Ron Barbercheck

Mr. Ron Barbercheck
First Grade
Room 103
RWBarbercheck@cps.edu

After graduating from Vassar College with a double major in history and art history (studio concentration), I spent twelve years in private industry. Wanting a more meaningful career I sought Illinois teaching certification through the Teachers for Chicago program where I earned a Masters of Arts degree in Elementary Education at Roosevelt University while teaching full-time. Ten of my twelve years of teaching in Chicago Public Schools have been in the first-grade.

I came to Newberry Academy at the start of the 2000/2001 school year. Since joining Newberry I have served in several leadership roles, including Local School Council (LSC) teacher representative, chairperson of the Primary Grades, chairperson of the writing committee, chairperson and member of the Professional Personnel Leadership Committee (PPLC), member of the teacher led Newberry Academy Professional Development Committee, member of the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Committee, and member of the recently formed Instructional Leadership Team (ILT).

Two years ago I went on sabbatical to earn a Masters of Education degree in the School Leadership Program (Teacher Leadership strand) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. While there, I served as a research intern on a study of teacher teams with Professors Katherine Boles and Vivian Troen. I also completed training to become a Critical Friends Group coach. I am interested in building professional learning communities that use data to improve instruction and student achievement. I have a strong interest in reading about and teaching for social justice.