Educator Profile    Educators

Biographical Information

At J.E. Robins Elementary in Charleston, WV, Amanda Mays used rigorous standards and forward-thinking instruction to propel pupils to the next level. Bolstered by her superb classroom management skills, Mays focuses on creative, project- based learning. Thanks to grants-two of which she facilitated-that her school has received, Mays had been able to set up a production studio in which her students delivered regular newscasts. She also planned lessons that incorporated laptops and established a school invention fair-all activities that involved multimedia and hands-on group learning. It is not the ample resources, however, that are responsible for the creativity and energy that saturated her classroom.
 
Standardized testing revealed positive value-added data, with her students performing above the state average and showing growth in all subgroups. The state average of students demonstrating mastery in math was 45 percent; her class posted 63 percent. Mays even disclosed assessment results to the students themselves and had them graph their progress during the year to encourage them to take leadership roles in their achievement.
 
Mays served as the county SMART Board trainer, mentored new teachers and coordinated district technology days. A Professional Learning Community facilitator and Educational Leadership program enrollee, Mays completed specialized training in more than a dozen areas and sat on the district math team. Additionally, she presented to the county school board and has been featured in local newspapers for her teaching style.
 
Currently, she is a Coordinator in the Office of School Improvement at the West Virginia Department of Education.
 
Mays was also featured in a West Virginia State University Alumni Commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=dgtW2Y7ec10