were recently invited to present at the joint conference of National Council of English and National Council of Mathematics conference in Chicago to share their story and the unique professional learning opportunity available to Mountain Brook City School teachers. It was a truly wonderful opportunity for Mountain Brook teachers and the system to be on a national stage to showcase innovation in teacher learning.