- Special Events
- Teacher of the Year
Kristy Dellinger | Marilyn Brooks Elementary Excellence in Teaching
Dooley Elementary | Kindergarten Team Leader
E-mail congrats
Teaching Philosophy
"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is," says Yoda, a master educator of Jedis. In my Star Wars-themed classroom, I'm the Jedi Master with years of knowledge and experience — ready to impart thinking and learning skills to all Padawans who enter my room each year. Being a master teacher is similar to being a Jedi Master. According to The Jedi Path, a Master's ultimate goal is to be a positive force in the galaxy. Their accomplishments and experience make them uniquely qualified to teach the younger members of the Order. I often tell my students a Jedi Master never stops learning; hence, in my quest to never stop learning and to become a master teacher, I challenged myself to the rigorous process of National Board Certification as an early childhood generalist teacher. The foundation for this certification is rooted in their Five Core Propositions that encompass my philosophy of teaching. My philosophy of teaching is centered on relationships: the relationship of the teacher with students and their families, the relationship of the teacher with colleagues and the teacher's relationship with self.
Teaching and learning would not occur without ensuring there is a positive relationship between the teacher, her students, and their families. I learned this because I experienced significant trauma during my formative childhood years. Going to school was my safe place. I struggled with ADHD, and my teachers were the ones that made me feel "normal" and special. I would do anything to have their approval. I reciprocate and honor their contributions to my upbringing by working to build similar, trustful relationships with my students and their families. Showered by the care and love of my teachers, I knew I would grow up and become a kindergarten teacher. Thus, now, as a kindergarten teacher, I have earned my students' and their parents' trust and esteem because I listen and collaborate to provide equitable and fair support for each child. I understand a young child's need for consistency, structure and routines. I empathize that they have yet to learn how to self-regulate. I quickly intervene and am able to redirect unexpected behaviors before they impact the learning environment.
My students know that making mistakes is part of learning through our growth mindset and frequent use of the magical three-letter word they've learned to say, "YET!" A word that empowers even the most reluctant students to take risks and relish in true learning. Parents hear, see and feel the differentiated support I give to their children to build their confidence and faith that everyone is worthy of learning. I spend one-on-one time with parents, when needed, but I also lead parent workshops on how they can support learning at home. Parents love how I utilize Google Voice to message them with photos along with blurbs about the learning occurring in the classroom. I am also able to share the parents' near-immediate responses to their students, deepening the emotional connection to our relationship and to learning.
Although a strong, positive relationship with students and their families is at the core of my philosophy of teaching, it is not the only important relationship to foster as a teacher. To participate in a safe, supportive and collaborative environment, attention also needs to be given to building relationships with colleagues. To ensure I am providing rigorous instruction that results in visible learning, I apply the Plano ISD collaborative team framework to discuss and design lessons with my team and support staff. My personal development to meet National Board Teaching standards, coupled with nearly 20 years of early childhood teaching experience, has allowed my colleagues to delineate me as an expert in early childhood education. I tap into my Jedi Master skills with ideation as one of my top strengths from StrengthsFinder, use my experiences living with ADHD, and my experiences as a parent of an emotionally disturbed child to engage in discussion and share innovations with my colleagues.
While I have earned this respect from my colleagues, I reciprocate the respect by actively inviting and accepting the unique experiences my peers can share with me to build our relationships and my craft. My peers allow me to challenge their thinking, as they challenge me with mine. Our discussions, which rely on the examination of formal and informal data, have resulted in fundamental change for the benefit of our students. These changes have led to flexible grouping practices, improvement of teaching and learning practices such as instituting a second recess in a kindergartener's day, and ensuring that “Dragon Centers” remains an opportunity for Social Emotional Learning (SEL) through authentic play opportunities. These fundamental changes have led to a significant reduction in the number of behavior issues seen each day allowing us to maximize learning resulting in nearly 100% of our students meeting or exceeding their MAP growth targets each year!
Building relationships with colleagues goes beyond the school building because I have a commitment to ensure that our profession is NOT misunderstood by the general public. Being a teacher has taken on a new meaning over the last few years. This misunderstanding has had a negative impact as many teachers are leaving our profession. Yoda says, "You will find only what you bring in." This means that educators have the moral imperative to spread a positive narrative of education. My commitment to this is evidenced by being the Sunshine Committee chairperson and coordinating campus activities to increase morale and festivity. I also serve as our campus PR Liaison to recognize, promote and celebrate the amazing things happening at Dooley by offering a peek into our classrooms to help our community see, via social media, the level of excitement and dedication our students and teachers have with learning. My philosophy of teaching would not be complete without establishing a safe, supportive and collaborative environment with colleagues through relationships built on collective commitments.
Having a secure, meaningful relationship with parents, students and colleagues is not enough. My philosophy of teaching also requires a relationship to self – a commitment to grow and nourish oneself through continuous self-reflection as self-care. During my 45-minute commute to and from work, I self-reflect. I have valued this time to discover that I have found joy in working towards my National Board certification because their standards are directly tied to Plano ISD's instructional initiatives. One of my favorite aspects of kindergarten is how the students begin the school year with a blank slate. What has worked one year with one class won't work for another. This desire for continuous improvement drives my need to ideate and create the best conditions for teaching and learning. I participate in several online professional learning networks to research new topics and problem-solve obstacles that prevent the maximization of growth in learning. This passion for innovation and improvement led me to discover the Science of Teaching Reading one summer, and it became a hyper-fixation. I devoured the knowledge and shared this learning with my campus before it became an essential Plano ISD tool. As teachers, we owe it to ourselves to find time to self-reflect for self-care and self-improvement. We cannot overlook this vital relationship and obligation to ourselves.
