A Conversation with Kim Oliver

Room: Erie

presented by Kim Oliver, Teacher, Broad Acres Elementary School

Kim Oliver, 2006 United States National Teacher of the Year, will pick up where her general session left off, facilitating a dialogue about her core belief that every child in every school can learn. With so many elementray schools adopting the whole school model of the IB Primary Years Programme, we need to constantly search for effective strategies to reach all students. In this session, we will explore our underlying assumptions about what works and the prcatical solutions that inspire our students and their families.

Kim Oliver, Teacher, Broad Acres Elementary School
Kim Oliver was born on October 20, 1976, and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, where her parents and older brother still reside. She is a graduate of William Penn High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English arts from Hampton University in 1998 and a master’s degree in elementary education from Wilmington College in 2000. While working on her master’s degree, she gained experience at the Elementary Workshop Montessori School in Wilmington, DE, as an assistant teacher for a multiage class of 9–12 year olds. In 2004, Oliver earned her early childhood generalist certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Oliver, currently a kindergarten teacher at Broad Acres Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland is the 56th National (USA) Teacher of the Year award recipient, the first to represent Maryland. She has just ended 12 hectic months as a full-time national and international spokesperson for education. She certainly has plenty of information and experience to share.

When Oliver came to Broad Acres Elementary School in 2000, the school was in danger of being restructured by the state because of declining academic performance. “By building a professional learning community and emphasizing collaboration, I have impacted the learning of more than 500 students. Through collaborating with others, I helped turn around an underperforming school despite the obstacles of poverty, race, language, and mobility.”

In her six years at Broad Acres, she has helped create and implement several programs to ensure consistency in curriculum, instruction, and assessment throughout the school. As a result, her school made improvements on local, state, and national tests, and in 2001 was the number one school in her school system for percentage increases in test scores. In 2003, 2004, and 2005 they met or exceeded all requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

To promote literacy throughout her community, Oliver helps sponsor “Books and Supper Night,” an event held four times a year that allows families to visit the school and check out books from the library. They read together, receive free books to continue family reading time at home, and enjoy a communal dinner where they interact with and get to know their neighbors.