When students entered the fourth-grade classroom of Jeanie Weve, they did not sit down quietly at their desks. Instead, they got ready to sing, dance and got excited about the knowledge they were about to receive at Maize Central Elementary in Maize, KS. Using a unique combination of dynamic teaching strategies and varied learning environments, Weve created a classroom bounding with positive energy and high achievement.
Weve inspired her students to learn through the power of creative and physical activity. Each morning her class began with singing, dancing or a combination of the two, to get students’ blood flowing and brains thinking. Once students have completed their “warm-up routine,” Weve divided the class into small groups to reinforce collaboration as well as communication skills. The results of Weve’s micro-classes yielded impressive gains on Kansas state assessments. In 2009, her students ranked in the 97% in reading against the state average of 88%, and in the 98% in Math proficiency against 86% state average.
Weve kept herself active professionally with additional duties at Maize Central Elementary. She often emceed the school’s pep rallies and assemblies, served on her district’s social studies curriculum task force and on the transition team of the Multi Tier Systems of Support leadership, the school’s new educational framework to boost student achievement.
