David Grossman, a science teacher at Heritage Park High School, has been invited to participate in the Morehead Writing Project’s Online Winter Institute. The winter cohort is made up of four Kentucky teachers and three Morehead State University graduate students with a goal of building a community to support the teacher as writer, reflective practitioner and leader.
The four-week program begins next week and will require 8-10 hours of work each week. Grossman previously participated in the Morehead Writing Program’s spring virtual writing event, meeting weekly with other participants via Zoom to write together and share their work.
“On a personal level, I want this experience to bring me back to the practice of living the life of a writer – noticing and noting things as they happen, and writing every day,” Grossman said. “Professionally, I want the Institute to help me infuse writing in my classroom in a way that enriches my content as well as enriching the lives of my students.
“The process of writing slows down what’s happening around us and gives us time to think about and process it. As the world moves faster and faster, this becomes even more important. Writing helps us to think through difficult issues. We all need this right now as we deal with the issues caused by COVID-19.”
Although he teaches science, Grossman said he believes his participation in the writing institute will benefit his students.
“As I am better able to incorporate writing into the classroom, I hope that students will become more reflective in their thinking and writing,” he said. “This incorporation of literacy into science will also provide another avenue of support for students to reach proficiency in areas of both literacy and science.”
During his 20-year career in education, Grossman has taught students at numerous grade levels from kindergarten to high school and served as a middle school media specialist. A graduate of Murray State University, he is certified in the area of elementary education, middle school science, high school biology and K-12 library/media.
Grossman is a National Board Certified Teacher in the area of early adolescent science. In 2005, he was named ExCEL Teacher of the Year by the Elizabethtown Independent Schools district.
The Morehead Writing Project’s Online Winter Institute is just the latest example of Grossman’s dedication to lifelong learning and professional development. During the summer of 2019, Grossman earned designation as a CDC Science Ambassador from the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He also attended training at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans with an emphasis on teaching science through the lens of history.
Grossman recently completed a project with the Prichard Committee, helping to craft the recently released 2020 Letter from Kentucky Teachers.
As a former member of the Peer Review Panel, he was trained by Achieve to evaluate science lessons and units using their EQuIP Rubric. He used the training to help identify examples of high-quality instructional material, and he has worked with the Kentucky Department of Education to support the design and revision of the science assessment system through course tasks and state summative assessment.
HPHS principal Michelle Ruckdeschel said they were proud of Grossman.
“We feel very fortunate to have him as an integral part of our Phoenix family,” she said. “He goes above and beyond in his classroom to bring science to life for our students, while also advocating for their academic and social emotional needs. He is an outstanding educator.”
Grossman received a scholarship from the Kentucky Council of Teachers of English to participate in the Online Winter Institute. The KCTE is sponsoring two of the four teacher participants.