A teacher would not be able to effectively fill the wonderful mind of a child, as Master Jedi Yoda highlights, without securing the foundational relationships necessary among the teacher, students, parents, colleagues, and self. Students and teachers would not be able to mutually grow with one another in isolation. It is through our interaction and care for one another that we can use the mechanism of teaching and learning – education – to guarantee a positive future for our society as we each become the Master version of what we each aspire to be.
Dear Plano ISD Teacher of the Year Selection Committee:
I have had the honored privilege of learning and collaborating with Mrs. Kristy Dellinger since August 2016. In getting to know the strengths of each member of my school family, Mrs. Dellinger's top five talents of Ideation, Strategic, Input, Achiever, and Intellection clearly delineate her from many. It is no surprise that through the campus nomination process, she was rightfully chosen by Dooley colleagues to represent the high caliber of dedicated educators from our campus.
With nearly two decades of teaching experience, fifteen of them here at Dooley, Mrs. Dellinger dedicates herself to ensuring that each student rises to her high expectations and maximizes personal growth, not just academically, but also socially and emotionally. With her classroom themed to Star Wars, Jedi Master Dellinger creates an inclusive, risk-free classroom where her Padawans thrive under the structure, positive reinforcement, and benefits of a growth mindset. Her Padawans understand and acknowledge the "Power of Yet" as they encourage one another to become independent learners. Challenging herself to seek National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist, she is a master teacher of all subjects, constantly seeking ways to improve teaching and learning in her classroom, on her grade-level team, and across our campus. Her personal struggles growing up with ADHD has given her the unique perspective and experience to be an advocate for students with less ability to self-regulate and control their emotions and actions. She uses this personal struggle to develop strategies that she freely shares with those who wonder how she manages the most challenging behaviors with ease. Through self-reflection, Jedi Master Dellinger is tireless in researching strategies to enhance teaching and learning. She brought the Science of Teaching Reading to our campus BEFORE we became a Reading Academy Cohort campus. She recognized the value of Handwriting Without Tears and became a lead facilitator on campus BEFORE this resource was made available to us by the district. As the Kindergarten Team Leader for several years, she innovates and shares her knowledge with her team using the Collaborative Team Framework which has resulted in nearly 100% of all Kindergartners meeting or exceeding their MAP growth targets in each subject for all of these years!
Outside of her classroom, Mrs. Dellinger is a distinguished, respected teacher leader. She spreads positivity and cheer as our Sunshine Coordinator, planning monthly staff activities to strengthen the cohesion of our school community. As our campus Public Relations Liaison, she ensures that our school community and the greater community learns of the magnificent things happening on our campus and across our district. This year, she partnered with another colleague to expand our Environmental Leadership Club, tasking K-5 students to create events where we can recycle, reuse, or reduce rubbish. She is an active PTA member who volunteers for Dooley PTA events and attends (and even coordinates) community-building events that our PTA sponsors. She has also planned and delivered several workshops each year to provide parents with knowledge and strategies to support academic success at home.
In addition to the tremendous amount of dedication towards Dooley students, teachers, and our school community, Mrs. Dellinger has proven to possess skills of professionalism, motivation, determination, and sensitivity to excel in the demands of her job while simultaneously balancing the challenges of supporting a family (whose husband travels during the week quite a bit) with an elementary-aged child, mentoring her recent high school graduate son who is now pursuing coursework to become a teacher, all while completing her National Board Certification. She is a tremendous inspiration to our profession!
As part of the campus election process for Teacher of the Year, I have collected comments from Dooley colleagues that share the following:
"Kristy, above all, wants what is best for each student. She takes her own time to learn how to best help each student and treats them as individuals. She wants the kids to be in class with her and work with them before ever thinking about pushing them out of class. Her spare time is devoted to growing her knowledge of how to effectively teach students and growing herself professionally. Kristy is an innovative thinker and has so much passion for learning how to best develop literacy in her students. Mrs. Dellinger demonstrates qualities of leadership by collaborating within and beyond her Kindergarten team to encourage and inspire growth in both students and staff. All of this, and she does so while balancing family needs while driving the awful I-30 bridge 45-minute drive one-way day after day! As a Dooley parent, she is also involved in the community and in all of the outside-of-school Dooley events. As a teammate, she is always willing to lend a helping hand and always kind and considerate. When it comes to students, she looks beyond the kids in her homeroom. She sees the potential in all the kids in kindergarten and works with her team to help ensure all students can grow. I love how she is constantly teaching at every opportunity, using songs and rhymes to keep the kids engaged. I have also seen how she never gives up on kids, even those who are the most challenging. She loves the kids and enjoys teaching! She is an advocate for all learners."
All of the above comments speak truth to how Mrs. Kristy Dellinger is an inspiring educator who is able to motivate students, teachers, and the community to perform their best. Dooley is so very proud to have Mrs. Dellinger represent the high quality of educators devoted to the children in our learning community. She is well-loved by parents, students, and colleagues and is an integral, respected role model in our Dooley Family. She is an upstanding individual and educator! It is no wonder that she is our Teacher of the Year.
Tramy Tran, Principal
Dooley Elementary School